Michael Keaton takes on another hitman role in his new directorial venture, Knox Goes Away. Keaton played a hitman in his directorial debut, The Merry Gentleman, in 2008. The Batman actor revealed that he wouldn’t have taken on the script by Gregory Poirier if he thought the film would not hold up. For Keaton, the film was like a game of Jenga, where every piece had to work for the movie to work.
Knox Goes Away also stars Al Pacino, James Marsden, Marcia Gay Harden, Suzy Nakamura, and John Hoogenakker among others. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2023.
Michael Keaton Had One Condition For Working On Knox Goes Away
Michael Keaton‘s new thriller, Knox Goes Away, is set to hit theaters in the U.S. this week. The film’s two stars, Keaton and James Marsden, appeared in a Zoom interview with JoBlo Celebrity Interview. Keaton and Marsden play father and son in this film and the Spider-Man: Homecoming actor opened up about agreeing to direct and star in the film.
Keaton shared that saying yes to the film took some time as he had to make sure that the story on paper held together. He confirmed it multiple times with the film’s writer Gregory Poirier. Poirier is known for his works on the films National Treasure: Book of Secrets and The Spy Next Door. Keaton described the film as a “Jenga movie” since it was very much like the game where removing one piece from the story results in the story falling apart.
Once Keaton’s condition about a story that held up was met, he joined the film but the job never became easier. He revealed that he made the film hoping that everything, including the little twist, would finally work in the end. The Beetlejuice actor shared with JoBlo Celebrity Interview:
“It took me a while to say yes because there’s no sense in trying something if you don’t think you can really pull this off. I’d go through it with the writer and go through it again and say, ‘Does this hold up?’. Because I described it as a ‘Jenga movie’. If one piece doesn’t work, the movie doesn’t work. You may as well not shoot it. You can’t shoot it. I hope mostly that it’s all making sense and it will work in the end. You know the little twist and all the things like that will work in the end.”
Keaton also added that he was not sure he would make such a film again. While playing a character with dementia, he was often riddled with self-doubt. Keaton continued:
“Thinking back, I go, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I do this again.’ Because you know you had to play dementia but not all the time and then you had to in the back of your head say, ‘Is this working and does the story make sense?’.”
The film currently has a 50% score on Rotten Tomatoes score from the critical reviews of its TIFF premiere. While many praised Keaton’s style of filmmaking, others felt that the film lacked sufficient heat for a spy thriller. Some critics also shared that Marsden was miscast in the role.
What Is Michael Keaton’s Knox Goes Away About?
Michael Keaton plays a hitman, John Knox, who discovers that he has a rare form of dementia. He has to make several amends before his dementia takes over. However, his estranged son, played by Marsden, is in danger from a vengeance-fueled mistake. John Knox is helped by a trusted friend, played by Al Pacino, to race against the police and save his son before it’s too late.
In addition to his acting and directing duties, Michael Keaton also serves as a producer in the film. Saban Films handles the film’s U.S. distribution, while FilmNation Entertainment handles the international rights.
Knox Goes Away will be released in the U.S. theaters on March 15, 2024.
