Don McKay
A janitor finds himself surrounded with odd behavior when he returns to his hometown after receiving a letter from his dying high school girlfriend.
Directed by Jake Goldberger
(R)
**
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
For his debut, writer-director Jake Goldberger has attempted a feat that’s difficult for even the most experienced filmmaker to pull off, said Glenn Whipp in the Los Angeles Times. Don McKay aims to be a film noir laced with black comedy, but it “never quite settles into the rhythm” of either form. Thomas Haden Church stars as Don, a janitor who receives a desperate letter from his dying high school girlfriend, played by Elisabeth Shue. Upon returning to his hometown, he discovers nothing but suspicious and strange behavior. Everyone seems to be hiding something, but Goldberger never seems sure of what to reveal, said David Germain in the Associated Press. So he holds the secrets back until they “come in a torrent so rapid that the movie lapses into silliness.” Goldberger was inspired by the Coen brothers’ debut, Blood Simple, but his film lacks their savvy sense of tension. What he does display is an “appealingly skewed sense of humor,” said Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News. Don McKay delivers enough “unexpected moments and deadpan jokes to keep us hanging to the bitter end.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Horror stories of women having to carry nonviable fetuses'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Haiti interim council, prime minister sworn in
Speed Read Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns amid surging gang violence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 26, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - teleprompter troubles, presidential immunity, and more
By The Week US Published