Keep Your Distance (2005)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Stu Pollard

Writer:

Stu Pollard (writer)

Genre:

Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Everyone you trust has the power to betray you.

Plot:

In the perfectly normal town of Louisville, KY, there is a perfectly normal man living the perfect life...

Plot Keywords:

Trust Fund | Notes | Sex Scandal | Celebrity | Taser

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Gil Bellows	...	David Dailey
Jennifer Westfeldt	...	Melody Carpenter
Christian Kane	...	Sean Voight
Kim Raver	...	Susan Dailey
Jamie Harrold	...	Whit Harrington
Elizabeth Peña	...	Holly
Stacy Keach	...	Brooks Voight
Gary Anthony Williams	...	Kevin
Cynthia Martells	...	Dr. Havice
Dennis Burkley	...	Gus
Brooke L. Berry	...	Dream girl
Rick Overton	...	Dr. Floyd Beasley
Jenny McShane	...	Lindsay
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lisa Baldwin	...	Senator's Aide (scenes deleted)
Steve Carlson	...	Musician
James Ensor	...	Interview Boy
Tayler Lynch	...	Interviewed kid
Jim Petersmith	...	Bob Lentz
Matt Wheeler	...	The Todd

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and language.

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Company:

Blue & Grey Film Ventures

Trivia:

Original title was "Space".

Quotes:

Brooks Voight: Be careful of people who kiss your ass. They're always after something.

Movie Connections:

References Nice Guys Sleep Alone (1999)

Not worth your time

I have a strong suspicion that many of the glowing reviews for this film come from shills. If not, then I'm baffled. As my friend said, "There went ninety minutes that I'll never get back."

The best part of the film is the title sequence, which was very slick and set the right suspenseful mood. After that, things went quickly downhill. The acting is workmanlike, the script is full of clumsy dialogue, and the direction is riddled with embarrassing clichés. (For instance, during the final showdown, which of course takes place in a dark house during a thunderstorm, we are treated to a flash of lightning suddenly revealing the silhouette of someone on the doorstep -- twice!)

"Keep Your Distance" tries to be a character-driven suspense film, but the problem is that the characters are insubstantial and unlikable and there is no suspense. I knew who the culprit was from the beginning, simply due to Ebert's "law of economy of characters," but I didn't know why. At the end of the film, I still didn't know why. The clues that we are given, when they are finally deciphered by the characters, turn out to be mostly irrelevant.