Don McKay

Goldberger gets a few good tonal feints in, especially when he consults the Coen recipe book for the disorienting effect of blood (and bloody violence) on American simple folk.

When you pack your movie with performers like Mr. Church, Ms. Leo, Mr. Rebhorn and Keith David (as Donâ(TM)s old friend), all with faces and deliveries that can slide easily between comedy and menace, youâ(TM)re holding a full house.

Don McKay certainly has its moments, but it never manages to maintain the consistent tone so crucial if a black comedy is going to actually be funny.

This is a movie that, if you can make it to the last 30 minutes, starts to make some sense. It seems the plot twist is the only good idea in the script.

An admirable attempt even if the film only works spottily.

A strange, largely inert indie thriller.

...an almost aggressively pointless piece of work that simply isn't able to justify its very existence.

Labored and distractingly uneven, Don McKay comes across as a lackadaisical film school writing assignment that somehow lucked into a feature film deal.

Goldberger makes the most of his eclectic, multi-Oscar-nominated cast to make up for the lack of scope and visual panache, not to mention the sometimes strained machinations of his plot

The tone and the pacing always seem a little off and as a result, we become all too aware of mechanics of the screenplay grinding along towards a finale that is simply too complicated and unbelievable for its own good.

Clearly Goldberger thinks he can juggle this delicate noirish soufflé but it all comes crashing down around him because the true nature of his characters' actions just don't make a whole lot of sense.

[Director] Greenberg's tyro script is both dark comedy and slick whodunit and all the players do it justice. He handles his material and fine cast with a deft hand that belies his freshman status.