Last week, the Globe and Mail called Keane Reeves an “irresistible movie star” in this review of the new Reeves retrospective opening today at TIFF Bell Lightbox. While IMBD’s biography of the star does highlight his trademark “deep husky voice” and “intense contemplative gaze”–calling the Canadian actor irresistible might be pushing it. Never the less, the new TIFF series, starting today with a screening of Reeves’ feature film debut Youngblood and running through April, does reflect a career that has seen an undeniable breadth of skills. The film selection will show off Reeves’ comedic chops in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, his serious side opposite River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho, and his knowledge of kung-fu in The Matrix.

Aside from The Matrix, my most inescapable memory of Reeves comes from having stumbled across 1986’s Flying (a sappy teen drama that somehow didn’t make the cut for TIFF’s selection) on TV one rainy afternoon–preventing me from ever fully taking Reeves seriously. Maybe this retrospective will change that for me and the other Keanu-skeptics out there. If not, at least he has his writing career to fall back on. 

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Eva Voinigescu is an intern at Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter @EvaVoinigescu

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