Midnight Special is the third feature I’ve seen that was written and directed by Jeff Nichols. Nichols seems to have a razor edged feel for dark side of the southern heartland. His previous films, Mud (starring Matthew McConaughy (before he dedicated his life to adjusting his cufflinks inside the Lincoln) and Take Shelter (starring an intense, brooding Michael Shannon, “Knowing” that a monstrous tornado will come) were methodical but engaging films that kept you thinking that something’s about to happen…and it did.
In Midnight Special, Roy (Micheal Shannon) flees from an apocalyptic evangelical cult in Texas, with his 8 year old son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher). Alton has some sort of special power that manifests itself in glowing eyes. He also can’t stand sunlight. Otherwise, he seems like an unremarkable kid who doesn’t really understand what’s happening to him. Roy is scared, being pursued by police, having an Amber Alert issued and also being pursued by heavily armed members of the cult, who want Alton back, at any cost, probably the cost of Roy’s life. Roy has been joined by Lucas (Joel Edgerton), a State Trooper and former friend, who doesn’t really know why he is going on the run with Roy, especially since the law is after them, but trusts Roy. The three of them link up with Roy’s wife Sara (Kirsten Dunst) and now, all of them are on the run, across the Gulf Coast, into a remote part of the Florida panhandle.
Just what power Alson has is not quite clear, but the seriousness of this is revealed when Alton uses his power to pull down a satellite, which brings down a shower of hyper-speed fragments that devastate a gas station and probably kills a number of customers. Meanwhile, not only the police, but the FBI and the NSA are seeking Alton. Sevier, from the NSA (Adam Driver), seems to have some understanding that Alton is seeking a location that has been found in some sort of version of speaking in tongues and that is decoded from a bunch of dates and times. Weird conspiracy theories are running on overtime among the pursuers as well as the fugitives. There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that something very, very real is happening, but nobody knows just what. Is it extraterrestrial, theological, magical? We’re not sure, but we are sure that it really is happening and it centers on Alton and a specific location in Florida. This isn’t just a case of ET phoning home. He needs to get there and everybody else seems determined to stop him and his helpers. What follows completely alters the world view of all of the persons involved.
Like Nichols’ other films, Midnight Special is a slowly revealed story that takes its time to let you know what is going on and, even then, doesn’t answer all of the questions. The style of story telling has a distinct Southern feel to it, not unlike To Kill a Mockingbird. Loose ends and uncertain motives abound for all of the characters, including law enforcement people, the cultists and, even the characters helping Alton. The characters are all caught with lives in progress. We don’t really know who we should trust because they all have a dark side, but we are willing to go along with Alton’s family and Lucas. Even the “Big Evil Government” people don’t understand and don’t really seem to have any sort of conspiratorial plan, but in that mythic Southern mindset, they are outsiders, probably yankees and probably merit suspicion.
I really enjoyed this film. Like Take Shelter and Mud, it really has a feeling of belonging in a time and place and it trusts that the audience will follow the story, even though it is complicated and sometimes unclear. The suspense never relents, right up to the end. Like much of life, all questions are NOT answered at the end. Only some of them are, and probably a lot of people won’t believe the answers that ARE given, in spite of the size of the events.
The acting is excellent for all of the main characters. As usual, Michael Shannon brings a brooding intensity that’s hard to match. Joel Edgerton is excellent as the friend who doesn’t know why he’s here, but trusts his friend more than any law or institution. Jaden Lieberher shows an amazing amount of depth in a confusing and complex role as the troubled 8 year old. The rest of the cast is all excellent. In spite of all of the strangeness and special effects, it’s basically a movie driven by plot and acting, not just an arms race for digital animators. Most of the sets are dark and seem to harbor danger wherever they go; the environment seems to be part of the event. If you like this sort of film and enjoyed Mud or Take Shelter, this is a must. I have to give this a high rating, because it’s unlike anything else out there, doesn’t abuse us with stupid special effects and decades-old superhero stories that just won’t freakin’ DIE long after they should have. It’s more “believable” than any of them and hits on the sort of questions we have about our place in the cosmos without giving us stupid answers. Like The Witch, which went to the heart of darkness of puritanism, this movie takes us somewhere we don’t want to be and tells us things we don’t want to hear. It isn’t fun, but you can’t look away.
[rating]4.5[/rating]
