Sundance. The Merry Gentleman.

"Various critics I respect wandered out into the near-zero cold after the Eccles Center premiere of The Merry Gentleman complaining about [Michael] Keaton's technical limitations as a filmmaker, so I can only presume they exist," writes Salon's Andrew O'Hehir. "But I felt tremendously grateful for the stillness and quietness of Keaton's picture, its ominous, anonymous American atmospherics and its reticent refusal to open its characters and story to us beyond a certain point, especially considering it's a movie about - wait for it - a suicidal hit man!"

"Latest addition to the resurgent hitman genre sees Keaton, in a very enigmatic role, gentlemanly yielding acting honors and the lion's share of screen time to the ever-impressive Kelly Macdonald," writes Variety's Todd McCarthy. "Macdonald alone provides the film with a raison d'etre, but another one is the way the picture is composed visually. Keaton and cinematographer Chris Seager... worked out a way to shoot the action that can best be described as discreet. Scenes are observed quietly, with thoughtfulness and tact embedded into the luminous, highly textured imagery. The subtly dynamic camera style represents a rarified pleasure, perhaps, but emerges as the film's most distinctive achievement."

At Cinematical, Scott Weinberg finds it "a deliberately paced (some might say 'slow') crime drama that brings a strange sense of warmth, dark humor, and even some odd romance to a potentially dreary tale.... But what a pleasure it is to see Michael Keaton back on the big screen again, and the veteran actor does a fantastic job on both sides of the camera."

In the New York Times, David M Halbfinger talks with Keaton about how, at the last minute, he came to direct "his first feature with one unproven star, a shoestring budget, just five weeks of prep time and a shoot lasting all of 25 days."

Online viewing tip. Salon's Andrew O'Hehir interviews Keaton.

Posted by dwhudson at January 24, 2008 9:12 AM