Great acting puts the special in Midnight Special

There’s a vaguely timeless quality to Jeff Nichols’ first studio film, a sincere and almost reverent call-back to the spiritual sci-fi of the 1970s.

When a determined father takes his son and goes on the run from the sequestered compound of the religious sect they live in, they find themselves not only hunted by his church but by the FBI and NSA as well. The key is Alton, a young boy who seems to have powers he can’t control, powers which may be dangerous or divine in nature.

“Midnight Special” is a clever and intriguing sci-fi road trip which gives up its mysteries slowly and cryptically as we accompany Alton and his father Roy on their flight across the country while the cult plots his recapture and the authorities try to anticipate what their plan is. There are strong echoes of “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” throughout the film, most strongly in the character of Roy whose compulsion to help his son reach an unknown destiny on little more than faith echoing the obsessive quest of Roy Neary in “Close Encounters” but thanks to a superb performance from Michael Shannon it manages to escape the shadow of its predecessor. “Midnight Special” is the kind of story and storytelling I was hoping for from the recent revival of “The X-Files” but was left wanting and its intriguing mix of church versus state against a lone family gives it a real emotional edge to go with the suspense and drama.

Although there’s really not a wasted minute in its runtime thanks to the cast and the slowly ratcheting tension, a little too much is left unexplored and there’s a lot more you’re left wanting to know about both the cult, its members and the various government agencies’ agendas as you follow the film to a finale which offers an alternative take on the themes explored by Brad Bird’s “Tomorrowland”.

Creatively ambitious, soulful and filled with tremendous performances, “Midnight Special” is high-concept lo-fi sci-fi that brings an old-fashioned sensibility to a thoroughly modern story.

midnight special review
Score 7/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

Halloween Ends (2022) Review

Halloween Ends (2022) Review

What better way to kick off 2023's Month Of Spooks than with Halloween Ends? While it’s not unjust to suggest that David Gordon Green’s rebooted HALLOWEEN trilogy rivals the STAR WARS sequel trilogy for poor planning and even worse execution but the saving grace here is that where THE...

Red Lights (2012) Review

Red Lights (2012) Review

Roxanne would need little encouragement not to put this movie on “Red Lights” is one of those movies which sounded good in theory but fell flat in practice. In theory, you have Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, Toby Jones and Robert DeNiro in a film which looks set to play out as a...

Countess Dracula (1971) Review

Countess Dracula (1971) Review

Countess Dracula has a low blood count and an even lower Count count Wait a minute! This movie isn't about Dracula. It’s not even about a ‘real’ vampire. I shall have to complain to the Dractober planning department about this one. Oh well, as we’re here, we might as well delve into this...

In & Out (1997) Review

In & Out (1997) Review

There's no referendum needed for romantic comedy In & Out Frank Oz’ 1997 romantic comedy “In & Out” is a bit of a curiosity, simultaneously ahead of and firmly of its time. A frothy, light-hearted comedy about homosexuality and coming out was a bold move then but now…well, now...

The Last Voyage Of The Demeter (2024) Review

The Last Voyage Of The Demeter (2024) Review

The Last Voyage Of The Demeter doesn't raise the stakes enough. There’s a simple, primal appeal to The Last Voyage of the Demeter. A single location, a creeping sense of doom, and a monster slowly picking off an isolated crew - it’s practically Alien at sea, but with Dracula instead of a...

Superman III (1983) Review

Superman III (1983) Review

Making the case for a Superman III renaissance... Who would have thought that the Man of Steel's greatest weakness wasn’t Kryptonite, but rather, slapstick comedy and behind-the-scenes drama? SUPERMAN III landed in cinemas with a campy twist that left fans either chuckling or...

Monster Island (2017) Review

Monster Island (2017) Review

Exclusive to Cineworld Cinemas in the UK (although I suspect the bidding wasn’t particularly fierce), “Monster Island” is running in their Movies For Juniors range as a school holiday time waster. When young Lucas transforms into a monster in front of his entire class at the coolest...

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (2016) Review

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (2016) Review

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children could be Professor X's pre-school Marvel movies are notoriously not allowed to use the ‘m’ word and you’ll find it curiously absent from Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children… even if it feels like an “X-Men” story co-written by J K...

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Rodney Twelftree
9 years ago

When I saw the trailer to this it kinda struck me as this year’s Ex Machina – weird, low-fi, highbrow cinema. I’m so jonesing to see it.