Don McKay at the TFF

One of us walked into Don McKay thinking it was a comedy; the other thought it was a drama. We were both wrong: it's actually a contemporary noir, set in the suburbs and starring an emotionally isolated janitor (Thomas Haden Church) who falls for gorgeous Elisabeth Shue, clad for most of the movie in nighties. During the post-screening Q&A, writer / director Jake Goldberger called it 100% autobiographical, which got a big laugh, although you probably have to see the movie --- including its deaths by frozen pot roast, heavily tattooed female blackmailer, and haunted jukebox --- to understand why.

Part of the fun of the Tribeca Film Festival is that it feels very populist, both in types of movies screened and in types of people who attend. As we walked toward the theater, we recognized a character actor whose name we didn't know chatting outside a grocery store. Then, as we took our seats, we realized we were within spitting distance of a coterie of friends of the filmmaker as well as that actor again. Ten minutes into the movie, we elbowed each other as he showed up on screen. Only in New York, kids.

Photo: thanks