Films > Film Reviews

Midnight Special

11/04/16

Comparisons between Jeff Nichols' Midnight Special, Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and E.T. are inevitably going to be drawn, and let's face it, there are a lot of similarities in the narratives of all three. Government agencies and religious crackpots pursuing our heroes across the United States. Those protagonists knowing they have to get to a certain place, at a certain time, but not really knowing why. Seemingly unexplained fantastical events occurring in and around the locations of specific children. Unidentified objects falling out from the sky. I could go on…

What Midnight Special doesn't do is take any of those story elements and do anything 'special' with them.

There's an excitement that's missing from Midnight Special. Maybe it's the muted, but perfectly commendable performances. Nichols clearly has a way of getting the best out of kids - Jaden Lieberher’s Alton is standout, as are the adolescents in Nichols’ previous movie Mud. But Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, and Kirsten Dunst all seem somewhat muzzled and blinkered. Adam Driver continues to shine. This is the second movie I’ve seen him in following his terrific performance in The Force Awakens, and whilst often his Security Advisor’s moments are played for comic effect, he brings a quiet genuine candor to every scene he’s in.

Maybe it's the somewhat static camera work that never does much other than framing the scenes. When the action does kick, the camera punctuates it appropriately, but never really attempts to do anything unusual or exotic. Or maybe it's the lack of an engaging, tone setting score, which again, only really plays its part at the most urgent, critical moments of the movie. Most of the time, Midnight Special hides, lethargic and almost dormant, rather than grabbing me by the collar and screaming 'get this kid outta here before the FBI and/or crazy cult people stick needles in him!!!!'

Whilst an underlying theme of Spielberg’s early work is dealing with the absence of a father figure, neither of his previously mentioned works feels empty. Midnight Special is all about having a father who's prepared to risk everything because he believes in his son, but most of the time it feels hollow, and that unconditional love neglected.

Throughout most of the movie I wonder if we're ever going to find out who or what Alton is, and what his secret is. It's always more enjoyable when a movie leaves the story open to interpretation, and to be honest there's part of me that didn't want answers. 

However, I'm very glad that the movie-makers had the courage to do what they did at the end of this film. It's there, at that point, where I finally felt a sense of wonder. I just wish I cared a bit more about the journey getting there. What Midnight Special lacks for me is a big red glowing heart.