Indie Gems: Midnight Special

He's more important

Roy (Michael Shannon) has left a cult with his son, Alden (Jaeden Lieberher) who they worshiped. Alden has special powers, ones that tell him that he needs to be at a certain place on a certain date for an unknown reason. He's aided by his childhood friend Lucas (Joel Egerton) and his assumed ex wife, Sarah. (Kirsten Dunst) But he has not only the FBI hot on their trail, but an NSA agent, Sevier (Adam Driver) who wants to know why Alden is able to figure out top secret government codes.

My road to this film has been long. It premiered at Sundance two years ago to rave reviews, I book marked it, waited for it's release date that year...then it got pushed back....then it was pushed back again. Finally, it got a limited theatrical release. My own art house theatre got it...for 6 days only. It felt like everything was preventing me to see this movie. But when I watched it, it immediately made all of that waiting work it.

Midnight Special is another spectacular work from director Jeff Nichols. It may even be my favorite of his. This is his first studio film (Warner Brothers Independent) so they gave him a bit of a budget to work with. The less you know about this film, the better it works. My husband hadn't even seen a preview of it prior, I just sold him on "Jeff Nichols and Michael Shannon" and he was pleasantly surprised throughout. 

The acting in the film is wonderful, people like Shannon, Dunst, Edgerton and Driver always turn out fine performances. Though I wish Driver had been in it a bit more. Lieberher was also very good and I hope he gets more roles from this.

Midnight Special did leave me with a few questions, but they're the intriguing kind. The kind that feel okay when you wonder about a film after you've watched it. 

Grade: A

Watched on: Netflix DVD

Memorable Quote: "I believe you." - Lucas (Joel Egerton)

Comments

  1. I wanted to check this out again as I found it quite slow in a fidgety sense, I found myself getting inpatient with it.

    Still, I appreciate the film and the final act is mesmerizing...I'm planning to give it another go.

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    1. Have you seen any of the other films by Jeff Nichols? They all had similiar builds to me. I love them.

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    2. I've seen Mud and Take Shelter, both of which I really liked.

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  2. I loved this movie. It really brought me back to the glory days of science fiction with films like E.T.

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    1. Yes! It was a great balance. It reminded me of that as well.

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  3. I wanted more Driver, too! But really glad you loved this, I can't wait to see it again now it's finally out on DVD here :)
    - Allie

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    1. I wish I could've seen it in theaters, I would've gladly thrown my money at this film. lol

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  4. i NEED to see this. so glad you loved it

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  5. Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to rent this tonight.

    Or now. (f--king Olympics are killing my movie watching!)

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    1. Mine too! I've had Elvis & Nixon and The Driftless Area at my house for over a week, but the Olympics keep distracting me. lol

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  6. Nice review! Wish I liked this as much as you, the slow-pacing and Sci-fi elements of the film did not sit very well with me, athough I did admire the performances.
    But I think it pales in comparison to Nichols recent work like Mud and Take Shelter.

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    1. Aww, I'm sorry you didn't like it more. I'm glad the acting worked for you at least.

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  7. I have to say that Nichols is at this point is batting 1000 right now. It's currently my 2nd favorite film of the year with Love & Friendship in first.

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    1. I can't wait to see what he does with Loving later this year.

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  8. Great review! I agree on all points. Jeff Nichols is such an impressive talent. I can't wait for Loving.

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    1. Thank you! Neither can I. That looks amazing as well.

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  9. Nice review! A lot of great reviews have surrounded this one. Nichols rarely seems to disappoint.

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    1. I'm not sure if he can disappoint? I haven't see it yet. lol

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  10. I haven't meet a Jeff Nichols movie that I didn't like! Midnight Special is a solid sci-fi film! But Take Shelter still remains as my favorite from Mr. Nichols.

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    1. Take Shelter is my favorite as well, but this one is close behind. I can't wait to see Loving this year.

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  11. I'm totally glad to see Kiki in more roles lately, and she was brief, but great in this! Definitely one of the better, less talked about, movies of this year!

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    1. I've loved her since I was a tween, I'm always happy to see her in films. Agreed that she was great in her small part.

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  12. An A? Woo Hoo! STILL my favorite film of the year so far. Held up stunningly well a second time. Such a big fan of the story, the characters, and Nichols' near perfect execution. Glad to hear you liked it too!

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    1. So am I! I'd love to see this again, I'll probably buy it.

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  13. I was thrown off by a few red herrings in the plot but kind of thought they added to the fun of discovery. Really enjoyed it.

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  14. I have not heard of this film but sounds intriguing.

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    1. It's wonderful, like all of Jeff Nichols' other films.

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  15. I really thought this one would impress me more, but I never felt invested, at all. But, silver linings--Edgerton actually impressed me (which is rare), Lieberher is wonderful (St. Vincent was extremely under appreciated), and Michael Shannon keeps impressing me more and more.

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