Riley Keough Can Do Everything
From horror to comedy to noir.
Welcome to Movie Star March Madness, our month-long watch-a-long and countdown to Season 2 of The Vince Vaughn-a-thon. Every day in March, we’re celebrating a different actor, movie star, or famous family - one of which will be our focus for Season 2. Play along with us and leave your daily reviews in the comments. For the full schedule and info, read here.
I've written plenty over the history of this site about Riley Keough. That's largely because every time I see her in something, I'm blown away. It's easy to write cliches like, "She can do it all" or, "She's totally underrated" - but I believe those things to be true. She's found success in her many character actor supporting roles, but is finally getting her recognition and taking those skills to more leading parts. The following is a collection of reviews I've written over the years that mention her stand-out talents in many genre pieces, from horror to comedy to modern-day film noir. The craziest part might just be that it doesn't even mention some of her best roles, like Zola or Paterno.
The Lodge (2020)
A soon-to-be stepmom is snowed in with her fiancé’s two children at a remote holiday village. Just as relations begin to thaw between the trio, some strange and frightening events take place.
Holiday Heist and Horror - December 21, 2022
I think that the film world should really watch out for Riley Keough. For example, her performance in 2016’s Lovesong shows that she can carry a picture, but her featured roles in Logan Lucky and The House That Jack Built show her character actor skills.
This film isn’t the greatest and can be a bit slow at times, but she makes it work, which is another valuable skill as an actor.
Other solid performances include It and Knives Out child star Jaeden Martell and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-her Alicia Silverstone.
If you’re looking for a cold-chilled slow burn, check this one out.
Logan Lucky (2017)
Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy and Clyde Logan set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Cut the Cord: Patrick’s Favorite Movies - September 5, 2022
One of the things you'll learn about me (if we're meeting for the first time) is that all of my favorite movies have great performances.
Logan Lucky has a stellar cast and they are all at the top of their comedic game here. It takes a few leading men like Channing Tatum and Daniel Craig and shows off their character actor abilities. Adam Driver is always excellent and is at his funniest here. And I will watch every Riley Keough movie.
And that's just to name the leads.
Put them all in a big Soderberghian mess and you've got a real winner.
Under the Silver Lake (2018)
Young and disenchanted Sam meets a mysterious and beautiful woman who’s swimming in his building’s pool one night. When she suddenly vanishes the next morning, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Los Angeles to decode the secret behind her disappearance, leading him into the murkiest depths of mystery, scandal and conspiracy.
My Top 5 Favorite Watches of Noirvember 2021 - December 1, 2021
Under the Silver Lake takes all of (the) noir traditions and tropes and flips them in a way that only a film distanced by this many decades post-height of the genre can do.
A down-on-his-luck “detective”, seedy underbellies, a twisted Los Angeles, the desired woman, growing paranoia — all of these things are present in this neo-noir, but they’re all presented in such a surprising way that really deconstruct the genre. And it is all wild.
Also, I can relate with the plight of Sam (a sharp Andrew Garfield) and the journey he goes on. I, too, would attend every party in Los Angeles, decode secret messages, and almost get killed many times just to find Riley Keough.
Credit: Each plot synopsis comes from Letterboxd via TMDb.
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