Keyhole review

Surreal twist on early-era noir in a dusty mansion teeming with ghosts

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Guy Maddin ( Canada’s answer to David Lynch) sets his black-and-white, loopily surreal twist on early-era noir in a dusty mansion teeming with ghosts.

Returning after a long absence, gangster Ulysses (Jason Patric) embarks on a journey through his home to reach his wife (Isabella Rossellini), who’s locked in her room.

The house not only reflects Ulysses’ mind but becomes a metaphor for cinema itself – a strange storage contraption for memory and the past’s spectres.

Though self-referential to a fault, the deadpan humour, frayed logic and monochrome dazzle cast their own richly peculiar spell.