"Knox Goes Away" (2023) on Max [View all]

Michael Keaton directed and stars in this lean film noir about John Knox, a veteran hit man diagnosed with Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, an aggressive form of dementia, who concocts a plan to settle his affairs before his mind is completely gone. Keaton is brilliant as a tough guy hoodlum, skilled at dirty deeds and getting away with them, but always carrying a look of existential fear when he's alone. He draws great performances from the supporting cast, especially James Marsden as his estranged son, Suzy Nakamura as a gruff police detective, Marcia Gay Hardin as his ex-wife, Joanna Kulig as his regular Thursday afternoon date, and Al Pacino as an old partner-in-crime who helps Knox navigate his memory lapses in order to bring his plans to completion. There are brief scenes of violence and the plot is a bit coincidental at times but if you like good acting by a fine cast, you'll probably enjoy Knox's painstaking journey into both oblivion and redemption.