The Good
This is a movie that stays with you. It is hauntingly original and features an awesome performance by Damien Lewis.
The Bad
No special features came with the screener DVD.
I put on the movie Keane and for some reason, based on a description I read somewhere, I thought this was going to be movie about a guy who lost his daughter and in his search for her, constantly sees weird images. I expected it to be dark and bleak with lots of quick camera moves that went nowhere.
It wasn't like that at all.
In fact, since I screened Keane, I cannot stop thinking about this film. It is quite simple, Keane terfully portrayed by Damien Lewis), has lost his daughter. He lives at a hotel where he meets a woman and her young girl. After befriending them, Keane is left in charge of the girl for a few days and we see that he has many emotional problems. The movie ends in an ambiguous way, but the scene in the bar where Keane sings "Sugar Bye, Honey Bunch" by The Temptations, has forever changed how I will hear that song. What I always thought was a fluffy ode by a man who loves a woman, takes on a sad, emotional darkness as Keane struggles desperately to sing along with every word.
Not for everyone, Keane is the kind of film that is truly interesting.
Features
Magnolia Home Entertainment has again sent us a movie for which they included a disc that didn't contain the supplemental features. As the only extra on there is a director's cut of Keane by Steven Soderbergh, I can't help but think that I did miss something. Then again... maybe I didn't?
Video
Enhanced Widescreen Letterbox for 16x9 TVs. I love the overcast look that pervades this whole film. The fact that it was shot in New York also adds a layer of depth to Keane's plight. One never seems more alone and more lost when they are searching for something in the big city. This idea of detachment looms in every frame of this film.
Audio
Dolby Digital. This is a quiet movie but not in a way that I found bothersome. It wasn't like I ever thought some giant mystery was going to be revealed. Just the way this movie is shot, one knows it's never going to come close to anything conventional. It is a simple story about a few days in man's life. The audio is an accompaniment and I never noticed it beyond what I saw in the images.
Package
The front cover is very dark with just a shot of Keane and Kyra (Abigail Breslin), the young girl he takes care of a little bit in the movie. I don't know if they should have made the cover this arty, but I guess it is appropriate for the kind of movie that Keane is. As Magnolia Home Entertainment didn't send us regular packaging, that is all I can say about the cover at this time.
Final Word
Why in the world would Steven Soderbergh feel the need to recut this film? I know he was an executive producer and everything, but doesn't he have enough to do without touching other people's movies? Perhaps this is something that the director of Keane, Lodge Kerrigan, wanted? I just don't see why?
Keane may not seem like it but it is a tightly constructed film that I feel moves at a pace that is appropriate to bring you deeply into this character's mindset. I read that Soderbergh cut out 15 minutes of the film and I just don't see how that could help it.
Then again... maybe it does?