The Keeper

Running time: N/A

When you tell somebody, "It's a prison movie," a certain connotation seeps into their head. Joe Brewster's feature film debut shatters the mythology of the prison genre film and takes it's audience to a new level of perception, creating not a film about prison, but taking us on an excursion into an area many people are reluctant to accept. A high percentage of the time, brutal acts of violence or abuse upon African-Americans is solely a case of black on black. That's where much of the film's underlying themes rest. Giancarlo Esposito (DO THE RIGHT THING, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, FRESH) plays Paul Lamont, a good cop with an interest in the case of Jean Baptiste (played by the "sexiest African actor," Isaach De Bankole -- CHOCOLAT, NIGHT ON EARTH, HEART OF DARKNESS), a Haitian immigrant who swears he's wrongly imprisoned for a rape he did not commit. Paul has faith in Jean and gets him released on bail. Jean ends up moving in with Paul and his wife (Regina Taylor -- LOSING ISAIAH, CLOCKERS), which leads Paul to question himself, his trust in his wife, and his own morals. Director Brewster worked as a prison psychiatrist so it's no wonder his film rings true on all levels of this multi-layered story. With haunting, on-the-mark performances full of powerful emotions, THE KEEPER is a film made to challenge it's audience, especially those who view the black community as more harmonious than it truly is. -- Mike Rabehl