Knox goes away

Just watched "Knox Goes Away" on Max directed and starring Michael Keaton. Keaton plays Knox, a hitman who receives a devasting diagnosis: he has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and has only weeks to live. So, he has to get his affairs in order before he "goes away". Soon multiple tragedies occur which require him to use the last vestiges of his intellect to ensure that his estranged son, ex-wife and his kept woman get their inheritance. The story is a bit slower than it needs to be but Keaton's descent into the "brain fog" of dementia is convincingly sad. Solid support from Al Pacino as Keaton's friend and James Marsden as Keaton's son combine to create a decent, if not perfect movie. Recommended as a 7/10 - a Roger Ebert reviewer gave this one star - completely unfair in my opinion.

Only knowing Keaton from Spiderman: Homecoming, I don't he's so talented that he can direct too. He put out an incredible performance in the film. The movie deals well with both the suspense and the emotional aspects of the story, two emotions I rarely see come together, that too successfully. I misunderstood the film to an action from the trailer but I gave it a chance 10 minutes into the film and it didn't let me down.

And the best part of it all, the father role portrayed in the film, stirred so much emotion in me that I've added this to my favorite's list.

Everyone performed to their best including the son, detective, and Keaton.

Your profession could be considered mercenary, it's not the kind of job to make you very merry, but as the years have added up, running over is not your cup, the effect is that there's gaps, in your memory. It's not the time to fight a crisis but your son, estranged and needing help for what he's done, turns to you in hour of need, after a rather hasty deed, although your senses are impaired, you must go on. So you enlist help and support from a close fiend, but you're not sure if things are real or if they're dreamed, then with some instinct and some guile, you accept your senile trial, it takes a while for those close by, to comprehend.

When watching movies across many era's, certain actors stand out more than others. It requires excellence across many projects, and due to the rich history of film, there are a lot of names on this list. Some obvious classic names are Bogart, Grant, Steward and Hepburn, Kelly, Bergman - and I think the further one goes back (within reason), the easier it is to identify these exceptional, stand out performers. But they exist in every era, and to finally come around to my point Michael Keaton is one of these great performers in the modern era.

Worth mentioning that the great performance in Knox Goes Away is also Keaton's direction debut - though I'm sure Keaton understands more about direction at this point than many of the film makers he's worked with, just due to his work within the media.

Knox Goes Away is about a hardened, professional criminal at the end of his prime. He would be able to still do his job if it weren't for a rare condition revealing itself as a rapidly deteriorating mind. Knox (Keaton's character) has enough self awareness to see his fate coming, and takes steps to resolve his life the best he can. But surprise! A desperate family situation arrives at his doorstep - making his plan to resolve things even more complex, and ultimately? His last great challenge to perform.

The greatness of this film is all Keaton's performance and his character's context. There's a tragic nature to the main character and his situation that as a viewer? Made me want him to succeed. I also wanted to know more about the main character, his past, and how he ended up choosing his line of work when he is portrayed as having so much intelligence and merit.

It's a really good movie. The lead is a complicated character, who is put in an impossible situation, and chooses to face the situation head on. Side characters are acceptable with Al Pacino probably being the most colorful and interesting in his few scenes. I'd say my favorite part of Knox Goes Away, besides Keaton, is a strong third act and satisfying ending, which so few films seem to have.

My biggest critique would be film pacing, which isn't bad, but would be a signifier of early directorial effort. I'd say the same about the camera work, which isn't Keaton, obviously the DP - but the director leads the DP, and the shots, while useful and fine, lack artistic finesse of a seasoned film maker. Lastly, most of the story elements and characters are cliche, and have a by the numbers scripting approach. I fully respected the straight continuity, and lack of script 'tricks'. It's not a movie that tries to hide anything, but also doesn't take too many chances.

I would say a must watch for fans of Keaton. Also a strong recommendation for fans of crime drama cinema with noir elements.

1.) Michael Keaton and if you know him, Ray McKinnon who produced the 'Rectify' series, one of the best series I have ever seen on 'TV'. Michael Keaton stars and directs the film and let me tell you think you know where the plot is taking you and you see what you think are some obvious inconsistencies. You will be stunned by how well the plot is actually thought out. The contradictions in the main characters , father, son and how their lives become parallel in most unlikely of ways and all because of , what ? Contingency. The script or story is absolutely brilliant and it is executed in the most artistic way possible and ,as always you will find yourself haunted by Keaton's character and delivery. The movie is truly special and FEW movies produced today rise to this level of excellence, Story, concept and narrative and you don't know where you're going to till you get there, ironic, poignant and above all a wholly satisfying movie experience. Eight Stars and I rarely give more than seven and that's for movies I think are really good, this is a cut above.