Keep Your Distance
Keep Your Distance
R | 02 September 2005 (USA)
Keep Your Distance Trailers

In the perfectly normal town of Louisville, KY, there is a perfectly normal man living the perfect life. David Dailey is a man who has it all: A great career, a community that adores him, and an enduring marriage. But beneath the surface, David's idyllic world is crumbling. He's haunted by a series of mysterious notes that warn of an imminent fall from grace...

Reviews
TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film
Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Staci Frederick Blistering performances.
redbridge13 I give this movie a five based solely on the good quality of production used to create it. It also employs a nice cast of actors, and altogether has a professional look.Besides that it is less than decent, especially the ending. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but I don't need to anyways, it does that all on it's own. The terrible finale, and the pathetic use of Dues Ex Machina make me certain that any comments that you may have previously seen from viewers calling this movie one of the best films they have seen are bias or from people personally involved.This is nothing more than a low level film and the perfect example of how to dress up a weak movie with a fancy production. But don't take my word for it, you have to see it to understand just what I mean.
Heather M. Kendrick 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.
nullig I watched this crap based on the comments here, which, I now believe, must all have been written by someone involved with the making and/or marketing of the movie. I cannot believe that anyone actually thought this was a good movie... it is absolute crap. My wife and I gave up after 30 minutes when we realized that it just wasn't getting any better as time went on. What a waste of time.To summarize...It combines the worst acting, corniest dialogue and worst direction I've ever witnessed in the most excruciatingly slow paced movie I've ever tried to watch. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. DON'T EVEN BOTHER WITH THE VIDEO.
khsabharwal Outstanding film, definitely one of my favorites this year. Great plot and holds the audience in suspense from the moment the film begins right through the end.Here's what I really liked: Pollard manages to keep no less than 5 characters and multiple subplots in play throughout the movie and then deftly converges the characters and the sub plots in the final scene. It's very rare that a movie can do this without either confusing or distracting the viewer from the main plot. Pollard addresses any potential character or plot confusion by painstakingly developing the characters personas early in the movie, both through their words and their actions, so that each one has his or her own distinctive and necessary role. Parallel plot development is difficult, but Pollard makes it look easy.I also really liked the scenery. Like the characters, Pollard expends enormous effort creating the perfect "backdrop" for each scene, be it a burgeoning romance, a lascivious affair, or a jealous confrontation. Most indie films you see will not have this kind of attention to detail, simply because these film makers don't have "Lucasfilm" budgets. This film, however, provides the Hollywood sets which one is accustomed to seeing in major motion pictures.Finally, I really liked the story. I must confess that, when I first heard about the movie, I was skeptical about seeing yet another nice-guy-wins-the-girl film; this movie, however, is different. The story has so many twists and turns that I (and I suspect most of the audience) had several different theories about how the film was going to end. As it turns out, none of my theories were correct.Great work. Can't wait to see Pollard's next film.