‘Midnight Special’ Is A Special Sci-Fi Movie
Going into the screening of the new Jeff Nichols sci-fi drama, Midnight Special, I knew it starred several big names from some massive sci-fi franchises: Adam Driver, Kylo Ren of Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Michael Shannon, General Zod of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman; and Kirsten Dunst, Mary Jane Watson of Spider-Man. I expected spectacle and bombast, CGI and explosions.
Midnight Special proved to be a restrained, subtle, understated drama, more intent on storytelling and acting than effects. It defied my expectations. There was very little bombast; the CGI was deployed slowly and carefully, like the shark in Jaws; the spectacle was restrained, artistic and beautiful. It was also one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time; superbly written, scored beautifully, and portrayed with self-control by extremely talented actors.
It also does something very few movies are brave enough to do: it lets the story unfold slowly and quietly, trusting the audience to figure things out for themselves. In Jeff Nichols’ hands, the old adage “show, don’t tell” becomes “show little, tell less.” There is very little exposition; scenes develop naturally and dynamically. Actors convey incredible tension and emotion with subtle, powerful expressions. Michael Shannon in particular conveys more heart-wrenching sorrow with his eyebrows than many actors can with emotionally charged dialogue. He deserves serious award consideration for his portrayal of the terse, deeply-conflicted Roy.
In a blacked-out hotel room, Roy and Lucas (Joel Edgerton) watch a news report on TV about a missing boy, Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher). Alton is reading comic books on the couch, wearing swimming goggles. They hustle him into a non-descript car and flee the hotel. It’s initially unclear whether Alton has been kidnapped, or what his relation to Roy is. Calvin Meyer (Sam Shepard ), a David Koresh-esque preacher at a homespun, apocalyptic Texas church is desperate to find Alton, who he believes is critical to the Armageddon coming later that week. He sends two less-than-happy parishioners to bring back Alton at any cost. After discovering that Alton is intercepting and decrypting highly-classified satellite data, the NSA, FBI and U.S. military join the hunt for the missing boy. NSA agent Paul Sevier (Adam Driver) deciphers where Roy is taking Alton, enabling the FBI to track them as they speed towards their ultimate destination. In the spirit of Nichols’ “show little, tell less” approach, I’ll stop describing the story and encourage you to discover it by seeing Midnight Special.
There are certainly a few problems. It’s difficult to imagine that Alton’s powers could remain hidden for long. Paul Sevier has a few too many miraculous “lightbulb” moments where he unravels something no one else could see. It bears some passing similarity to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The ending, while beautifully imagined, quietly spectacular and pleasantly understated, is a bit facile. It hardly matters, and doesn’t diminish the film at all.
Midnight Special hasn’t had much promotion or advertising. The name is a little generic and non-descript. It’s one of those movies you might see listed at the theater and, having heard little about it, decide to skip. I hope that after reading my review, you watch it. It’s a wonderful, emotional movie with outstanding acting and understated writing. After seeing so many of this season’s big, loud, bombastic sci-fi blockbusters, do yourself a favor and see this small, quiet, unassuming sci-fi drama.
Midnight Special — Grade: A-
