So did you know anything about Keeper when you went into the movie? Have you seen a trailer? What about a synopsis? Just the bare bones information? Good. That’s how I’m going to try to keep this review. Because really, based on the marketing and everything else about this film from Osgood Perkins, it should be seen with the least amount of information possible.
That being said, the film follows a couple who make a weekend retreat to a cabin for their anniversary. Liz (played by Tatiana Maslany) and Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) are a couple with some trust issues. Liz, even after a year, thinks she’s a side piece for Malcolm, who’s a successful doctor. The cabin they come back to is tucked away from most other people, besides Malcolm’s cousin, Darren (played by Birkett Turton), who lives next door. Along the way, something brooding and almost menacing is just on the periphery.
If you’ve seen Osgood Perkins’ other two films from NEON, The Monkey and Longlegs, you’ll know his trademark style and framing of shots to make it as unsettling as possible. In Keeper, there’s a lot of that, but not as much as you’d think. It’s a very slow-burning film that takes quite a while to get anywhere you think it’s going. Once it gets there, there are plenty of questions that remain, but it’s likely something that, at the very least, will intrigue you.
So let’s dive into the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Keeper.
The Good Of Keeper
There’s a lot to like about Keeper. The mythology that it builds up, but doesn’t spoon-feed to the audience, two layered and excellent performances from Maslany and Sutherland, and the direction of Perkins. Starting with that mythology, without spoiling anything, there are lots of intriguing questions that come out of the movie, that all have to do with just how the weirdness of this movie works. When the film gets going in the second half with it, the pressure amps up and you see some of the more frightening and disturbing imagery. For fans of Perkins, they’ll be right at home.
Those long, off-center, slightly unnerving shots I was talking about before are all here and then some. Somehow, Perkins makes you feel like you’re going to see something pop in the background, and then it never happens. But when you’re least expecting it, it’ll happen. One such sequence with Tatiana Maslany enjoying a bath, features a bit of a change to this formula for Perkins, but even then, the scares still work for the most part.
Maslany and Sutherland are both fantastic in their own ways, providing layered performances that make you feel for both of them. At points, Liz is veering on unreasonable with how much contempt and paranoia she shows towards Malcolm. That goes the other way, where Malcolm feels aloof and uncaring, but as we learn why both of them are acting this way, it makes more sense. Maslany in the second half of the film is on top of her game, showing tremendous amounts of fright, and even one scene where other actors might have folded under the pressure of showing what it looks like to possibly die and how that affects someone.
The Bad And Ugly Of Keeper
That mythology and intrigue that comes in the second half of the film is a double-edged sword though. The script and the ideas feel like they have plenty of ideas that are interesting, but they end up as half-baked. Those ideas crumble in their execution a bit and it doesn’t feel like the script goes deep enough into everything.
It’s a movie that simultaneously feels satisfying but not enough. Once everything is revealed about why the goings-on are going on, it kind of feels like a let-down. There are also questions about some of the other characters in the film that go completely unanswered.
As it goes on, the weirder Keeper gets, the more the film falls apart. It certainly feels like the third act is just strange for the sake of being it, and that it’ll unnerve the audience a bit more. All those questions that arise only make for a more confusing experience that leaves you off on a satisfying note, but still one that feels like it could have been better.
Your Mileage May Vary
Keeper is a film that I’m glad to have watched, but I can’t shake the feeling that this is the tale of two halves. The “mystery” at the center of it feels hollow once its revealed and the intrigue and unnerving qualities in the first half are really what you should be here to watch. Osgood Perkins showed that he’s got the chops to make us laugh, terrify us, and unnerve all in one film, but he loses some of that charm with Keeper.
Keeper releases in theaters on November 14th.
