Earlier this year, Ewan McGregor starred in Stay, a movie that used every trick in the book to create a dream-like surreal world that hinted of insanity in at least one of the characters.

Unfortunately, Stay was rubbish. But it's useful as a movie that highlights exactly how careful a director needs to be when conveying the inner struggles of a character's mindset.

Lodge Kerrigan's direction of Keane steers clear of all the clichés, instead relying on subtle techniques and hints.

We meet Keane as he hits the streets, handing out leaflets and asking passers by if they have seen his daughter. His earnest, desperate struggle tugs at the heart strings – until it becomes clear that this is just another day in the life of a man who cannot accept his loss.

Before long, he is treating strangers with contempt and getting himself into trouble. Only as time passes, it is apparent that Keane's schizophrenic mind might be playing tricks on him, leaving the viewer to wonder if there was ever a daughter in the first place.

When Keane meets a single mother with a daughter around the age of his own, the film moves into territory previously covered in Sean Penn's The Pledge. Jack Nicholson's character at the end of that particular movie is where Keane is at in this, obsessed and on the edge of sanity.

With intense visuals – the opening sequence is shot entirely in close up - the subject matter is relentlessly depressing and often confusing. It feels as though Keane, charged on drugs and booze, will self-destruct, and the tension is palpable.

To his credit, Damian Lewis somehow keeps you gripped throughout. The Brit’s performance is as flawless as his US accent, portraying a man desperate to keep a grip on reality while dealing with his mental illness. Amy Ryan and the young Abigail Breslin provide good support, but this is a movie that belongs to Lewis and director Kerrigan.

An ambiguous ending will leave more questions than answers, but such is the quality from director and lead, this is a movie you’ll be keen to see again, perhaps then to see it from Keane’s other point of view.

Rich Phippen