THE MERRY GENTLEMAN — ★★ — Michael Keaton, Kelly Macdonald, Tom Bastounes; rated R (profanity, violence, brief drugs, slurs, brief gore, brief sex); Tower Theatre
Michael Keaton's character in "The Merry Gentleman" doesn't say a whole lot. And coincidentally, neither does the movie.
Also, the film never seems quite sure whether it wants to be a noir thriller or an unconventional character drama.
It's a confused muddle, and as a result, the film never really finds its footing — and it never seems to have any narrative momentum.
Which is really unfortunate, considering the talented cast.
The title character is Frank Logan (Keaton), a professional killer who's gotten sloppy on his latest "job." Someone spotted him on the roof of an office building.
That "someone" is Kate Frazier (Kelly Macdonald), a new secretary who isn't really sure what she's seen.
Still, Frank is trying to cover his tracks and decides to check out Kate's apartment building. Instead, he bumps into his possible new "target" and winds up befriending her.
At the same time, Kate is being pursued by a detective, Dave Murcheson (Tom Bastounes), who is not only trying to get information about the earlier killing, he's interested, romantically, in the chief witness.
Keaton inherited the directing duties from screenwriter Ron Lazzeretti, who took ill just as the production was set to begin shooting.
His lack of experience and confidence behind the camera shows. For one thing, the pacing is too slow (the movie is more low-energy than low-key).
That might explain why composer Ed Shearmur's score is so intrusive — he's trying to inject some needed life into the proceedings.
As a performer, Keaton is solid — as is Macdonald. But Bastounes comes off as creepy and pathetic, as do most of the film's male characters (especially Kate's abusive husband, played by Bobby Cannavale).
"The Merry Gentleman" is rated R and features strong sexual profanity, some strong violent action (killings, some of them off-screen, including shootings), brief drug use and references (marijuana), derogatory language and slurs, some brief gore and brief sexual contact (mostly implied). Running time: 97 minutes.
e-mail: jeff@desnews.com