Midnight specialevents overview the movie opens with an amber alert canvassing the south and the larger texas area, and the nearby states. Jeff nichols brilliant midnight special weaves relatable themes of parental responsibility and faith in that which is traditionally unexplainable into a scifi road movie, with echoes of john carpenter, steven spielberg, and stephen king bouncing throughout. With michael shannon, joel edgerton, kirsten dunst, adam driver. That said, there are violent moments and scary effects involving an 8year. Midnight special 2016 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Fate intervenes when she meets charlie and they embark on a summer romance. The deeper implications of what might really be going on. In the scifi thriller midnight special, writerdirector jeff nichols proves again that he is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time, as a father michael shannon, goes on the run to protect his young son, alton jaeden lieberher, and uncover the truth behind the boys special powers. I felt like it starts in the middle of a story and you have to fill in the blanks to the whos doing what part in the movie. Dark and grainy, set on rural backroads, i felt like i was in a low budget 70s movie.
Jon voight delivers a careermaking performance as joe buck, a wideeyed hustler from texas hoping to score big with wealthy city women. Behind the astonishing midnight special ending its very easy to say, well, jeff couldnt quite connect these dots, director jeff nichols told buzzfeed news. Midnight special was backed and primarily distributed by warner bros. Carried by great performances although kirsten dunst is sorely underused and a truly hypnotic score, this scifi roadtrip genre mix has its heart and mind in the right place, both as a late70s80s homage and a familial. Midnight special is a 2016 american science fiction film written and directed by jeff nichols, and produced by sarah green and brian kavanaughjones. The movie addresses the topics of faith, parenthood, and identity, though it covers the storys spiritualfantastic elements with as much ambiguity as possible. The government and a group of religious extremists pursue a man michael shannon and his son jaeden lieberher, a. A hugely potential film which has all its technicalities spot.
A boy is missing, and hes probably been taken by his biological father from a place called the ranch. Midnight special remains understated despite all of its. The blockbuster masters films were about a fathers legacy, how his actions present or not impact the life of the child. Midnight special, while superbly acted and paced at just the right speed, has a bold message to deliver for humanity, however, most of the journey through the two hours of run time is watered down. In spite of my initial hesitancy, i thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the midnight castle story and pushed myself to finish certain levels because i couldnt wait to read the outcome. None of them can light a match to any of the performances here for many were performances and not just marketing and corporate money making tools. What does the ending of the movie midnight special mean. Jeff nichols celebrity profile check out the latest jeff nichols photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. By the end, you have an idea but i still feel like i need to watch it again. Midnight special proves theres someone left in hollywood whos willing and able to draw viewers into an engrossing, carefully crafted story without baiting them with sex and violence. Midnight special announces the arrival of a filmmaker in total control of his technique as well as our emotions. Midnight special opens right after roy tomlin michael shannon and his 8yearold son. The film began a theatrical release on march 18, 2016, by warner bros. Jaeden martell in midnight special 2016 kirsten dunst at an event for midnight special.
Some of the movies story ideas may seem very familiar, but its more about emotions than special effects or thrills. Watch midnight special online stream full movie directv. There were other movies released on the same date, including the divergent series. Starring michael shannon, kirsten dunst and adam driver, this film examines the intricacies of the media, faith and widespread panic in a wholly cinematic and beautiful way with an epic twist of science fiction which would get the carl sagan seal of.
So it was with great anticipation i went to midnight special. Writerdirector jeff nichols has made an audiencepleasing movie that rivals m. That said, the movies moral, redemptive values of sacrifice, family bonds, faith, and understanding ones true identity are strong. There is also an undeniable story of faith buried in midnight specialabout believing in something unseen, something greater than ourselves. When asked during the pr tour if hed thrown story out the air lock, jeff responded with, i didnt create this to have a kind of plot concision. Late night rock and pop music performances are featured. The story revolves around roy tomlin and his biological son, alton meyer, escaping from both the government and a cult, after discovering. With wolfman jack, helen reddy, donna summer, tina turner. Midnight specials intriguing mysteries may not resolve themselves to every viewers.
Released march 18th, 2016, midnight special stars michael shannon, joel edgerton, kirsten dunst, jaeden martell the pg movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 51 min, and received a. A father and son go on the run, pursued by the government and a cult drawn to the childs special powers. But midnight special is a chase movie, and like all chase movies it runs the risk of losing all narrative momentum once it arrives at a destination. Midnight special should be added to his growing list of accomplishments, but for most people not glued into the genre, it may come off as disjointed and unfulfilled. On the one hand, its about a father and a son bonding, while its also equally a roadtrip. Movie of the year basically just means that its a movie that make you really think and consider what is going on in the film. Even if these references hint at the sort of story that midnight special. Michael shannon, joel edgerton, and kirsten dunst star in. Some early scenes and plot points dont click until later in the film, and.
Listen to and download the music, ost, score, list of songs and trailers. Jeff nicholss midnight special buries itself in secrets and a brooding, lucid sense of ambiguity, and its exciting and unbalanced in equal measure. In midnight special, its about how a child affects a father. Its available to watch on tv, online, tablets, phone. Much of this emotional undercurrent falls on the shoulders of nichols cast, especially the driven, subtle performance from michael shannon, although hes matched by great work from dunst, edgerton, driver, and the rest of the cast. From carly rae jepsens emotion to stranger things to everybody wants some, it seems like hollywood had a board meeting and decided that this is the decade were going to be homaging this year. The midnight special is what the beyonces and the jessica simposons and the britney spears et al.
In general, what happened was that, for whatever reason, the boy is just more a part of that other world than he is a part of our world, and he go. Midnight special was released in 2016 on friday, march 18, 2016 in limited movie theaters. Without their extraordinarily generous and unselfish gifts, id be sitting in a corner of the special room pulling at threads from my huggie jacket. Pictures, and entertainment one handled uk distribution. In reality, his father roy, along with roys lifelong friend lucas, have taken the boy from the religious compound where he previously lived and gone on the run. Its a chase film about a father protecting his mysteriously superpowered son from both a cult and the u. Midnight special can be divided into two halves separated by an abrupt plot shift that robs the film of its potential. Midnight special is a breathtaking display of visual storytelling. Midnight special seeks clarity through claptrap m idnight special is a political scifi film, but very distinct from marvel comics fantasies, speculations on a totalitarian future the matrix. Directed by scott speer and written by kenji bando and eric kirsten, midnight sun is the story of an 18year old girl, katie, afflicted with xeroderma pigmentosum, or xp.
Watch midnight special starring michael shannon in this drama on directv. Midnight special is a 2016 scifichase movie written and directed by jeff nichols alton meyer, an 8yearold boy with supernatural abilities, has been reported missing. Midnight special proves that you dont need huge explosions, action set pieces, or overthetop special effects to make a great scifi movie the 80s are back in style. A hugely potential film which has all its technicalities spot on, yet the production team seemed stuck at what to fill in a grey area of space with. One of the british new waves most versatile directors, john schlesinger came to new york in the late 1960s to make midnight cowboy, a picaresque story of friendship that captured a city in crisis and sparked a new era of hollywood movies. The story revolves around roy tomlin and his biological son, alton meyer, escaping from both the government and a cult, after discovering that alton has special powers. The film stars michael shannon, joel edgerton, kirsten dunst, adam driver, jaeden martell, and sam shepard. Midnight special is the most recent offering from jeff nichols who brought us such delights as mud and take shelter. In the middle of the night, his father, roy, spirits him away from the isolated cult that practically worships him and is determined to regain him at all costs.
Grey space they tried to make special, midnight special is a colossal disappointment. With a strong script and a deliberately ambiguous storyline, each cast member commits to their characters with conviction and collectively deliver one of the years most gripping films. It is nicholss fourth fulllength film and his first studio production. Even though nichols remains averse to defining concrete conclusions regarding midnight specials final minutes, it is clear that he personally sees his movie overall as a kind of allegory not. So many modern blockbusters err on the side of handholding, underlining their. In the opening scene of midnight special, two armed men sneak a boy out of a. With midnight special, jeff nichols enters the pantheon of those nostalgic american filmmakers armed with their lens flares, pandoras boxes and deeply sentimental reasons, driven by a protective father figure and a maternal relationship to the plot itself. Could there have been a improvement in the storyline and how he was special. Warner bros initially set the film for a release on november 25, 2015, but in july 2015 moved the date back to march 18, 2016. Synopsis in the scifi thriller midnight special, writerdirector jeff nichols proves again that he is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time, as a father michael shannon, goes on the run to protect his young son, alton jaeden lieberher, and uncover the truth behind the boys special powers. Joel edgerton, michael shannon, jaeden lieberher and kirtsen dunst in midnight special.
Midnight special 2016 stream and watch online moviefone. The heartbreaking story that inspired jeff nichols to. In the middle of the night, his father, roy, spirits him. People want a spielberg movie and instead they get a nichols movie. Spoiler alert by the ending of the movie, im guessing you mean literally the last two seconds. All 26 songs from the midnight special 2016 movie soundtrack, with scene descriptions. Sam shepard, jaeden lieberher, scott haze, kirsten dunst, michael shannon, david jensen, adam driver, joel edgerton duration. In every other respect, jeff nichols compelling scifi chase film is terse. Everything you need to know about midnight special movie. There was real joy in experiencing the movie for the first time.
Alton meyer is a boy unlike any other in the world with bizarrely powerful abilities and strange weaknesses. The overall concept it laid out during the first half of the film vanished somewhere in the middle, taking with it the buildup of intrigue and mystery. Why that midnight special ending makes perfect sense. A bravura sciencefiction thriller that explores emotional areas like parenthood and the nature of belief, its a riveting genre exercise as well as something more.
Rent midnight special 2016 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. Midnight special is directed by jeff nichols, and stars adam driver, kirsten dunst and michael shannon. Midnight special starring michael shannon, joel edgerton, and adam driver, follows a boy named alton and his father on the run from the. This kid can act and he holds his own amongst the intimidating weight of talent surrounding him.
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