Knox Goes Away features solid work by Michael Keaton as star and director in a character driven crime drama that is as absorbing as it is heartbreaking.

The story of a criminal calling time on his career is a familiar one in the crime genre, with many a “last job” undertaken by many a shady character with aspirations to “go straight”. Knox Goes Away adds a twist to that trope and in turn delivers an engrossing crime drama in which the themes of sacrifice, redemption, and memory play out amongst a story that engages with its twists and turns.

Keaton stars as John Knox, a seasoned hitman who is diagnosed with an aggressive form of dementia. With only weeks to go until his brain fully succumbs to the neurological disease, John decides to put his affairs in order and settle past debts. Things get very complicated when John’s estranged son Miles (James Marsden) knocks on his door after killing a man who abused his daughter (Morgan Bastin). With little time left, John must find a way to save his family while facing a bleak future.

Keaton is on top of his game as a filmmaker and actor in Knox Goes Away, delivering a character driven and intelligently written film by-way of Gregory Poirier’s (Rosewood) strong script that pops with its dialogue. A stellar supporting cast including Al Pacino, James Marsden, and Marcia Gay Harden all do great work with films’ material. Pacino is especially fun as an aging thief and mentor whose loyalty to Knox is matched only by his transparent love for stealing.

Divided by chapters that count down the four weeks of Knox’s rapidly fading memory, Keaton suitably treats his character’s emerging condition as that of an oncoming dark fog, as this well-read and indeed cold-blooded man of death fades away into a life sentence of nothingness.

A twist filled conclusion hits the story and emotional high cues to precision, with Knox Fades Away sure to stick around in the minds of viewers for some time.