Keane

Name: Keane
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Released: September 9, 2005
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 79

2005

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: September 9, 2005

Summary: Damian Lewis's riveting, visceral performance of a man grappling with the effects of a profound loss makes Keane a complex, deeply humane and unforgettable portrait. (Magnolia Pictures)

Director: Lodge Kerrigan

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 100 min

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Awards & Rankings

45	#45 Best Movie of 2005

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Critic Reviews

Village Voice - Michael Atkinson

Keane is a painfully specific figure but at the same time a totem, lean and frightening, for a morass of modern anxieties. That might be this phenomenal film's emergent achievement: Its raw hopelessness is its universality. Read full review

Washington Post - Stephen Hunter

May be too much suspense for some, but it's vividly powerful. Read full review

Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert

Keane is played by Damian Lewis. Here he inhabits an edge of madness that Lodge Kerrigan understands with a fierce sympathy. Read full review

Chicago Reader - Jonathan Rosenbaum

Kerrigan returns with his best work to date, at least in terms of narrative drive and suspense. Read full review

New York Daily News - Jack Mathews

Keane is a movie you might see on a dare, and though I think it is brilliantly conceived, I wouldn't dare to dare you. Read full review

Chicago Tribune - Michael Wilmington

The first 10 minutes of Lodge Kerrigan's Keane have a raw, hurtling reality that's as painfully engrossing as anything you'll see in a recent non-fiction movie, a searing portrait of one man's hell, from inside and outside. Read full review

Empire - Olly Richards

Persevere through the sluggish first two acts and you'll be rewarded with a touching relationship perfectly acted by Lewis and Breslin. Read full review

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User Reviews

KathyV

Oct 3, 2005

Keane is an incredible film created by talented writer/director Lodge Kerrigan and brilliant actor Damian Lewis. The film is realistic, believable, inspiring and important.

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ChadS.

Oct 26, 2005

Damian Lewis is so convincing as a very troubled man, you can almost smell his stink when he cleans himself in a public bathroom. His scenes with Abigail Breslin are touching, but there's always that edge underneath their bond. After all, he's still a stranger. If you don't Damian Lewis is so convincing as a very troubled man, you can almost smell his stink when he cleans himself in a public bathroom. His scenes with Abigail Breslin are touching, but there's always that edge underneath their bond. After all, he's still a stranger. If you don't like William Keene, you're out of luck because he's in every scene, and director Lodge Kerrigan shoots him in close-up. That big Caucasian head suffocates the frame, but when William isn't having one of his episodes, we can see that he indeed does have a body. "Keane" is a borderline masterpiece, a living thing. In the film's opening scene, William shoves a photo of his daughter in strangers' faces, and Kerrigan's camera seems to mimic his protagonist's exasperated breathing; as like most people when greeted by a manic stranger, they walk away. "Keane" is an absolute triumph, and it's doubtful that there'll be a better American film to be released this year. Thank god Kerrigan didn't shoot this on digital video. He's talented enough to depict the harsh realities of the city on celluloid. By the way, Breslin is better than Dakota Fanning.… Expand

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Richard

Nov 7, 2005

Well, I skipped an employee appreciation picnic, barbecue and all, to see this because I know you can go to one of those any old time, right? But this picture isn't going to be in town long... There was an enormous line of NOBODY when I got to the box office, but five viewers suffered Well, I skipped an employee appreciation picnic, barbecue and all, to see this because I know you can go to one of those any old time, right? But this picture isn't going to be in town long... There was an enormous line of NOBODY when I got to the box office, but five viewers suffered through this inside. It's a great movie, which took courage to write, act, and direct. From frame one until the bitter end, all I felt was dread; exquisite, complete and total dread. I'd never heard of the director, but now I'm an admirer. I won't encourage my friends to see this, but I'll never forget this film. It was a beautiful and astounding work or art. Kafka? Camus? Dostoevsky? I don't know.… Expand

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JonathanA

Nov 6, 2007

Keane successfully fries your nerves. I was not absolutely happy with the somewhat-ambiguous ending, but it fits the character, whose life story and personality you are never, ever sure about. Thrilling in its own way because we don't know what to expect Keane will do next, but deeply Keane successfully fries your nerves. I was not absolutely happy with the somewhat-ambiguous ending, but it fits the character, whose life story and personality you are never, ever sure about. Thrilling in its own way because we don't know what to expect Keane will do next, but deeply sympathetic because we don't end up hating Keane either and even wish for him to do well.… Expand

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HansB.

Apr 22, 2006

A good character study of a borderline figure. But that is all. Not very interesting and rather dull. The open end of the film should make it interesting?

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AkashVijay

Jan 22, 2015

The film is nonsense. But Damian Lewis' tour de four is enough reason to give it a chance. He once again shows us why he continues to be one of the most underrated actors working today.

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EdwardV.

Mar 27, 2006

This is one of the worst movies I have ever wasted 100 minutes on. There is NO plot. There is NO suspense. You'd have to be a borderline manic depressive to even imagine that there is one. Riveting? Unforgettable? I have come up with only one conclusion as to why critics are using This is one of the worst movies I have ever wasted 100 minutes on. There is NO plot. There is NO suspense. You'd have to be a borderline manic depressive to even imagine that there is one. Riveting? Unforgettable? I have come up with only one conclusion as to why critics are using these words to describe this movie and other boring, empty, dreary movies like it. Movie critics are from Mars. Movie watchers are from Venus. If you perhaps think inside your heart that the reason i did not enjoy this movie is because I am not intelligent enough, then I say "Thank God for stupidity!"… Expand

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