Midnight Special

Brilliantly simple yet thought-provoking, Midnight Special is a low budget sci-fi film by recently impressive up and coming writer/director Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter). Like many great sci-fi films, the fiction element is transparent from the beginning. A young boy has mysterious powers that are worshiped by a cult, protected by his father, and hunted by the NSA. It isn't until the climax that we discover the source of these powers, but like many high quality predecessors, the ending is not disappointing, it is truly clever.

Led by understated performances by Michael Shannon (protective father) and Adam Driver (curious NSA analyst), the casting is sharp with young Jaeden Lieberher as the oracle and cause of national security fervor. Kirsten Dunst, Joel Edgerton, and Sam Shepherd round out the supporting cast, but the film is truly a journey of a father and son. They have a vague destination of both place and time, but the beauty is that it never really matters. The child is a misunderstood pariah, and his danger and power isn't conveyed until the very end.

I am becoming more and more impressed by originality over eye candy. Especially when it comes to science fiction. Like 10 Cloverfield Lane earlier this year, the low budget approach lets the effects and magic take a back seat to character studies and a very ponderous idea about our very existentialism. Keeping the audience in suspense is underrated, and there is a disheartening movement for films to overshare the plot points in the trailers. Admittedly hard to resist, you often know more about the film before stepping foot in the theatre than you wish you did. Midnight Special shares just enough to know that this is a special kid. Like K-Pax or ET, the wonderment is what makes it special and memorable.

I would recommend this film to any science fiction fan. It carries many of the hallmarks of great story-telling and although there is little fanfare or even special effects, it is sharp and poignant. 8/10.