The Other Family
April 1, 2016
Midnight Special (2016).
D/W: Jeff Nichols. DP: Adam Stone. Starring: Michael Shannon/Kirsten Dunst/Joel Edgerton/Jaeden Lieberher/Adam Driver/Sam Shepard/Bill Camp/Scott Haze/Paul Sparks/David Jensen.
Despite the shadow of Batman vs. Superman, the little films are making splashes at the box office this spring. Among those like 10 Cloverfield Lane, is the new film from writer/director Jeff Nichols, Midnight Special. The film joins Nichols’ other successful pursuits in 2011’s Take Shelter and 2012’s Mud with this new film now with studio backing at Warner Brothers.
This chase movie follows Roy (Michael Shannon) who is attempting to take his son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) to a prescribed place and time. Aiding in his escape from a cultist ranch is childhood friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) and eventually Roy’s wife Sarah (Kirsten Dunst). Chasing the group is not only Ranchers, but the FBI led by Paul Sevier (Adam Driver). Alton is savior or weapon to those groups, but something else to his family who want to help him. Nichols’ script is subtle like his previous works and very contained as the film only covers about three days. Shot by his consistent partner Adam Stone, there are some gorgeous aeriel shots specifically a long shot of many helicopters hovering over a Louisiana swamp. Like hungry dragon flies the intrusive government paranoia leads up to an exhilarating final action sequence.
Midnight Special is also Nichols’ third collaboration with Shannon and it is clear the pair have a second hand. Through the years the lines on Shannon’s face have deepened and an unspoken weight to Roy. His Mormon like litheness works well and is a nice contrast to the brute force of Edgerton’s Lucas. Edgerton continues to be the MVP of the movies he’s in, I still maintain that he was the performance of 2013’s The Great Gatsby. Dunst is quiet yet resolute as Alton’s mother and her connection with the young actor resonates. Lieberher was discovered for the film, much like the young boy in Room. His otherness is hyper aware and calm and translate more to a sense of belonging rather than sci-fi shtick. A scene with Driver is quick and clever and gives Alton an intimidating yet powerful intellect.
Overall Midnight Special feels organic and makes you wonder what you would believe if it was your own child speaking in tongues and shining lights from his eyes. Covered in layers of darkness and threat the film gracefully builds with an amplifying soundtrack. The ending might be divisive, but it was a good payoff for me. Who knows what people can actually see. Maybe only those who trust or believe Alton can truly see? Go decide for yourself.
A Celluloid Story
September 30, 2015
Life (2015).
D: Anton Corbijn. DP: Charlotte Bruus Christensen. W: Luke Davis. Starring: Dane DeHaan/Robert Pattinson/Ben Kinsgley/Joel Edgerton/Kristian Bruun/Alessandra Mastronardi.
As the leaves begin to change, fall is upon us and once again its time to get through the slog of films and gear up for another award season. Life has made it over here in the UK before its December release in the US, but this will hardly help its appeal back home.
Similar to recent films My Week With Marilyn or Hitchcock, Life is what I would term a chapter biopic. Rather than attempting to chronicle a subject from birth to death, the chapter biopic picks a specific moment in time. More importantly, the chapter biopic routinely involves an outsider’s interactions with the biopic subject. In a sense the film is as much about who this subject was to the lay person, their sparkle briefly entering someone else’s orbit.
Life follows freelance photographer Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson) who feels trapped in LA shooting red carpets and movie stills. He meets a pre-Rebel Without a Cause James Dean (Dane DeHaan) and the two begin a weird love/hate friendship. Dennis is persistent about shooting a spread for Life magazine of Dean who continuously evades the idea only to give into Stock once they’ve returned to New York City. Of course, this all leads to the creation of the famous Life spread of Dean back home in Indiana, his last visit before his death at twenty-four.
The majority of audiences will know the spread or of Dean’s death leaving little surprises to be had here. So the film must rely entirely on its leads chemistry and their performances. Pattinson continues to look uncomfortable on screen, pulling his jaw and posing like his Twilight days. His performance is inconsistent, he hardly seems to want to make eye contact with his fellow actors. DeHaan, who is one of my favorite young actors, plays Dean like the weird maverick he was. He cannot hide behind a wide smile and looks like James Franco so rather his Dean is a Marlon Brando sounding slightly brawny poet. DeHaan does a good job building a character and considering Dean’s death was sixty years ago and he only made three films the impression of who he is really the only surviving element. His image as iconography has eclipsed his talent or memory.
Ultimately, Life cannot sustain interest in its subject as it relies on shadows of an actor long gone, shadows that are better represented in the famous photographs than in cinema. The film is not able to create any real buildup to Indiana and stalls out multiple times. The personal signification of the photographs falls flat as it is left to a end card. Anton Corbijn’s previous film, Control, is far superior in composition, energy, and performance. There simply is not enough here for Life to sink its teeth into.