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Cast & Credits

Natalie: Elizabeth Harnois
Keith: Jesse McCartney
Raff: Ignacio Serricchio
Brooke: Margo Harshman

No Hands Productions present a film co-written and directed by Todd Kessler and written by David Zabel.
Running time: 93 minutes.

“Elizabeth Harnois steals the show in Keith.”

Children’s television success story, Todd Kessler’s third cinematic venture ‘Keith’ brings us some very light moments befitting a very heavy subject matter.

Keith isn’t a great movie. But there are some elements of greatness in it. The story centres around Natalie, a young and popular high-school student who has everything in her life planned by her parents. She works very hard to get good grades so the future that was chosen for her becomes a reality. Getting through high-school with a tennis scholarship that keeps her occupied on the tennis court more often that she likes, Natalie dreams of going to Duke University someday, a dream that her father couldn’t fulfill for himself. But unlike most movies where parental pressure makes the teenage protagonist unhappy and rebellious, Natalie seems to be enjoying her committed lifestyle.

That’s until she meets Keith Zetterstrom, a new student in her Chemistry class. Keith doesn’t give a flying flip about school. He isn’t ambitious at all and he’d rather spend a day in a garage doing up his pick-up truck than do his chemistry assignments. And as if his attitude alone wasn’t enough to tick Natalie off, she is partnered with him in Chemistry class. She tries to reason with her Chemistry teacher about this but to no avail.

But Natalie isn’t all work and no play. She regularly visits ‘the brick’ which is a hang out spot next to a lake where the high-school’s who’s-who meet up, mostly to keep a check on who’s with who and wearing what. Natalie makes her moves on Raff, who is a popular TDH category exchange student. He’s good with sports, is very good with his books and is a head-turner. An ambitious girl like Natalie should be hanging out with guys like him.

Now, I know how all this sounds. Like a normal teenage flick. But just about now, when you’d usually walk out of the cinema, or search for your remote to switch this movie off, it begins to get interesting.

Turns out Keith isn’t all that dumb after all. He’s a brilliant kid, just like Matt Damon from Good Will Hunting. And he’s a lot more fun than Raff, too. He spends every minute of his day indulging in eccentricities that at first Natalie is horrified by, but later begins to enjoy. Before you know, Natalie falls for Keith like an anvil. Yes, even all this has been seen and heard before.

But it gets more interesting. Yes, it does, and if I spill any more beans on the story, then you might as well not watch the film.

What stands out in this movie, though, are the performances by the central characters. And what sets it apart from regular teen flicks is Todd Kessler’s eye for drama. He uses the camera in ways that traditional films of this genre would never dream to do and his scripting techniques bring a lot of depth and authenticity to his characters, especially in the way they handle grave situations. There’s also a symmetry in the timeline of the film that one begins to notice after the film’s done, that is sure to impress.

Elizabeth Harnois is very promising as Natalie and her performance in this film will assure you that there’s no turning back for her. Jesse McCartney’s portrayal of the angry dude Keith leaves little amiss.

Watch this one for the performances.