Don McKay [DVD]

Features

• Type: DVD
• Studio: eOne Films
• Language(s): english
• Subtitle(s): english, spanish
• Director(s): Jake Goldberger
• Actor(s): Thomas Haden Church, Elizabeth Shue, Melissa Leo

Don McKay is a quiet and unassuming high school janitor. Separated from his high school sweetheart, Sonny, for twenty-five years, Don still carries a love for her. When Don receives a letter telling him she is terminally ill, he drops everything and rushes to their hometown to be by her side. Upon arriving, Don and Sonny reconcile and immediately rekindle their romance, mutually agreeing that it would be a symbolic gesture to be married for the short time Sonny has left. Everything changes, however, when Don - alone in the house - is confronted by Lance Pryce, Sonny's doctor. Out of nowhere, Dr. Pryce violently attacks, and Don accidentally kills him in their struggle. In a state of confusion and panic, Don hides the body in the woods behind Sonny's house. To make matters worse, it becomes apparent that Sonny believes the doctor is still alive. She in fact claims to speak with him on a daily basis! Don, knowing that he took this man's life with his own hands, has no idea what's going on. Still haunted by a terrible tragedy from his past that forced him to flee his hometown, he is not comfortable going to the police, and it only makes matters worse when it seems that Sonny's live in nurse, Marie, is on to him. Seemingly alone and trapped in a game of murder and deceit, Don must solve the mysteries that present themselves while clinging to the hope that he isn't betrayed by the love that he lost so many years ago. There's urban noir, like Night and the City, and suburban noir, like Double Indemnity. With Don McKay, Jake Goldberger puts his stamp on the latter, offering a sad-sack janitor (producer Thomas Haden Church), who returns to his East Coast hometown when he learns that his old girlfriend, Sonny (Elisabeth Shue), has a terminal illness. Sonny, who spends her days in shiny negligees, wants to get back together, which suits Don just fine, though he has his doubts about Dr. Pryce (James Rebhorn), and Marie (Melissa Leo, stealing every scene), Sonny's live-in nurse, who both act more like jealous lovers than medical professionals. When Pryce tries to strangle Don, he kills the man in self-defense and hides the body, turning to his friend, Otis (Keith David), for help, since the police aren't likely to believe him due to the events of the past (Goldberger withholds the details until the end). In the meantime, Don puts up with Sonny's tempestuous seduction act until he can't take it anymore, but escaping her clutches proves unexpectedly difficult, especially once blackmailer Mel (Pruitt Taylor Vince) enters the scene. As in the melodramas of yore, characters say the most preposterous things, but Goldberger keeps you guessing as to their real motives. If he casts Church and Shue against type, that only deepens the central mystery, though the star comes off better than his leading lady, who sometimes seems lost. Still, their talents ensure that the writer-director's debut doesn't slide into farce--though it sure comes close. --Kathleen C. Fennessy