Plot: What’s it about?
I like trailers. I’m a sucker for them. An old friend of mine hated them. Wouldn’t watch them. Even in the theaters, he’d cover his eyes and say “Let me know when it’s over.” This is a trailer we’re talking about here, mind you! The point of a trailer is to entice the audience member to watch the film and while some are better than others, I’m usually of the mindset “Oh, that looks good.” As I mentioned, I’m a sucker for a good (or even not so good) trailer. To my point, when I saw the trailer for Midnight Special, I was certain intrigued. It looked harmless and innocent enough, but then you see a child’s eyes glow and…wow. Part of the down side of me doing this site is that I’ve become spoiled by movies arriving not to long after their theatrical run. That and people in movie theaters now annoy me – cell phones, talking, overpriced tickets, the list goes on…so when this movie did arrive I had it in the player in less than an hour. Adding to that I’d been a fan of Jeff Nichols’ work in Mud a few years earlier. Did the trailer play tricks on me or did it deliver?
Roy (Michael Shannon) and Lucas (Joel Edgerton) are on the run from…something. In their tow is a boy, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) who seems a bit off. He wears swimming goggles, reads comics and they stay in seedy motels with cardboard covering the windows. Something isn’t right. We find out that they’ve escaped from a place called “The Ranch”, a religious camp of sorts led by Calvin Meyer (Sam Shepard). Also in pursuit is the U.S. Government, but they’re always a few steps behind. We don’t know why, but Roy, Lucas and Alton must be at a certain place at a certain time. Traveling though Texas, they’re wanted men. As we get to know the characters, we learn a bit more about what makes Alton so special. He can emit beams of light from his eyes and, when in need, can cause satellites to fall from the sky (in one of the film’s amazing displays of sound). The trio meet up with Alton’s mother (Kirsten Dunst), whose role become larger as the film progresses. We don’t know what Alton’s “gift” is and, like Lucas and Roy, feel the need to have Alton arrive at his destination so that we might witness the happenings for ourselves.
And, in a nutshell, is Midnight Special. It’s a rather avant garde film that feels as if we’ve entered the movie halfway through when it begins. I liken this to McCabe and Mrs. Miller where we feel as though we’re somehow intruding in these people’s lives but we can’t stop ourselves from becoming intertwined in them. Some might argue that the pacing is slow and others like it. I’m the latter. These character-driven stories are always intriguing to me and with the added science fiction elements, I was sold. Certainly there are shades of other films like Starman, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T., but this is its own movie. I’m also a big fan of the cast – to get Sam Shepard in a film is quite an accomplishment and add to that some marquee stars like Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst and Adam Driver. Impressive. The film might chug along at a snail’s pace, but I assure you that the payoff is well worth the wait.
Video: How does it look?
As we might expect, the movie sports a near flawless-looking 2.40:1 AVC HD image. By and large, the movie takes place at night or inside hotel rooms (with cardboard on the windows). This isn’t a bright and cheerly looking movie, but it’s not supposed to be. There are some scenes, like when Alton is being interrogated in a stark white room, that look pretty amazing. Being a darker film, I noticed no evidence of black crush or any “movement” in the shadows. Contrast is strong as well. There is the slightest bit of grain in the picture, something which I think adds to its allure. Nevertheless, Warner’s presentation looks the part and I’d be willing to be that no one will have a problem with the way this is presented.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is a pretty unique soundtrack in that it’s ever so subdued one moment and the next, I felt like the pictures were going to vibrate off my walls. The included DTS HD Master Audio track certain has a few choice moments and the sound is used sparingly, but ever so effectively. I don’t want to divulge any plot points, but let’s just say that the third act really makes use of the surround sound. Vocals are strong and crisp, the front stage is fairly active throughout, though the LFE do more than their fair share. Again, this is a very interesting sound mix, but it’s used with great effectiveness.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Origins – Each of the main characters are profiled with a brief bio.
- Roy
- Sarah
- Lucas
- Sevier
- Alton
- The Unseen World – We get a pretty candid interview with writer/director Jeff Nichols as he told us the influences he had when coming up with this film, his own family and some of the casting decisions. Running around 7 minutes, I’d have liked more, but this is all we get.
The Bottom Line
Midnight Special has a very unique pacing and feel to it. It’s not like anything I’ve seen recently. Some will like this approach and some will want action shoved down their throats and everything wrapped up nicely at the end. I’m not one of those, I prefer to let my mind do the wandering and draw my own conclusions. Warner’s Bllu-ray both looks and sounds good, thought the lack of any in-depth supplements is a tad disappointing.
