Movie Review - The Merry Gentleman (2009)

Christmas Movie a Day #1
The Merry Gentleman
Starring Michael Keaton and Kelly Macdonald
Directed by Michael Keaton

It's always pleasant to watch a movie that you know next to nothing about and are able to come away from thoroughly engaged and surprised by how much you enjoyed it. That's the case with The Merry Gentleman. Heck, I didn't have a clue that Christmas was even involved in the plot until I watched it (hence the late addition to the CMAD list).

Kate Frazier (the charming Scottish Kelly Macdonald whom I fell in love with after I watched the BBC movie The Girl in the Café a few years ago and furthered my love with No Country for Old Men) is in an abusive marriage and, having had enough, decides to run away to a new city. One evening, she spots a man on a rooftop who appears to be ready to jump and commit suicide. She screams and he slips backwards onto the roof. Little does Kate know that the man, Frank Logan, is actually a hit man who just finished off one of his jobs. Frank seems to become entranced with the lonely Kate and he begins to watch her and eventually runs into her at her apartment where he helps her carry a Christmas tree up a few flights of stairs. A friendship begins to blossom between the two, with Kate unaware of Frank's secret line of work, and Frank unaware that Kate is being pursued romantically by the very police officer assigned to investigate his most recent hit.

The pace is slow in the flick, but it's not the least bit boring. The story is actually quite lovely and almost seems as if it could've been made in the 1940s (minus the sniper rifles and blood splattering on windows). Both Macdonald and Keaton play loners, but their sadness is palpable and resonates throughout the movie. Keaton, in his directorial debut, crafts a pretty nifty movie. There are several shots that are beautiful to view. I was also impressed that the film doesn't shy away from religion. Macdonald's Kate is quite religious and the film takes on faith and spirituality seriously...not in an overbearing way, by any means, but I'm always kind of surprised in this day and age when any movie weaves in religion. (Saying these last few lines may make folks shun the flick...it's seriously not religious or preachy...it's just that the flick has a religious character...that's it...don't make that be a reason not to see the movie).

Still, a pleasant flick (despite the subject matter), and a darn good directorial debut for Keaton.

The RyMickey Rating: B+
The Christmas Spirit Scale: 5/10
(The Christmas Spirit Scale is a totally pointless rating that is simply my feeling about how "Christmas-y" the movie felt to me)