Neighborhood Watch, Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Ed Deerman was the kind of tough campus security guard a lot of universities need these days. Unfortunately, his involuntary retirement has been tough on Deerman. Everything about life is tough for his neighbor, Simon McNally. Yet, when the mentally-agitated man witnesses an abduction, he tries to do the right thing, but only the skeptical Deerman listens, albeit reluctantly, in Duncan Skiles’ Neighborhood Watch, which opens today in New York.

McNally was de-institutionalized, but he remains tormented by hallucinations of his abusive father. In moments of elevated stress, his speech turns into a Tourette’s-like “word salad.” As a witness, he lacks credibility with the cops. Out of desperation, he turns to the unwelcoming Deerman.

Of course, Deerman is dismissive, but he is also bored and resentful of lazy cops. Deerman soon starts to suspect there might be something to McNally’s kidnapping story, especially when someone tries to kill them. However, coaching McNally through their amateur investigation is tricky business.

Together, they hit the economically depressed, formerly blue collar streets of Birmingham, Alabama, giving the film a distinctive texture and sense of place. Skiles very definitely opts for grit over flash. While the suspense never reaches white knuckle levels, Skiles and the cast keep viewers emotionally invested, from start to finish.

Frankly, this might be the best performance of Jack Quaid’s career. As McNally, he covers a lot of twitchy, neurotic ground, but his tic-iness is scrupulously realistic, rather than showy. Likewise, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is perfectly cast as Deerman. He makes his grouchiness weirdly sad and even poignant. They never act like “odd couple” buddies, which gives the film a great deal of credibility. Plus, Malin Akerman really helps ground the film as McNally’s long-suffering sister, DeeDee.

Throughout the film, Skiles consistently treats both his main characters and their struggling community with considerable compassion. There are no cheap shots directed towards Deerman’s boomer-ish crankiness, McNally’s social awkwardness, Birmingham’s red state malaise. Essentially, Sean Farley’s screenplay is a forgiving character study that uses the jeopardy of its criminal elements to raise the stakes for Deerman and McNally.

This is a good, solid film that has yet to receive the attention it deserves, maybe because it is such a quiet, human-scaled thriller. Recommended for discerning audiences, Neighborhood Watch opens today (4/25) in New York, at the IFC Center.