KEANE
Directed & Written by: Lodge Kerrigan.
Produced by: Andrew Fierberg.
Director of Photography: John Foster.
Edited by: Andrew Hafitz.
Released by: Magnolia.
Country of Origin: USA. 93 min. Rated: R.
With: Damian Lewis, Amy Ryan, Abigail Breslin & Christopher Evan Welch.

William Keane relives every parent's nightmare on a daily basis. Accosting pedestrians at New York's Port Authority, he asks if they have seen his seven-year-old daughter, producing a wrinkled news clipping of her disappearance. Ritually he roams the bus terminal where she was last seen months earlier, playing out the abduction in his mind. Keane, with his red hair and freckles, may first appear unassuming, but this impression is quickly belied by Damien Lewis' high-energy, volatile performance, which should come as no surprise after he turned the repugnant Soames Forsyte of The Forsyte Saga (PBS) into an almost sympathetic hero.

A temper tantrum, crying jag, or fit of paranoia may hit Keane at any moment. His mind is almost entirely focused on his inner monologue, made up of warnings or reassurances he whispers aloud to himself. Fearing he's being watched, he confronts invisible adversaries, kicking open bathroom stalls or shouting "I see you, I see all of you" to no one in particular.

Living in a cheap hotel off an interstate, he collects disability checks with some money left over for a bump of coke or two. Down the hall are a strapped-for-cash mother, Lynn (Amy Ryan), and her seven-year-old daughter, Kira (the disarming Abigail Breslin). Lynn, a waitress hoping to reconcile with her husband, takes advantage of Keane's generosity, asking him to watch her daughter after school. With the shy girl by his side, he is new man - lucid and gentle. Their touching yet creepy interactions will set the viewer on edge - it's ambiguous what Keane is up to, especially as he remains in the bathroom as Kira showers.

The minimal edits and the camera's long, roaming, in-your-face takes of Keane may make you think you have wandered into a film by the Dardenne brothers (The Son and Rosetta). Like those films, Keane is a subtle morality tale, enlivened by intense moments. Even as Keane's dialogue signals his motivations, director/writer Lodge Kerrigan engagingly leaves plenty of gaps to fill in, as he did in his previous Claire Dolan - only the bare facts of Keane's background are known. With its simple and direct dialogue and off-the-cuff acting, Keane feels completely spontaneous, its steady pace leading to a suspenseful conclusion. Kent Turner
September 9, 2005