Post by StevePulaski on Apr 20, 2017 13:42:02 GMT -5
Keith (2008)
Directed by: Todd Kessler
Directed by: Todd Kessler
Pop singer Jesse McCartney (left) and Elizabeth Harnois in Keith.
Rating: ★★★
NOTE: This film was recommended to me by Allie Sroka for "Steve Pulaski Sees It," a month where I watch twenty-five films requested by friends, fans, and readers.
What separates Todd Kessler's Keith apart from other teen films of the modern day is its desire to operate on intrigue and mystery up until its final few minutes. In less careful hands than Kessler's or co-writer David Zabel's, Keith could've revealed the details about its titular character far too early or collapsed under the weight of petty contrivances following such premature disclosure. But Kessler and Zabel make Keith ebb and flow with an aura of uncertainty I wasn't expecting going into this film.
To be fair, just look at the concept and its track record. Pop singer Jesse McCartney's acting debut should've went the same way as Aaron Carter's did with Popstar rather than be a promising and memorable performance that exceeded the requirements of the screenplay. To take it even one step further, even the story of a young woman with straight-A's meeting a boy not like the others has a dated ring to it more-so than one that prompts a lot of questions and heightened sense of danger. Kessler and Zabel acknowledge the fact that their story essentially walks on a field of landmines and respond by moving carefully like pieces on a chessboard in order to produce a worthwhile film.
The girl is Natalie (Elizabeth Harnois), a self-motivated high school student with the intent to attend Duke University on a tennis scholarship after her senior year. Even if her parents are more involved in her tennis career than she is, Natalie still looks to exit high school headstrong into college, especially with her new transfer student boyfriend Rafael (Ignacio Serricchio) close by her side. Natalie's life complicates a bit when a mysterious kid in her biology class named Keith (Jesse McCartney) opts to be her lab partner. His initial apathy towards life and his schoolwork, in addition to critiques of her surface-level life offput about as much as they fascinate her.
The two frequently hang out on a series of what they call "non-dates," which include sneaking around a corporate office and binging on junk-food in addition to lying on the flatbed of Keith's truck while letting the car crawl towards the edge of a steep cliff, hopping out just in time to shift the gearstick to park. This kind of adolescent listlessness is charming for a brief time, but Natalie can't figure out Keith like she has been planning on this whole time. Her other friends, including Rafael, are all pretty easily identifiable, while Keith presents an aura of excitement and mystique for her that she has never had in her life, at least in an obvious sense.
Although the adventures with Keith provide momentary escapism and Keith's rebellious nature prompts interesting conversations, his perpetual moodiness and sporadic mean-spirited attitude make it hard for the two to connect on a deep level. Keith seems bitter and frustrated by something he's not willing to say, meanwhile Natalie begins feeling the pressure from her parents to start focusing on tennis more, as her productivity and grades have taken a hit since meeting Keith.
McCartney does a great job at playing a character who is not easily defined. He remains enigmatic, and loyal fans of the pop star may be shocked to see him sporting a darker hair-color, complimenting the mood of the film. His presence reminds me of Frankie Muniz despite Muniz never getting a role similar to this one, as there's always a vague waft of cocksure sensibilities and a joking attitude to mask an insecure core.
Keith isn't just "better than expected," it's a surprisingly strong film, one that reminds us how little we know the people in our lives without going above and beyond to articulate it before our eyes. Rather than giving us a story where problems are solved with a kitschy, sentimental Full House-like monologue, Kessler and Zabel give us a story that gives us a reason to be drawn in the entire time, and characters that shine and resonate despite their clear existence in a dramatic film.
NOTE: Apparently, after largely being ignored upon its initial release in just a few hundred theaters, Keith gained some notoriety after being billed a "hidden gem" in a BuzzFeed article regarding underrated films on Netflix. It's a new world for independent features; one where obscurity might not last too long if you're lucky.
Starring: Elizabeth Hanois, Jesse McCartney, and Ignacio Serricchio. Directed by: Todd Kessler.