Michael Keaton’s screen career seemed without limit after he vanquished The Joker in 1989’s “Batman.”

The comic actor already proved he could make us laugh, but his turn as Bruce Wayne unveiled a darker, edgy side that hinted at greater things to come.

But his subsequent roles proved his undoing – “Multiplicity,” “Jack Frost” and “Speechless” helped derail his ascent.

His latest project, “The Merry Gentleman,” shows the actor ready for a comeback – either as an actor or a director.

“Gentleman,” Keaton’s directorial debut, stars Kelly Macdonald (“No Country for Old Men”) as Kate, a woman fleeing from her abusive husband (Bobby Cannavale).

By chance she eyeballs a suspect to a local murder, setting a series of events in motion which will test her character and shake up our preconceptions of the typical thriller.

The ordeal introduces her to Dave (Tom Bastounes) a lonely heart cop who takes a shine to her uncomplicated beauty. And the killer himself, a hit man named Frank (Keaton), also enters her life in ways she couldn’t possible imagine.

Nor can we. Part of why “Gentleman” feels so refreshing is that we can’t see any of it coming. The film is patient in its storytelling, letting the main characters reveal themselves in slow, but effective increments.

Don’t expect neat resolutions or traditional character arcs here. But Keaton the director has given us a moody piece that lures us in all the same.

And, as an actor, Keaton has very little to say, much of it spoken in a raspy whisper. He relies on his best quality, the burning intensity he can still bring to a character.

We expect an intense performance from Keaton, but what makes “Gentleman” click are the awkward silences between characters and the unforced communication between the key players. Keaton wisely lets his film breath, even when it could have veered toward more commercially viable routes.

“The Merry Gentleman” got precious little attention in the runup to its DVD release. But that doesn’t diminish Keaton’s first directorial attempt, nor the impact he can still have as a screen presence in the right project.

(Photo: Michael Keaton directs himself as a conflicted hit man in the rewarding new drama “The Merry Gentleman,” out Nov. 10 on DVD/Vivendi Home Entertainment)

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