Rating: NR | Runtime: 76 minutes
Director(s): Mickey Keating
Writer(s): Mickey Keating

You’re not happy to see me?

No one is innocent in Mickey Keating’s latest genre work Crooks … at least not by the end. Not when there’s “life changing” money floating around thanks to the little birdie who told Johnny (Chase Williamson) about a mob poker game score. Because despite the high risk, not even his old partner Faye (Angela Trimbur) can ignore the payday. Not after her dream of stardom fizzled to force her chart-making singer to perform for drunks at a bar.

The film begins with the robbery in silent slow motion as music plays. Faye and Johnny scream orders to men with hands in the air before their inevitable celebration turns sour to deliver the first of many bloody betrayals. That’s when we meet Pierre (Charlie Lubeck), Faye’s beau. Lobster (Joe Swanberg), Pierre’s unhinged loan shark. “The Ghost” (Keith Kupferer), Johnny’s mob family mark’s retired fixer. And Blanche (Melora Walters), a music-loving waitress.

Each one is motivated by money. Each one pays close attention to the theft and the wake of bodies left in the aftermath. One hunt leads to another. One murder guarantees the next. At a certain point you start to realize that the characters you believed to be the leads are merely ushering us into the meat of the action once their prologue comes to a violent end. Keating is going full Psycho-mode insofar as not caring about audience expectations or billing order.

It’s tough to therefore say too much about the plot itself since the ebbs and flows of its slow burn chase that finds new mice for “The Ghost’s” cat to target hinges on its cutthroat ability to surprise. Beyond the local Sheriff (Randall Steinmeyer), no one on-screen is above pulling their gun to take their chances at being the money’s latest custodian. So, who ends up with their hands on it proves far less interesting than the laconic conversations revealing each one’s intent.

Keating leans into noir rhythms with his dialogue whether Johnny charming Faye back into the crime game, Faye acting tough with everyone on her path, or ‘The Ghost” laughing psychotically before pulling his trigger. And it should come as no shock to learn Walters is the highlight with her manic coffee pours and quick shifts from quiet unease to sweetly saccharine subterfuge. Crooks is never better than when she and Kupferer finally meet.

The whole proves a fun little indie ride as a result. Most chances Keating has to end a scene before it can even begin are taken courtesy of an abrupt bullet and the banter that ensues when he does allow it is never dull despite the drawn-out pacing. Because the upper hand is never assured. The tables often turn on a dime as power imbalances prove to be as much a liability for the hubristic as they are a death sentence for those who dare to take a chance wielding it.

Sure, there’s not much substance beneath the style, but that doesn’t detract from the entertainment. Plot takes a backseat to performance with each actor relishing the opportunity to shine. Swanberg is always a laugh when off leash. Trimbur holds her own as our antihero guide into this world. Walters and Kupferer bring the intensity. And the supporting players add color around the edges as naïve lawmen, drug-addled bystanders, or helpless victims.

You might not have a smile on your face by the end like I did, but Keating’s long filmography holds a consistent enough sensibility to make certain his audience knows what they’re walking into. That said, I do think Crooks is one of his most accessible works and a great entry point into his oeuvre for newcomers. So, take a look and use the reaction as a litmus test for delving into the back catalog. And, if nothing else, enjoy seeing Walters in a much too rare big screen performance.

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Angela Trimbur and Chase Williamson in CROOKS; courtesy of Tribeca.