a SIFF 2009 review
Keaton Crafts a Very Merry Gentleman
Her marriage troubled, Kate Frazier (Kelly Macdonald) has escaped to a new city and life, her left eye still showcasing the bruising of a fist gone terribly wrong. But that is all behind her now, the young woman taking the job of a receptionist and doing her best to fit in with those around her while answering as few of their personal questions as possible.
Michael Keaton and Kelly Macdonald in Samuel Goldwyn Films' The Merry Gentleman
Frank Logan (Michael Keaton) is ready to spend another Christmas alone. He’s made some bad choices in his life, the ghosts of all he’s wronged haunting him to the point he can’t quite do his job with the same zest or zeal. In fact, he’s ready to end it all right now, standing atop a building looking down after completing an assignment with the pavement below looking awfully inviting.
These two should never have met, yet somehow through circumstances maybe beyond their control they have, quickly striking up a fierce, loving friendship of which both are in desperate need. But not all is as it seems, the two of them hiding secrets that could change their lives in ways neither can comprehend. Yet somehow, Kate and Logan will find someway to persevere, and even if their relationship doesn’t survive it looks like their newfound sense of hopefulness will.
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into a screening of The Merry Gentlemen. The directorial debut of actor Keaton, I wasn’t exactly sure the world needed another movie about a hitman unhappy with his place in the world. Happily, this is not what I ended up watching, the film instead a sweet, simplistic saga of a woman trying to make her way out of unhappiness and the mysterious man who ends up accidentally helping her to do it.
Stripped down, visually bare and moving at its own leisurely pace, Keaton shows a restraint behind the camera that almost echoes a fellow actor-turned-director who goes by the name of Eastwood. While he’s certainly not up to that Oscar-winning level as of yet, he’s just close enough I’m extremely curious to see what the former funnyman (and one-time Batman) has up his sleeve next.
The ace in the hole is Macdonald. The actress unfortunately hasn’t gotten many opportunities to headline since her explosive introduction to the cinematic scene in Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, supporting performances in films as varied as Cousin Bette, Elizabeth, State of Play and The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy littering her resume. But she certainly makes the most of things here, and I for one cannot imagine the film would be near as luminous or moving without her presence.
It is the layers of the performance that make it so luminous. The fear of her ex-husband finding her new home is palpable, but it is colored with a winsome pixie quality giving Kate an ethereal radiance that’s easily captivating. Macdonald makes this girl someone, you not only want to become friends with, but someone you want to help in whatever way you can, something about her so innately divine even when she does something morally ambiguous I still couldn’t help but feel she was secretly an angel in disguise.
Ron Lazzeretti’s script admittedly does not offer up a ton of surprises. I was able to figure out the general direction of things even when the characters were having their troubles doing the same. I also felt like it was almost too easy to discover Keaton’s real identity, and maybe that’s part of the script’s point but for a guy brilliant at his job it’s shocking the police haven’t arrested him eons ago.
Thankfully my likes outnumbered the dislikes by a pretty wide margin. While the pace is unhurried, the film never feels slow or padded, Keaton handling things with confident assurance. The picture is also beautifully shot by Chris Seagar (Cold Comfort Farm), the pure winter blues and the crisp snowy whites adding just the right touch to the director’s milieu.
There is a lot to like about The Merry Gentleman, not the least of which is the fact its actor-turned-director so happily makes himself the secondary character and lets Macdonald’s Kate shine so brightly in the lead. Everything happens believably even when the script pushes credulity to the breaking point. It is a movie I think audience’s will warm to, and as first film’s go Keaton’s effort is a solid success.
Film Rating: êêê (out of 4)
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