By Charlie Kendellen
Osgood Perkins has been dividing audiences since his 2024 marketing hit Longlegs. The film garnered huge momentum and traction due to its genius marketing tactics from the A24 team, making its audience and critical reception all the more polarising.
His most recent entry, Keeper is more of the same. The film is essentially a slew of genre tropes and cliqués — even dividing long established fans of Perkins. The film follows Liz and Malcolm, played by Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland, both giving stellar performances, but Maslany is a clear standout here. The couple venture off to the countryside for a romantic getaway, leading Liz to question her sanity and the motive of her significant other.
The film opens with a rather artsy montage of close-ups — signifying… not a whole lot. The film is all style and very little substance, featuring promising cinematography and a gorgeous setting, but leading up to a disappointing third act. Earlier this year, Perkins’ directed Stephen King adaptation The Monkey — which was described as the monkey from Toy Story 3 meets Final Destination. The film was, once again, mediocre. Perkins’ latest trend of pumping out two lackluster films a year may not be the best way to establish oneself as an auteur or a “serious filmmaker”.
The film has received comparisons to Alex Garland’s Men, another male written and directed film that attempts (and ultimately fails) to depict the female experience. Going forward, we as an audience can only hope to receive a fully fleshed out feature from this man, maybe going back to his directorial debut The Blackcoat’s Daughter which is still his greatest narrative to date.
Osgood Perkins has already confirmed his next film The Young People, which has yet to receive an official release date. The films’ ensemble cast includes Lola Tung, Nicole Kidman, and Heather Graham, so regardless, myself and many others will be seated for his next film.
Keeper is currently in cinemas.