Knox Goes Away (known in some markets as A Killer's Memory or Assassin's Plan) is a 2023 American crime thriller film directed by Michael Keaton and written by Gregory Poirier.
It follows a contract killer with a rapidly evolving form of dementia who vows to spend his final days attempting to find redemption by saving the life of his estranged adult son.
He is estranged from his wife and son, and lives alone, interacting only with other members of his industry and Annie, the Polish sex worker who visits him once a week, and who shares his love for books.
That night, he is unexpectedly visited by his estranged son Miles, who tearfully admits to killing a man for raping his daughter, Knox's granddaughter.
Knox instructs his son to remain quiet to the authorities as he goes to the crime scene and meticulously removes evidence that may incriminate Miles, while mysteriously storing them for later use.
Despondent, Knox calls Xavier, who wishes him fortune before informing the police of part of their plan, after which he is arrested by Detective Ikari.
When asked by Ikari on a possible motive, Miles, recalling his father's accusation of him in prison, responds accordingly, fully shifting the blame to Knox.
Knox, having now fully lost his mental faculties, does not recognize his son and is soon moved from prison to a medical facility with only weeks to live.
[3] The film was produced by Brookstreet Pictures's Trevor Matthews and Nick Gordon, Sugar23's Michael Sugar and Ashley Zalta, along with Keaton.
Its unhurried pacing and mood of quiet deliberation won't be for everyone; but this low-key thriller resolves its shockingly high stakes with a twisty intelligence.
"[21] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter commented, "The convoluted storyline is too clever by far, and might have proved entertaining if the film had been intended as an absurdist black comedy.
"[23] Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com gave it 1 star out of 4, and wrote, "These glaring shortcomings and clumsy missteps would be fine if this film weren't so garish to look at.