The Keeping Room
Drafthouse Films | Release Date: September 25, 2015
5.6
USER SCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
5
Mixed:
8
Negative:
3
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5
DirigiblePulpAug 20, 2017
I decided to watch The Keeping Room following the one-two Civil War ladies besieged by men punch of The Beguiled and its remake. This is the slightest of that slight sub-genre. It doesn't really seem to have much to say, the tension isI decided to watch The Keeping Room following the one-two Civil War ladies besieged by men punch of The Beguiled and its remake. This is the slightest of that slight sub-genre. It doesn't really seem to have much to say, the tension is basically non-existent, and the motives of both men and women sketchy in two different ways (unclear and plot contrived).… Expand
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5
quincytheodoreDec 10, 2015
A finely acted although agonizingly slow home invasion in Wild West

There's a merit on doing all female leads drama thriller set on volatile era of Civil War, especially when there's social prejudice involved. However, aside from someA finely acted although agonizingly slow home invasion in Wild West

There's a merit on doing all female leads drama thriller set on volatile era of Civil War, especially when there's social prejudice involved. However, aside from some admittedly fine performance, the movie feels clunky and slow. It doesn't have the intricacy or characterization beyond the basic formula of “there are bad men coming”, and even that takes the film about half its runtime to get the pace going.

This is the story of three women, one of whom is colored, as they defend their home from outsiders. Each woman might not be easily relatable at first, but the acting as well as decent investment time to them manage to deliver a few heavy thought provoking and intimate scenes. Brit Marling as the oldest one keeps a strong presence even though her character may be lacking in term of actual strength.

Muna Otaru as Mad, the colored housekeeper or technical maid, has a unique personality as the caretaker of the girls and also her own woman. As for the antagonist Sam Worthington makes do, he's decent but his motivation doesn't have the same focus as the girls', which means less connection to the character as he basically stumbles on the predicament he himself creates. The cinematography works by keeping an intentionally bleak and less stylish version of Wild West.

This is a deliberate pace for drama, not action or thriller. It does feel terribly slow at times, not in a good Tarantino build up style. Furthermore, there's not much cat-and-mouse cerebral standoff, which feels like a missed opportunity, especially when it could’ve used the setting as intense backdrop. Panic Room with Jodie Foster had trade of wit between protagonist and antagonist that created depth and utilized its premise, while here it's more of random gunslinging action.

The Keeping Room has a couple of good performances, especially geared towards heavy themes such as race prejudice and violence towards women. However, instead of putting more focus on home invasion to elevate the drama, its slow pace removes any thrill to what could've been a powerful commentary of an era and its lingering issues.… Expand
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7
smiyamotFeb 4, 2016
War is Hell. But we never think about the people left behind on the home front and what they go through. This was the Civil War so life was pretty boring anyway. No internet, no video games, life was slow and boring. The movie portraysWar is Hell. But we never think about the people left behind on the home front and what they go through. This was the Civil War so life was pretty boring anyway. No internet, no video games, life was slow and boring. The movie portrays this; eat, farm, hunt, sleep. Next day, repeat. Much tougher for these women since their men were on the losing side of the war. We see the lives of 3 women, an older woman, maybe her fiancé left for the war, a young girl who doesn't really comprehend what the war's affect is on her life, and a slave who has become the equal of the white women, not because she moved up in social status but because they moved down.… Expand
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8
GFactorMay 20, 2016
Pure, strong, emotional and tense. This words describe The keeping Room, one briliant movie when we can see "Girl Power" with the three AMAZING actress: Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld (really great) and Muna Otaru (the best part and suprisePure, strong, emotional and tense. This words describe The keeping Room, one briliant movie when we can see "Girl Power" with the three AMAZING actress: Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld (really great) and Muna Otaru (the best part and suprise of the movie, excellent debut).… Expand
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6
JLuis_001Jan 17, 2018
It becomes frustrating at times because the rhythm decays, but it's also effective, it has good performances, especially Brit Marling who really stands out and the general environment immerses you in the story. With only 90 minutes the filmIt becomes frustrating at times because the rhythm decays, but it's also effective, it has good performances, especially Brit Marling who really stands out and the general environment immerses you in the story. With only 90 minutes the film delivers enough to keep you in your seat, I totally believe it could have been better but that's another story… Expand
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7
DawdlingPoetNov 26, 2021
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a very tense and suspenseful Western featuring three women trying their best to look out for one another. It had me at the edge of my seat at times and I felt the cast did well in their roles, although it is undoubtedly slow to build up the plot at the start and thus it may not appeal to all. There is a distinct lack of dialogue at times but I still felt it was engrossing, with the main character, Augusta, being somewhat of an enigma.

When the action really gets under way, its mostly set at night and is quite looming and bleak in tone and thus it has a reasonably good sense of atmosphere, although it also has a lot of shaky/wobbly camerawork, which may also frustrate people. I suppose it adds to the gritty realism of it but it may also seem quite distracting and may put people off, especially if you get motion sickness etc. There are some instances of poignant dialogue, which made me realise the characters were, perhaps, surprisingly thoughtful. Its undoubtedly a bleak and somewhat grim Western drama film, not an all guns blazing action film, Western or not - its not quite great but its certainly not bad either. I'd cautiously recommend this, esp. to fans of Brit Marling, who plays Augusta.… Expand
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