Don McKay

Plot synopsis:
Don McKay (Thomas Haden Church) is a lonely high school janitor who one day receives a letter from his high school sweetheart, Sonny (Elisabeth Shue). In it, she asks him to come visit her back in their home town, because she is dying of an unnamed disease. At first he is reluctant because he had been a suspect in a murder case there years before, but Don decides to go. He arrives and gets a ride to Sonny's house by an eccentric cab driver named Samuel (M. Emmet Walsh).
Don meets Sonny, as well as her strange caregiver Marie (Melissa Leo). Marie's coldness towards Don makes it clear that she doesn't approve of his presence. Don spends the night, and he and Sonny make love. The next morning, Sonny's Doctor, Lance Pryce (James Rebhorn) visits. While Marie and Sonny are out, Pryce attacks Don, and after a struggle, Don kills the man, and hides the body in a bed of leaves behind the garden. However, Don had just suffered an allergic reaction to a bee sting, and blacks out shortly after hiding the body. He awakens in the hospital, where Sonny proposes marriage and claims that she had recently spoken to Pryce.
Don goes to see his old friend Otis (Keith David), and tells him what happened. Otis agrees to help Don get rid of the body that night, but when he arrives it has vanished. Sonny rushes out, thinking the men are burglars, and Otis runs off. After an argument, Don returns home for a few days, eventually getting another letter from Sonny asking him to come back to her.
Samuel picks Don up again, but they are intercepted and kidnapped by a man named Mel (Pruitt Taylor Vince). Mel takes Don to a hotel room, where it's revealed that both Mel and Marie were planning all along to kill Don and take an inheritance Don would receive upon Don's marriage. Don tries to reason with the two stating that there is no inheritance, and that he has no idea what they are talking about. Marie refuses to believe him and tells him to go along with the plan, or they will go to the police about the death of Pryce. With Samuel in Mel's trunk, the four drive back to Sonny's house, and demand that Don go in wearing a wire, threatening to go to the police if he doesn't cooperate with their plan.
Upon arriving at the house, Don hastily proposes to Sonny, stating that he was confused before, but realizes now that he loves her. The doorbell rings; It's Marie and Mel, who enter the house. After a long confrontation, Sonny hits Marie over the head with a frozen ham, and kills her. Sonny then grabs the phone and calls 911 for help, stating that a man pretending to be a private detective just killed someone in her house.
She tells Don to kill Mel, and Don refuses. She grabs an ax and again asks him to kill Mel, but he refuses. Sonny then asks Mel to kill Don, and a struggle over the ax ensues between the men. Sonny kills Mel with the same frozen ham she killed Marie with, and tries to concoct a story to cover all of it. She tells Don that she'd been planning all along to take a large inheritance from Pryce, not Don, that he had received from a relative. It's also revealed that Pryce was her husband, and that the two were going to kill him together.
The police arrive and Sonny lets them into the house. They find the bodies of Marie and Mel, and immediately arrest Don. Sonny is taken away in a police car, and the police start to take Don away. The police find Samuel and question Don about Samuel's involvement. Don asks Samuel to explain his knowledge of the situation to the police.
Samuel tells Don to contact him if he ever needs anything. Don takes Samuel's phone number and boards the bus back home. At home, Don is seen sitting in a chair, a wasp lands on his cheek and the movie ends, leaving Don's fate unknown.

Tags: neo noir

Review:
I didn't really know what to expect; it appeared to be a thriller and although I would categorize it as that, I was surprised at how funny it was.Seriously, the whole audience seemed to be caught up in the plot - the pace and the twists and turns leave you a little breathless at times, but belly-laughing as well.
I'm actually considering seeing it again since it's one of those movies that you might want to re-watch and "look for clues."Thomas Haden Church is perfect as Don the lonely janitor leading a solitary mundane life, pining for his lost love.
He has an expressive face that is compelling as he is in turns beguiled, curious, confused, frustrated, and desperate.Elisabeth Shue as Sunny is a complete wackadoo, I don't know how else to put it she is manipulative to the extreme and it's entertaining to see her in action, turning on the charm and wrapping Don around her finger.
She takes full advantage of Don's vulnerability; it seems at times Don is vaguely aware of being played, but is enjoying the attention of this sexy creature so much that he willingly goes along for the ride.Melissa Leo appears as Sunny's uptight and prim caregiver.
I especially liked Keith David as Otis but they all delivered solid performances.I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but suffice it to say that there is a lot of double-crossing going on.
Don McKay combines a mystery drama with some thriller and comedy aspects sprinkled in.
The film starts off a little slow, but picks up and becomes one strange thriller and that is meant in a good way.
After the first major strange event happens in the film it changes the whole tone and as the movie progresses you keep getting the feeling everything is off with the story, and you just aren't quite sure where it is going.
As the story progresses and you start to understand what happened they feed you enough but not too much to keep the film interesting.
My only complaint with that is that some of the events in the film are a little too far fetched and you do need to suspend your belief a little to fully enjoy the film.Thomas Haden Church puts on a good performance as Don McKay, not necessarily for a standout performance, but his facial expressions and reactions to the events that happen bring them to life more.
I've never really been an Elisabeth Shue fan, but also liked her in the film as she played her role well and there was a certain chemistry with her and Thomas Haden Church.
With these types of films the ending usually makes or breaks them and for Don McKay I thought it came off somewhat believable amongst all the strangeness leading up to it.
I can only say that this was a very enjoyable tale start to end, and well worth watching particularly for anyone who enjoys a slow build to a finale.
I am always looking for an original story and original telling of it, and highly recommend this nice little gem that you will not regret seeing.Don McKay is a suspense crime thriller that you will want to watch a second time because the reveal at the end makes you re-examine the entire movie.
(However, if you don't like a slow build and pacing that takes it's time, then you probably won't like this movie.) I personally started to believe that this little movie could have gone for a major ending of epic proportions -- it was that well done in my opinion.
It keeps you guessing the entire time, and even when you do guess right, which I had done, the ending still took it to a whole new level that I did not expect.
The dark humor was really good.Acting was excellent, although I say that after understanding the whole situation at the end.
During the movie I felt it was more like average, but that ending puts it all in a new light.Cinematography, score, and sets were excellent, felt just right for the tone and added a nice reinforcing effect on the movie..
Two Femmes Fatale for the Price of One. Thomas Haden Church stars as the soft-spoken and slow-moving (but not necessarily slow-witted) titular character in this surprisingly entertaining black comedy.Why do I say surprising?
Like a lot of black comedies, it takes time to establish its tone and cue you in on what you should and shouldn't be finding funny.
His attempts to play Don McKay, a janitor who's summoned back to his hometown by a dying ex-girlfriend, as a shuffling and seemingly dim bulb come across instead as stiff and baffled.
But the film is saved by playful performances by Elisabeth Shue, as this sordid crime film's femme fatale, and especially Melissa Leo, as a suspicious nurse who channels Judith Anderson from Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca." It's up to these two, who are clearly having a ball with their roles, to get the film and us firmly into the black comedy spirit, and once they do so, the film plays as a quirky and entertaining bit of fun.Grade: B.
"Don McKay" is marketed as an edgy thriller, that's probably because they had no idea how to categorize it.The movie begins as a cross between a romantic drama, a character study, and a dark thriller.
Don McKay, played brilliantly by Thomas Haden Church, returns to his hometown by a letter from his high school girlfriend, Sunny (Elisabeth Shue).
Those are the dark thriller aspects.It seems as if it's going to be a character study, but its really not about McKay himself.
It's ultimately plot-driven and the mysterious problems that McKay gets himself into.
I was riveted throughout.I actually highly recommend "Don McKay" because it's cleverly written to throw its audience off-guard, it's completely original, and these film-makers know what they are doing.
Great old-school dark comedy.
Many modern filmmakers put an emphasis on darkness and disturbing situations like Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction") and the Coen Brothers ("Fargo"), whereas others hail from the old school approach of keeping violence to a minimum and instead drawing humor from the bizarre ways the characters act around it, such as in "Arsenic & Old Lace" (1944) or "Deathtrap" (1982).Here in "Don McKay" we fall squarely into the old school style.
There is 1 death early in the film, and the rest of the film is about the mysterious and absurd criss-crossings of schemes from each character whose intentions we don't know until the end.
Apologies to Tarantino & the Coens (whose films I really like), but I prefer this sort of approach because, although it may sacrifice thrills & action, it's ultimately a style that you can enjoy on a deeper psychological level.Don McKay (Thomas Hayden Church whom I'll always remember as the lovably slow mechanic in the 80s sitcom "Wings") is a lonely man whose entire life consists of cleaning the floors at a Boston high school.
And although this is not a whodunnit, it becomes a fun mystery as we try to figure out who each character is, including our hero Don McKay, a man of very few words.Thomas Hayden Church is brilliantly cast in the lead role, almost reprising his humorously awkward role in Wings but with a deep, observant intelligence that gives the film depth.
As we piece together the bizarre characters & circumstances surrounding the death, we are also hard at work trying to figure out what makes Don McKay tick and why he is apparently running from something.
Thus, there are 2 stories unfolding at the same time, and the brilliant (and hilarious!) climactic scene pulls it all together in a way that's tense, funny, enlightening and unmistakably human.And let me dwell on that word for a minute: human.
There are no wooden performances here, unless you count Thomas' deliberately wooden, stoic characterization of Don McKay. Elizabeth Shue absolutely blows this out of the park, playing a complex yet in many ways childlike character whom I can only compare to Vivien Leigh's famous performance in "Streetcar Named Desire".
Keith David, in one of the greatest comic-relief roles since the porter in Shakespeare's Macbeth, plays Don McKay's neurotic childhood friend, the perfect counterbalance to Thomas Hayden Church's emotionless enigma.
And there are 2 fantastic bit roles (1) the cab driver played by Emmet Walsh who's been in everything from Blood Simple to Bladerunner; and (2) Pruitt Taylor Vince as "Mel" the dorky crook who looks like he would be more comfortable working at Best Buy than being part of any sort of murder story.I also give major old school points to the director for pulling off some hilarious sight gags.
AXE??" (as if to point out the hilarious note: who keeps an axe in their living room?).If you enjoy subtle situational humor, as in other indie gems like "Buffalo 66", "Grand Theft Parsons" or "The Maiden Heist" (sorry I can't think of any popular films to compare this to, except maybe "Punch Drunk Love"), then don't miss "Don McKay"..
(Credit IMDb) Don McKay, a high school janitor who leaves his hometown after a tragedy, returns 25 years later to rekindle a romance with his old flame, who is dying, but this homecoming brings McKay more than he bargained for.
Don McKay was a peculiar little movie but one I heavily enjoyed.
Don McKay is full of neat surprises, and a film I would gladly see again if given the chance.
This movie had some wonderful comedy scenes.
I would recommend people to watch it.I loved the movie for sheer laughs.I give it a 7.Go and watch it..
Well you'd have the movie Don McKay.This movie is so stilted it only starts to get interesting in maybe the last 20 minutes before the credits roll, anything before that is just, sadly, nothing about nothing.
Within the first 10 minutes of the movie you, the viewer, know something is amiss but the movie gives no clues and drags out this expectation of answers until the very end.
The rest of the movie is padded with allusions of something happening 25 years prior and by the time it's all tied up in the end, it's ridiculous that it's all been withheld for the entire running time.Honestly this would have been perfect fodder for a hour long TV episode of the crime/suspense type, and probably gotten a much better treatment on the small screen.
I love Elizabeth Shue but what happened in this movie????
The old guy who plays the taxi driver is a great "character" actor and he is probably the best of the lineup..
I thought the movie "Don McKay" was something entirely different than it actually was.
The start of the movie was promising, introducing the character in a nice way and slowly building up to something promising.
I am sure the makers of the movie thought their story was a good and exciting one, but the end product turned out as a confusing mess.Throughout the movie, you sit there and gawk at the half-hearted acting performances and the dull dialogues.
However, I have to say one thing, Thomas Haden Church did a wonderful performance of portraying the gray and boring character of Don McKay. I thought he worked quite well in this role.The characters in the movie were well enough fleshed out.
Very nice and screwed up characters, that had potential, but failed to shine through because of the acting was below mediocre.The one good thing about the movie, was when Don revealed the ultimate truth towards the ending.
The rest of the movie, well not so much.I had thought this to be somewhat more of a thriller, but ended up with a lukewarm story that took forever to be told.
Definitely not a movie I recommend that you pick up, unless you are bored, fanatically fan of any of the actors/actresses, or if you just have nothing better to do.
Not Bad At All. Despite how weird and confusing Don Mckay, aka Moment of Truth, is, it ends up being a pretty nifty mystery.
This is a VERY BIZARRE film, a mystery during which every other minute you say, what the heck is going on, until the ending wraps it all up.
It features a very strange lead character as well, who is kind of grotesque and slow witted like Sling Blade.
Don McKay is an independent drama thriller film starring Thomas Haden Church and Elisabeth Shue together with Melissa Leo,James Rebhorn,Keith David and M.
Emmet Walsh.The story is about a about a man who returns to his hometown after receiving a letter from his high school sweetheart,who claims to be dying.It was written and directed by Jake Goldberger.
It's been 25 years since Don McKay turned his back on his hometown, and he never imagined he would ever return.
Meanwhile, Sonny's doctor and caretaker don't warm quickly to the returning visitor, and a chance run-in suddenly compounds Don's buried secret.The movie had its moments, but it never manages to maintain the consistent tone so crucial if a black comedy is going to actually be funny.Greenberg's tyro script was both dark comedy and slick whodunit and he handled his material and fine cast with a deft hand that belied his freshman status.The cast did very well in this film although they weren't able to elevate it to a better film.Overall,Don McKay entertains just like any other film despite of its label as an independent film..
But let's just say if it wasn't for Thomas Haden Church serving as the executive producer in this, the movie wouldn't be where it is now: RELEASED.It starts out mundane when we open with the titled character "Don McKay" (played by Church), doing his unremarkable duties as a high school janitor in Massachusetts (but probably filmed outside of L.A.).
Let's just say that what seems to be somewhat of a quirky and pedestrian indie-film turns to switch to such a violent tone so abruptly, that it looks like two different films we're watching.
And it's so coincidental that none of these people have lives- or moved on with families since high school- but then that would ruin the whole "plot" to the movie if they did, so we just need to accept this.
Elisabeth Shue does a little more than I've seen her do in most mainstream movies, but there's really nothing likable about her in this (except she wears a slip through a third of the film).
I guess I liked Keith David the most who showed more dimensionality than anyone else (and probably had about seven minutes of screen time).I'd just wait for this to come out on DVD.
Well, I started watching this movie in high hopes, reading previous reviews.
And, at first, I thought this is going to be great movie.
Everything was great to the half of the movie, and then all disappeared.
I got the feeling that the actors were trying to explain the truth to me, not to Don (he had his arms in his pockets all the time, looking unconcerned).
Acting was good, but only if you analyze it separated from the movie.
(Yet, at the end of the movie, Don's reply to the detective's comment of "You're crazy" : "No, I'm just lonely") does move me profoundly and make me remember this movie for the rest of my life!) The movie has good main actors and actresses, sadly they fall into the hand of a lousy director.
Some of the scenes even make you feel they are performing in a comedy-film.The camera-shooting and film-editing is poor enough to be graded "C".However, this is one of the very very few bad movies that could attract me to keep on watching up to the end.
And you know that the actors and actresses (they by themselves are excellent) in this movie could be spotted much more brilliant if given a better director.
May be it is the reason why this movie's popularity has shot up drastically ( Up 1,303% in popularity this week according to IMDb's Moviemeter).The release of this movie has rid the opportunity for other more capable movie-makers to produce a much better version: most people, having known the plot and story, would not watch a suspense / thriller movie a second time..
I have seen little of Thomas Haden Church since "Sideways", and Elizabeth Shue has been in many major and minor films, and I like thrillers usually, so I took a chance.
The first third of the movie built slowly, and had a feeling of mystery and suspense and strange things going on.
When Church first returns to his home town and sees Sunny, who is supposed to be dying of cancer, I immediately chuckled at how healthy she looked, figuring the director preferred to have an attractive lead over reality.As the film progressed, some scary moments occurred, as well as some darkly humorous ones, and for a while, I felt I was watching a terrific film.
But like many movies in this genre, the promise of a logical explanation is sacrificed for either a convoluted complicated ending or a simple nonsensical one.
This had more of the former than the latter, but it all happened so close to the end that it seemed more like a comedy than a thriller.
It reminded me of a better film "The Faculty", where one ending after another was piled on at the end in a "can you top this" fashion.Still, the movie held my attention, and I didn't fast forward, and though I felt a bit let down at the end, I still enjoyed it enough to give it a 7.
I tend to be easy on grading movies, saving grades of 4 or less for boring films like "The English Patient" which was like watching grass grow, only slower.
I had a smile on my face through much of Don McKay, along with a feeling of suspense.