It’s a cinematic rite of passage. When an actor hits a certain age, he’s often cast as a tough, cynical cop paired with an idealistic new partner whom he must school. The scenario inevitably smacks of cliché, but the tough new drama directed by Vincent Grashaw manages to overcome its familiarity thanks to a smart script by Zach Montague, the relatively unusual setting of a Native American reservation, and a superlative performance by Lou Diamond Phillips. Keep Quiet, being showcased at the Oldenburg International Film Festival, proves a worthy addition to the genre.
The La Bamba star plays Teddy Sharpe, who patrols the Thunderstone reservation with the mien of someone who’s seen it all. And, as is the case with many members of his generation, he’s not politically correct, calling the people he polices “Indians.”
Keep Quiet
The Bottom Line
A cop film with unusual depth.
Venue: Oldenburg International Film Festival
Cast: Lou Diamond Phillips, Nick Stahl, Dana Namerode, Elisha Pratt, Irene Badard, Lane Factor, Kimberly Guerrero
Director: Vincent Grashaw
Screenwriter: Zach Montague
1 hour 44 minutes
“Indigenous?” he sarcastically asks his new partner. “Is that what they are now?”
The partner, Sandra (Dana Namerode, excellent), whom he quickly nicknames “Toto,” is Greek, not Native American, but she’s taken the job with the tribal police for personal reasons involving a tragedy in her past. She’s a by-the-book cop, so she’s naturally appalled when Teddy sometimes releases young suspects rather than arrest them, after first confiscating their weapons. He assures her that putting them in jail for a few days will do nothing to solve the community’s endemic problems.
Tensions ratchet up with the return of Richie (a fierce Elisha Pratt), newly released from prison and intent on settling old scores. He’s also determined to take his teenage nephew Albert (Lane Factor) under his wing, which terrifies their grandmother Chelsea (Irene Badad) because Albert’s brother recently committed suicide and she fears similar misfortune will happen to him.
As Richie cuts a violent swath through the community with Teddy and Sandra hot on his trail, things become even more complicated because of a turf war between the tribal police and the local cops, especially Darius (Nick Stahl), who has little use for Native Americans and has a propensity for brutal violence.
The film’s procedural dynamics prove less interesting than its depiction of the growing closeness between Teddy, who comes across as cynical but in reality is deeply caring, and Sandra, who soon becomes aware that traditional police methods won’t necessarily work in her new environment. Some of the best scenes are the quietest, as when Teddy invites his new partner to join him for dinner at the home of a friend, Dyani (Kimberly Guerrero). Dyani assures a skeptical Sandra that Teddy must really like her, since he made his last partner wait in the car during a similar occasion.
Director Grashaw (Bang Bang) exerts strong tonal control, imbuing the proceedings with a subdued tension that never lets up. Montague’s script, formerly on the Black List, exudes authenticity in its bleak portrait of the lives of the reservation’s denizens, its young people trapped in a cycle of drugs, violence and poverty.
Keep Quiet (an unfortunately bland title) also serves as a terrific showcase for Phillips, who delivers the sort of lived-in performance that garners awards. His Teddy is a complicated figure, wracked by guilt over a past decision that inadvertently resulted in even greater harm to his community. Conveying a complicated mixture of toughness and deep regret, the actor brings a depth and soul to the film that lifts it above its genre trappings.