Review of Don McKay (2009) by Kate J — 17 Jun 2010

Don McKay (Thomas Hayden Church) is a troubled man who left his hometown 25 years earlier after a tragedy. He remained in letter contact with his old flame, Sonny (Elisabeth Shue) - upon hearing that she is dying, he returns home to be with her but circumstances are not what they seem.

Everybody has a reason for Don to come home - Sonny's nurse, Marie (Melissa Leo), the family doctor (James Reborn) & his best friend (Keith David) raise eyebrows upon his return. So, what exactly is going on? There is a mystery surrounding all of this & Church is effective as an everyday man who is forced into one bad situation after another.

At first, I was perplexed by Shue's character - at a moment's notice, she would "overact" feeling bad - is she simply a bad actress or is there more to her? A little of both I'm afraid.

When the secrets & lies begin to unravel, most plot devices are easy to figure out. Leo's character is the most interesting - as a dutiful nurse, when she goes up against Church, it's both scary & funny - I would've enjoyed more of her as well as great character actor, M.

Emmet Walsh who appears in 3 scenes as a convenient cab driver. Good casting, okay plot, I just wanted more than what was a "C" grade Coen Brothers film. First time writer/director Jake Goldberger has a future in film & for a freshman project, just okay.

After playing the film festival circuit, the film was released in April theatrically & earned $13,722 at the box office - hits DVD on June 29th.