Buster Keaton in The Timid Young Man: A Short, Sweet, and Slightly Chaotic Mess

Is this worth your afternoon?

If you have twenty minutes and a soft spot for Buster Keaton looking like he just wants to hide under a rug, then yeah, go for it. If you’re looking for a tight, polished narrative, stay away. This thing is a bit of a frantic disaster, honestly. 😅

Keaton is, as always, a master of looking like he’s about to be crushed by the weight of existence. In The Timid Young Man, he’s playing a guy who’s just *done* with the whole dating scene. We’ve all been there, right? The exhaustion of it all.

He meets a girl—Lona Andre—who is basically his female equivalent. They both want to be left alone. It’s sweet for about a minute before the movie decides it needs to be a slapstick marathon. It feels like the director was trying to cram three hours of plot into a tiny window.

The rivals are just exhausting. There’s one guy in particular who just won't take a hint, and the pacing of these confrontations gets so fast it’s almost dizzying. It’s not graceful. It’s just… a lot of people bumping into each other.

Oddly specific observations:

• The way Keaton’s hat sits on his head feels like a character of its own. It’s doing more acting than some of the background extras.
• There is a moment near the middle where the film looks like it might actually settle into a quiet scene, but then someone runs in, and it’s back to the madness.
• I kept thinking about The Nickel-Hopper while watching this. There’s a similar vibe of trying to find human connection in a world that’s way too loud and aggressive.
• The editing feels like someone was holding a pair of scissors and just started cutting wherever they felt like it. It’s choppy, but in a way that’s weirdly charming.

You can tell this isn't his best work, but there’s a certain bizarre energy to it. It’s like watching someone try to solve a puzzle while someone else is actively kicking the table. It’s not profound. It’s just a guy trying to get through a date without the world falling apart.

Sometimes, the movie stops being about the story and just becomes a collection of people being loud. It’s not subtle. You might find yourself checking your phone, and then suddenly, Keaton does something with his eyebrows and you’re back in. It’s that kind of experience. 🤷‍♂️

Don't look for a grand cinematic statement here. Just enjoy the weird, frantic rhythm of it. It’s messy, it’s short, and it’s definitely not going to change your life. But for twenty minutes? It works well enough.