While Keaton may have retreated from Burtonland to the world of indie film production, he has come back bearing The Merry Gentleman, a pleasant, if ultimately a little uninspiring, gem.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 7, 2024

Kelly Macdonald's performance is one of understated beauty.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 22, 2021

An impressive piece for veteran actor Michael Keaton's directorial debut.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Nov 29, 2020

It's a low-key film, sustained primarily through MacDonald's sweet, earnest performance and Keaton's stillness.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 25, 2019

The real star of this picture is MacDonald, whose range draws you in and makes you care about what's happening.

| Mar 12, 2019

Miss Macdonald is an underrated actress, and she easily carries off the difficult task of being reticent but telling us everything.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 6, 2018

It is a slow film, which could work, if it eventually became intriguing, but all we get is a showcase for annoying people who would have nothing in their lives, if they weren't already in a movie.

| Jan 31, 2013

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 24, 2011

The subdued relationship that develops between the two characters is out of balance with the fanciful contrivances that bring them together.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 11, 2009

There are undercurrents of a Catholic kind about grace and redemption.

| Dec 11, 2009

Despite memorable scenes, the narrative's aim is never clear: is this a crime drama, dark comedy or a May-December romance?

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 4, 2009

The film never quite convinces as anything other than a puff-piece for Keaton, but it is bolstered by another deeply empathetic turn from Macdonald.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 4, 2009

[Michael Keaton is] the pained and taciturn star of a pained and taciturn drama.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 4, 2009

In a word: awful.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Dec 4, 2009

Keaton the director wisely draws a leaf from Clint Eastwood's book. Keeping the framing neat, his style is the kind of unobtrusive classical filmmaking that is a dying breed in contemporary Hollywood.

Full Review | Dec 4, 2009

The only merriment that The Merry Gentleman delivers is through Michael Keaton's masterful direction and the performances of the two leads. It's perfectly watchable, but the story lacks the content and incident to deliver an emotional punch.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 4, 2009

Part tastefully muted, part plain morose, Keaton's direction styles this as a character study of hearts in winter. But it doesn't wash.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 4, 2009

We are never quite sure whether this is a thriller or a dark romance, but Keaton conjures up some excellent scenes and allows Macdonald the chance to shine.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 4, 2009

MacDonald's perky performance is a distinct plus, especially because Keaton's character is so enigmatic he's unfathomable, while the movie's lack of pace is only partly offset by some very subtle camerawork.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 4, 2009

Keaton is good, McDonald with her spooky equanimity and still-waters profundity even better. Sartre's Huis Clos? Forget that. This is hell, as moodily atmospheric as low-budget screen infernos get.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 4, 2009