Keane

William Keane confronts ticket agents and passersby with a newspaper account of his missing daughter. No one recalls seeing Sophia, and his desperation grows as he looks for any new lead among the crowd. The scene establishes the relentless pursuit that drives the rest of the story.

That night he wanders the streets and sleeps along the highway, haunted by his daughter's disappearance. He returns to his cheap hotel and discovers he cannot enter because his payment is in arrears. He covers another week's stay with a disability check, underscoring his precarious finances.

Alone in his hotel room, Keane drinks beer and talks to himself about his ex-wife and their daughter. He pores over clippings about another abducted New Jersey girl who was found and reunited with her parents. The clippings deepen his fixation and foreshadow his unstable grip on reality.

Keane contacts a drug dealer and buys cocaine, and his use fuels growing paranoia. He becomes convinced he is being followed and even attacks a man he believes is watching him. The drug-fueled paranoia pushes him toward reckless behavior.

Keane goes to a nightclub and shares cocaine with a woman named Michelle. Their encounter ends in a sex session in a bathroom stall, illustrating his desperate escape from grief. The night heightens his disconnect from ordinary life.

Back at the motel, Keane meets Lynn Bedik and her young daughter Kira. He offers Lynn $100 to watch Kira, hoping to control the situation. Lynn leaves a message that she will not be returning that night, underscoring the instability surrounding Kira's care.

Lynn asks Keane to watch Kira for a few hours, revealing her own difficulties. Keane reassures Kira that her mother loves her and will be back, while Kira fears abandonment. The scene reveals Keane's growing protective but unstable obsession as he fixates on Kira.

The next day, Keane takes Kira to an indoor skating rink and teaches her how to ice skate. While they play skee ball in the arcade, Keane believes he is being watched and grows anxious. Kira calmly helps settle him, and they retreat to the motel, their bond intensifying.

Lynn returns with news that she and Kira will move to Albany because Eric, Kira's father, has found a job. Keane is determined not to lose Kira and clings to the idea of reuniting her with her mother. The revelation shifts his focus from Sofia to safeguarding Kira's future.

Desperate not to lose Kira, Keane goes to her school, takes her without permission, and brings her to the Port Authority, claiming they will meet her mother and board a bus to Albany. The act mirrors the pattern of Sophia's disappearance and reveals the depth of his fixation. He positions Kira to recreate the moment Sophia vanished.

Keane sends Kira to buy candies, mirroring the moment when Sophia was taken months earlier. He scans the crowd for a sign of danger and imagines the abductor returning, but no one appears. The scene underscores his inability to distinguish protection from possession.

When Kira tells him she loves him and he reciprocates, Keane realizes the dangerous path he has walked. He resolves to get Kira to her mother rather than pursue the vanished Sophia. The moment ends with a fragile sense of hope rather than relief.