Don McKay

"Don McKay" is marketed as an edgy thriller, that's probably because they had no idea how to categorize it.

The movie begins as a cross between a romantic drama, a character study, and a dark thriller. Don McKay, played brilliantly by Thomas Haden Church, returns to his hometown by a letter from his high school girlfriend, Sunny (Elisabeth Shue). That's the romantic drama aspect. But we quickly learn that there's something not quite right about Sunny, there's something not quite right with most people in the town, and McKay has dark secrets to his past. We are always on the lookout for creepy turns and shadows around every corner. Those are the dark thriller aspects.

It seems as if it's going to be a character study, but its really not about McKay himself. It's ultimately plot-driven and the mysterious problems that McKay gets himself into. I was riveted throughout.

I actually highly recommend "Don McKay" because it's cleverly written to throw its audience off-guard, it's completely original, and these film-makers know what they are doing. And no matter what genre you decide it is by the end, it won't be what you thought it was at the beginning.

I thought the movie "Don McKay" was something entirely different than it actually was. Maybe because I had just briefly glanced over the description on the back, so I had formed a wrong impression.

Well, this movie was somewhat of a rather slow, painful process to get through. The start of the movie was promising, introducing the character in a nice way and slowly building up to something promising. And as the viewer you knew something was amiss. Then the movie suddenly started to get confusing. I am sure the makers of the movie thought their story was a good and exciting one, but the end product turned out as a confusing mess.

Throughout the movie, you sit there and gawk at the half-hearted acting performances and the dull dialogues. You never really buy into believing in what is portrayed on the screen, as the whole picture just doesn't work together in any way. However, I have to say one thing, Thomas Haden Church did a wonderful performance of portraying the gray and boring character of Don McKay. I thought he worked quite well in this role.

The characters in the movie were well enough fleshed out. Very nice and screwed up characters, that had potential, but failed to shine through because of the acting was below mediocre.

The one good thing about the movie, was when Don revealed the ultimate truth towards the ending. Now that was a nice surprising twist to an otherwise confusing and halting story. I liked that part, it worked quite well. The rest of the movie, well not so much.

I had thought this to be somewhat more of a thriller, but ended up with a lukewarm story that took forever to be told. Definitely not a movie I recommend that you pick up, unless you are bored, fanatically fan of any of the actors/actresses, or if you just have nothing better to do. There are lots of other movies out there with far more entertainment value.

Don McKay combines a mystery drama with some thriller and comedy aspects sprinkled in. The film starts off a little slow, but picks up and becomes one strange thriller and that is meant in a good way. After the first major strange event happens in the film it changes the whole tone and as the movie progresses you keep getting the feeling everything is off with the story, and you just aren't quite sure where it is going. As the story progresses and you start to understand what happened they feed you enough but not too much to keep the film interesting. My only complaint with that is that some of the events in the film are a little too far fetched and you do need to suspend your belief a little to fully enjoy the film.

Thomas Haden Church puts on a good performance as Don McKay, not necessarily for a standout performance, but his facial expressions and reactions to the events that happen bring them to life more. I've never really been an Elisabeth Shue fan, but also liked her in the film as she played her role well and there was a certain chemistry with her and Thomas Haden Church. With these types of films the ending usually makes or breaks them and for Don McKay I thought it came off somewhat believable amongst all the strangeness leading up to it. I'd definitely recommend the film to people as it may get overlooked.

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I love Elizabeth Shue but what happened in this movie???? The acting was ordinary and whilst I understand it is a comedy or black comedy as some have suggested, it never really hits the spot. She seems very wooden in the movie and I was disappointed in her performance. I expected so much more. The plot is weak and never really gets there in my opinion. I had a few little laughs here and there although nothing side splitting. The woman who plays Shue's "housekeeper" or whatever she is supposed to be looks very familiar, however her name is not familiar to me. The old guy who plays the taxi driver is a great "character" actor and he is probably the best of the lineup.

Thomas Haden Church stars as the soft-spoken and slow-moving (but not necessarily slow-witted) titular character in this surprisingly entertaining black comedy.

Why do I say surprising? Oh, because it faded quickly into oblivion and has such a low score here at IMDb. And I admit that I at first had trouble getting into the film's weird (and I don't think always intentionally so) rhythm. Like a lot of black comedies, it takes time to establish its tone and cue you in on what you should and shouldn't be finding funny. Unfortunately, Church isn't up to the task of being our confident guide. His attempts to play Don McKay, a janitor who's summoned back to his hometown by a dying ex-girlfriend, as a shuffling and seemingly dim bulb come across instead as stiff and baffled. But the film is saved by playful performances by Elisabeth Shue, as this sordid crime film's femme fatale, and especially Melissa Leo, as a suspicious nurse who channels Judith Anderson from Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca." It's up to these two, who are clearly having a ball with their roles, to get the film and us firmly into the black comedy spirit, and once they do so, the film plays as a quirky and entertaining bit of fun.

Grade: B