Starring: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Sam Shepard, Jaeden Lieberher
Distributor: Roadshow Films
Runtime: 112 mins. Reviewed in Mar 2016
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With his previous films ‘Shotgun Stories’, ‘Take Shelter’ and ‘Mud’, writer-director Jeff Nichols established himself as one of America’s most fascinating auteurs. Dealing with stories largely set in his native American South and often featuring his muse Michael Shannon, Nichols’ work has been consistently moving and well crafted, boasting an epic scale despite their independent roots. ‘Midnight Special’, his first foray into bigger profile studio filmmaking, borrows from the rich history of social science fiction before it, but maintains Nichols’ signature touch, even if it may frustrate some viewers expecting a more traditional Hollywood product.
Two men – Roy and Lucas, played by Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton respectively – are holed up in a motel room, accompanied by a young boy who is reading Superman comics by torchlight. A news broadcast suggests that they are wanted for kidnapping the child, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher, seemingly mature far beyond his years), who keeps a pair of blue swimming goggles strapped to his face. Careful not to be seen, they load into an old Chevrolet and drive away. The driver, Lucas, pulls on a pair of night vision goggles, kills the headlights and roars off into the darkness. Composer David Wingo’s score amplifies as the title appears large across the screen, the music delivering a propulsive rhythm to the chase which continues throughout the film.
Elsewhere, the FBI raids a religious cult, loading their members into school buses to be questioned. Their leader, Calvin (Sam Shepard), has just directed two of his congregation to retrieve his adopted son Alton, who appears to be a prophet or figurehead to their people. The questioning, taken over by NSA agent Paul Sevier, played by Adam Driver, largely concerns the boy’s mysterious powers. Adherents mention Alton’s ‘light’ and capacity to show them untold wonders, but Sevier is more interested by his ability to apparently tap into classified government broadcasts and documents. With the information gleaned from the witnesses, Sevier and his government pals set off on the fugitives’ trail.
Roy, Lucas and Alton spend the night with a former cult member, who shows them his calculations which establish where Alton needs to be taken in a couple of days’ time. We know that the pair are trying to deliver Alton to the location on time, but we are left in the dark as to why for most of the film’s runtime. We get further glimpses of Alton’s terrific abilities in a few thrilling set pieces (which won’t be spoiled herein, as peeling away Alton’s layers is one of the film’s joys). It is revealed that Roy is Alton’s biological father, and they pick up Alton’s mother Sarah, played tenderly by Kirsten Dunst, on the way to their final destination.
Everyone excels in the below the line responsibilities, which Nichols has stocked with most of his regular collaborators. Cinematographer Adam Stone turns a scene concerning a morning sunrise into a sublime and painterly exercise in suspense and great beauty. The visual effects, tackled by the same team who delivered brilliant storms in his feature ‘Take Shelter’, skilfully portray Alton’s abilities in several impressive moments. Nichols’ script is equally powerful, using the prism of a Spielberg-esque tale to delve into notions of fatherhood and religion. It refuses to spoon-feed its audience any answers, and this develops considerable intrigue throughout.
This reviewer caught the premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February, and our Ecumenical Jury was drawn to it by both Nichols’ pedigree and its depiction of faith. The cult that is built around Alton draws heavily from contemporary independent American churches, but Lucas makes a fascinating case study for how belief can spring up from singular experiences. An old associate of Roy’s, Lucas joins his quest after Roy and Alton suddenly appear on his doorstep. Joel Edgerton’s performance is stunning, delivering a forceful exhibition of the development of blind faith, selling his character’s path through various challenges and doubts along the journey. Michael Shannon is also a standout as Alton’s intense father, burning with love for his son and willing to do whatever it takes to ensure Alton fulfils his destiny, even if it means their time together is limited. The rest of the players are strong and well-cast, with a final mention to Adam Driver, who imbues Sevier with a bumbling humour which delivers moments of lightness amidst the serious business of hunting fugitives.
I get the sense that this may be a film more acclaimed by critics than the public, purely by the way that it makes its audience work at crafting a range of hypotheses, only to offer a definitive finale of sorts (which by definition cannot gel with everyone’s guesses). However, it’s an important film, and deserves to be seen by as large an audience as possible. Hopefully Nichols’ first step into larger budget pictures is not his last.
Review by Fr Peter Sheehan msc:
This is an American science-fiction film about a 8 yr. old child, Alton, who has special powers. He is fleeing from the authorities, and from a religious cult which worships him. The drama has strong supernatural overtones, and the title of the movie refers to a folk-song that featured among prisoners in the American South.
Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) was part of a Christian cult which fed on the power that resided in him. The origin of his power is kept secret until the film’s final scene, but Alton’s power is obvious. It is just that nobody understands it. Alton can read other people’s thoughts. He makes things happen with his eyes, harmed by daylight, that shine with a piercing light, and he is able to force a nuclear satellite out of its orbit. Rooms collapse and unexpected tremors occur because of what he does, and people get hurt.
Not surprisingly, the Police, the FBI and the National Security Agency want him for a variety of reasons, and are pursuing him. The authorities believe Alton has been abducted by his father, Roy (Michael Shannon), who is in the company of a State trooper, named Lucas ((Joel Edgerton), but only some of his pursuers (eg., a National Security Agent, played by Adam Driver) can really be trusted.
The movie makes it hard to distinguish religious fanatics and the Police from others in how they are dressed and what they say. In all sorts of ways ambiguity is maintained by the unfolding drama. The movie is directed basically as a road trip where Roy and Lucas drive Alton to a mysterious location that has to be reached at a time that is important. Jeff Nichols, the film’s Director, guides us through the puzzle well, and we know that Alton’s final destination really matters.
The visual effects in the movie are clever and well mounted. But despite their pulling force, this is a movie that is more about the relationship between father and son. Roy does everything in his power to protect Alton, and knows he has to connect with him emotionally. The movie imbeds the values of caring-parenthood firmly into an adventure story that holds attention.
There is a touch of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) about this movie in that the film builds up its tension to a visual-effects-filled conclusion. Its air of mystery-dread is compelling, and for a long while it is tantalisingly unclear why Alton is being hunted by so many, and where actually he is going. After Alton brings down a satellite from the sky because it is tracking him, he turns to Roy and simply says “Sorry!”, but one keeps on asking: Is Alton being kidnapped, or rescued, and who, or what, is responsible for his powers? Roy and his ex-wife, Sarah (Kirsten Dunst) handed Roy over for adoption to the religious cult’s spiritual leader, Calvin Meyer (Sam Shepard).
Alton, however, is attached emotionally to both Roy and Sarah, and Sarah is chosen by Alton to be the person who finally accompanies him to the place that is important to him. The film endorses the values of good parenting strongly, and illustrates intriguingly the influence of people’s deeply held convictions. There is desperate need behind the cult’s obsession with Alton. To them Alton is the Saviour. He poses a definite threat to those in authority, who don’t understand his powers, and don’t know how to control them. To them he is a weapon. And family ties are important to Alton, who needs them for his own protection. But who are they protecting?
The movie has excellent cinematography, and it strongly embeds humanity, especially compassion, into its story-line. It builds up its tension slowly but effectively, asks viewers to make sense of what is unfolding on the screen, and all the time it keeps them guessing – in the best traditions of good thinking-science fiction.
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