Academy Award nominee Michael Keaton directs and stars in the unpredictable thriller KNOX GOES AWAY. It is not a WB film or even an A24 one. Saban Films has willingly debuted this work on HBO/Max. It has been available since Saturday, July 26. Keaton plays John Knox, a hitman attempting to make amends before his recently discovered dementia takes over. Aided by a trusted friend with his own shady past, Knox races against the police, and his own rapidly deteriorating mind, to save his estranged son from a vengeance-fueled mistake and “cash out” before it’s too late.
John Knox works a day-to-day job as a contract killer. He is estranged from his wife Ruby (Marcia Gay Harden) and son Miles (James Marsden) and is dating an immigrant named Annie (Joanna Kulig). Knox is diagnosed with a fast-moving form of dementia called Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease which makes life more difficult so, he makes arrangements to cash out and retire from the business. Before that, he undertakes one last job with his partner, Thomas Muncie (Ray McKinnon), and due to his addled mind botches the job, killing Muncie in the process. Adding to the problems, Miles gets entangled in murder and Knox tries to cover it up, but not before Detective Emily Ikari (Suzy Nakamura) takes on both mysterious deaths at the hands of the Knox family. Can John Knox sort all this out before his mind fully checks out? Though his end is certain, can he make right with his family and leave them secure before Knox goes away?
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The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Fall of 2023 and was picked up by Saban Films for U.S. distribution rights and opened in March of this year for a short run. It now arrives at HBO/Max. And critics liked it well enough. The Observer stated, “Knox Goes Away is an exemplary crime drama that looks at old cliches with a fresh slant and gives a reliable but still surprising star a chance to demonstrate the range and depth of character he rarely gets the chance to explore.” Hollywood Reporter was not so favorable, blaming the writing. They state, “Clearly, screenwriter Michael Poirier isn’t content to have just one high-concept plotline; he’s gotta have two. The problem is that neither one is remotely convincing.” But TheWrap feels, “it is a character study of a disappearing character or maybe a thriller that stays away from actual thrills. However you label the film, it’s low-key but satisfying.”
If you are in the mood for a low-key but satisfying evening with Michael Keaton, check out KNOX GOES AWAY now playing.
