Knox Goes Away (2023) : A Crime Thriller That Falls Short

The latest film directed by Michael Keaton, Knox Goes Away (2023), tries to tell the audience a some what complex story of crime and a man’s downfall but fails to do so, at times it felt the main character had too many things at hand but not really focusing in any of them although towards the end that change a bit when he was trying to stay out of jail just before his time and memory runs out and keep his son a free man. Keaton plays the role of John Knox, a contract killer who is suffering from dementia that is advancing at a very fast rate. Even with such a talented cast as James Marsden, Suzy Nakamura, Joanna Kulig and Al Pacino, the movie fails to properly develop the plot and keep the audience interested, I do not think the problem were the actors. The story features a number of side stories within the main character such as the conflict between Knox and his family and an investigation led by the detective Emily Ikari, however all of these subplots seem rather undeveloped. The portrayal of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease is rather unconvincing and is used as just another element of the film plot, I think there had to be something else than just acting like he is loosing memory, some other side effect that really represents the disease if not just call it loosing memory. Knox had a complicated life from his wife, son, lover and business partner but some of this are left to a lot of questioning needing a bit more of complex, I'm not trying to say this is a bad movie by any means, I really enjoy watching but through out the movie there was always that sensation of a lot of why? in the air.

The plot revolves around John Knox, a professional assassin who is diagnosed with a type of dementia that results in memory loss within weeks not and not months, getting him against the clock since basically now he has to plan like he is about to die, mentally he will since he will keep forgetting things from one minute to another to the point that he might just loose it at all. This diagnosis is especially challenging for a man who relies on his efficiency and avoiding leaving any traces behind as the professional killer he is but even knowing what he is going through decided to take one last job that in fact does that, left traces behind and fuck it up. The movie tries to describe Knox’s work and his personal issues at the same time and this leads to the problem of pacing, it felt like the movie was constantly putting a stop to the situation at hand, from his diagnose to his last job and the only thing that felt he really carry out to the end was cashing out and make sure his son stay a free man after in a anger attack he commit murder and now comes for his father help. The only real emotional connection is with Knox’s estranged family, particularly his son Miles portrayed by James Marsden.

I have seen Suzy Nakamura on other movies and TV series and really like her comedy aspect but on this movie she felt over acting, she try to be this bossy detective who knows it all, I have mention before that any content that generates an emotion is good content well Suzy is going to make sure you hate her character Detective Emily Ikari, not because she is after Knox but the way she portray her character, not sure if this is a problem of her not performing or a bad script.

The plot twist of the story is how Knox son all of the sudden after many years appear out of no where asking for his help, it also felt kinda force because its like OK you help me or not, he was basically demanding and not asking but that could be just part of his character who constantly had anger problems everywhere he goes.

Michael Keaton’s portrayal of Knox is perhaps the film’s biggest strength he does a great job of describing a man who is divided between two worlds and a man whose world is slowly being taken away by a disease. The scenes explaining Knox’s decline are well executed, giving the audience a look into the mind of a man who has spent his life in hiding from the rest, making sure everything is perfect, on time, not leaving traces behind, keeping a low profile. However, Keaton’s direction felt a bit flat with nothing special to it, no angles or shots that create that magic moment not as dynamic as required to enhance the script, here also falls what I mention before about the disease just looking as any other person loosing his memory. Through out the movie there are certain scene that felt a bit prolonged like one time when things were getting really bad he got lost in the woods, it was constant shots of dizziness with not much to it while other scenes felt rush like when he visits his ex wife to tell her she is going away for good this time.

The supporting cast is also a good one with James Marsden as Miles Knox does a good job in the role of the estranged father and son, Al Pacino as Xavier Crane the crime lord, is good but his character’s motive is not very clear throughout the movie, he is Knox friend but constantly reminds him to never trust him, not sure if that was just part of a inside joke they had, Marcia Gay Harden as Knox’s ex wife is wasted, I think there would have been more context that would attach multiple other situations across the movie.

The visuals and direction of the movie I think do represent the low profile and shady life Knox has, lots of shadows, very little light, always hiding things, keeping secrets from others like he basically did not exist for many. The movie also was successful at generating emotions from the audience from the bossy detective who is desperate and fixed with Knox been the guy she is looking for but then felt short when she finds out she was wrong about it was very flat, it was his son Miles who did put to quite the scene when Knox goes visit him at jail he goes from happy, to desperate to full blown angry it was the perfect state. But the worst part probably was Knox at the end of the movie how he is mentally on a different world but the scene felt so rush and all through the movie I had this problem with the representation of the disease he had, it had to be more convincing and realistic, letting me feel it was not so believable other than convenient for the story.

The part where the movie is trying to describe a killer out of Knox felt short when it only mentions or onboard that part of his life at the beginning and at the end of the movie, when he pull a job that goes bad and when his son goes to him because of he needs help from his line of work. Having all this other side stories that were part of his life make the movie confusing, one can think that the theme of the movie is that someone on his position will do what ever it takes to take care of his love ones and this came out to be true specially when he had to cut off his four year lover, Annie who try to take care of the situation when she casually caught him in one of this moments where he felt lost and slip leaving a book open that he was reading about his condition then she tries to rob him, Knox tells her she was going to be part of that cash out plan but she fuck it up that was very believable and felt as a great moment on the movie, same as when he comes up with this big plan to make it look like he frame his son that was very believable too, the movie had it eureka moments but might be shadow by the pace problems and specially his fucking disease, hate that part of the movie.

Over all I sadly have to give it a 6.5/10, I say this because I felt the movie had some great moments that I really enjoy but I can tell many other viewers would not wait hold for that long and probably just shut it down on the spot the moment the movie is taking too long to climax or waiting for some action, since I do have patience once I see that the movie can be some what good I usually take my time, everything I watch now days feels as an investment of time so I try to be very careful on what I watch, also try to understand what I'm getting in before hand. I think its not worth going over the flaws of the movie but let you know that if you are looking to watch a movie about a killer suffering of dementia this is not for you, the movie ends up more about a man who is willing to do everything in his power to make sure his love ones are safe and taken care of, sacrifice, love and loyalty.