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The 18th annual Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) has wrapped, and, as usual, I have mixed feelings about the event. But, I am always glad to attend because of the opportunity to catch indie, foreign, and documentary films that will never be widely released in theaters or touted by reviewers. Some of these titles may find outlets for distribution, but if they don’t get any buzz in the media, viewers will not know to look for them.
Such are the conditions of film exhibition and consumption in America. For example, way too much attention has been paid in the press to that clunker of a comic-book flick that shall remain nameless. The stars worked the talk-show circuit; the film’s opening made the news; and, even its box-office disappointment generated Internet headlines. Meanwhile, I have seen very little buzz for a far superior film, Midnight Special, which premiered at South by Southwest and played opening weekend at SFF. Directed by one of my new favorite filmmakers, Jeff Nichols, this slice of sci fi tells the story of a gifted boy named Alton who is on the lam across the South with his father and a family friend. Alton, who is played by Jaeden Lieberher, knows way too much about secret codes and satellite coordinates, and he has unusual powers that are gradually revealed. Small wonder that various government agencies, who have not lightened up much since E.T., are pursuing them.
One of the strengths of the film is the way the narrative unfolds a piece at a time. Viewers are given minimal information at the beginning, allowing us to put together the pieces of the puzzle scene by scene. For example what looks like a kidnapping at first turns into a rescue. This strategy creates suspense while calling on the viewers’ natural inclination to uncover the story. Too many commercial Hollywood films today spoon-feed the narratives to the audience, over-determining the plot points by using dialogue to explain and describe.
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DIRECTOR JEFF NICHOLS
Michael Shannon, who has been in all of Nichols’s films (Mud; Taking Shelter; Shotgun Stories), inhabits the role of the father, Roy, a working-class Southerner with something weighing heavily on his conscience. Like Nichols’s last film, Mud, Midnight Special has something to say about the intricacies of father-son relationships, and Roy’s determination to do right by his son is at the heart of the story. Kirsten Dunst offers a subtle but moving performance as Alton’s mother. My favorite character was played by Joel Edgerton, who joins the family in their crusade to protect the boy. He plays Shannon’s close friend from childhood, Lucas, and though the two have lost track over the years, he drops everything to join Roy when he shows up on his doorstep. Lucas is a state trooper, a member of law enforcement. But, when Roy needs him, he does not hesitate to help even after crimes are committed, and he finds himself on the other side of the law.
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EDGERTON, SHANNON, LIEBERHER, AND DUNST : AT ONE WITH THE SOUTHERN LANDSCAPE
Anyone from the working class South will understand Lucas’s seemingly contradictory action. This is generally a politically conservative region that embraces both law enforcement and religion—two of the institutions represented in the film. But, it is also a region where family and local ties form bonds that cannot be broken by time or law, and where residents instinctively understand that social institutions don’t always protect and serve those on the lowest rungs of the social ladder. I didn’t think twice about Lucas’s actions, but after the film, I overheard a middle-aged couple question how easily he crossed his chosen profession.
Director Nichols, who hails from Arkansas, is a regionalist filmmaker, meaning his movies depict the culture and pay tribute to the inhabitants of a part of the U.S. most know little about. His best-known film is Mud, which starred Matthew McConaughey as an escaped con hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River. He is discovered by two boys who end up helping him—a temporary father figure—in his far-fetched plan to win back his girlfriend and escape down the river in a broken-down boat. It’s another story in which embracing and eluding law officials is part of the nature of the characters.
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KIRSTEN DUNST AS ALTON’S MOTHER: DUNST IS A GOOD ACTRESS WHO IS NOT SEEN ENOUGH ON THE BIG SCREEN.
In Midnight Special, a cult-like religion looks at Alton as someone with a divine gift who has been touched or blessed by Jesus. Led by Sam Shepherd, the group, which resembles the Branch Davidians, lives on a compound called “the Ranch.” Members speak in a devout discourse, while women don long, old-fashioned dresses. In mainstream films and media, Southern religions are tagged as “the other” and criticized or ridiculed for their unsophisticated beliefs. But, Nichols depicts the group with more complexity. Shepherd sends his inner circle to bring back Alton, so he is definitely a threat to Roy and his family, but when the FBI force every church member off the compound and whisk them away on buses for lengthy questioning, it comes across as persecution. The FBI, CIA, and law enforcement are far worse than the Ranch because their cold-hearted pursuit is based on fear of Alton’s power and the desire to control it. They exhibit neither acceptance nor understanding.
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LUCAS GIVES COMIC BOOKS TO ALTON, WHO DEVOURS THEM BY FLASHLIGHT. A FITTING MOTIF SINCE COMIC BOOKS FEATURE HEROES WITH STRANGE POWERS NOT UNLIKE ALTON’S.
Nichols has an eye for Southern landscape, from the topography to the way the sun hits the fields or the way the dark back roads look against the night sky. The emphasis on cinematography over special effects is a reflection of his realist style. A science fiction film rendered in a realist mode is unusual, but it suits the heart-felt drama of the father-son story, which includes Roy’s need to make up for past mistakes left unexplained. The film’s title is steeped in Southern lore and culture. A traditional folk song recorded by Lead Belly, “Midnight Special” is about a real-life train that sped by the prison where Lead Belly had served time. If the train’s light shone on a prisoner then it was a sign that he would be set free—something all of the characters in this film desire and deserve.
Midnight Special, which won the Audience Award at the SFF, was released to theaters this past weekend in some markets. I recommend it; it was my favorite narrative film from the festival.
Next week, I will reveal the best documentary films, which were among the best I have seen in a while. Stay tuned. . . .