Film News

Midnight Special Review

Published

10 years ago

April 8, 2016

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Nothing Special

♦Tripwire gave Senior Editor Andrew Colman the task of reviewing Jeff Nichols’ lo-fi sci-fi Midnight Special

Midnight Special

Director: Jeff Nichols

Stars: Michael Shannon, Jaeden Lieberher, Adam Driver, Kirsten Dunst

Jeff Nichols’s latest film has been drawing positive notices from critics across the board, with many praising its “Spielbergesque” tropes and “beguiling sense of mystery”. Indeed, the overweening mood at the press screening introduction was one of quiet confidence – the movie’s success, judging by the banter, was a fait accompli. However, the filmmakers’ need to base their project on what was an overrated event film in the first place (Close Encounters Of The Third Kind) without concerning themselves with context or even a decent script has meant that the movie is mired in the past with little to sell it beyond homage.

All the hallmarks of ‘70s faddism are here – extra-terrestrials, telekinesis, UFOs, paranoia, cults, the awestruck belief that “ we are not alone”. Coupling this with the film’s languid, somnolent pace and moody, understated performances, one would assume that it would all result in decent entertainment, but the absence of script and characterization leave you with a dated, shallow piece that may be punctuated with some excellent action sequences but offers little else. The basic premise is something straight out of Pertwee-era Doctor Who, with a larger effects budget. Lead character Roy (Michael Shannon) has fled a decidedly odd religious cult based in rural Texas with his son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) who possesses enormous, alien-like powers. Along with childhood friend Lucas, he sequesters the boy to a remote hiding place. Meanwhile, the FBI arrests all the members of Roy’s sect on the grounds that they are complicit, the investigation headed by Paul Sevier (Adam Driver). On the run, Roy and Lucas make contact with Alton’s mother Sarah (Kirsten Dunst), another former cult member, when they learn that Alton’s time on the planet (shock horror) is about to end. After being captured by the FBI, Alton persuades Sevier to return him to his parents, having convinced him that he is indeed an alien, or at the very least from another plane. From there, we have the sparkly, earth-shattering denouement, and some form of redemption for the leads.

As a road movie, it’s indistinct and lacks context – its ‘70s forebears would at least have had the leads waffle existentially about man’s place in the cosmos before reaping their eternal oblivion (apart from Spielberg, ‘70s sci-fi was all isolation and dystopia).You sense that Adam Driver is in the film as he looks like he stepped out of that decade. And as a science-fiction genre piece, it never gets to grips with concepts that are anything other than desperately familiar. The leads, especially the more than reliable Shannon (surely this era’s Bruce Dern, himself no stranger to desolate science fiction with the superb Silent Running),have far too little to do, spending a large amount of the movie staring enigmatically, even after being shot by federal agents or losing their charge. We learn little of motive or what drives the characters, apart from ensuring that Alton reaches his destination – although with such power did the boy really need anyone? The grand finale, set in an everglade in Florida, is rendered well enough but only elicited a “so what” from this reviewer, while the need to shoehorn tension into the last few minutes only served to contrive.

As mentioned before, critics have indeed garlanded this project with high praise, claiming it is ambitious, but at some point in the creative process the filmmakers forgot that a straightforward verite film with hokey subject matter and an underwritten script will fail to engage, regardless of intent. A pity, as there is the occasional moment where the film threatens to spring into life before it returns to well-mined territory. At best, an honourable yet misguided effort from a skilled director.

ANDREW COLMAN