Midnight Special

I was very excited to hear that Midnight Special was coming to my area. The festival buzz around the film has been enormous. On top of that, I really like director Jeff Nichols. Too add to all of that, sci-fi is one of my favourite genres. So I guess you could say that I was eagerly awaiting Midnight Special. I avoided trailers and went in blind, and came out in awe. Midnight Special is hands-down one of the best films of 2016 so far!

The acting is fabulous all around. Joel Edgerton is likeable as the most relatable character in the film. He plays the "normal" guy who gets stuck in a bad situation. Kirsten Dunst is phenomenal and delivers one of the best supporting performances of the whole year. There is one moment near the end of the film where she made my jaw drop. She's THAT good. Newcomer Jaeden Lieberher gives a great child performance that was actually believable, considering what he had to pull off. The whole supporting cast including Adam Driver worked in the film's favour. However, the one actor that I found to be the weak point was Michael Shannon. He has his moments, and I get what he was going for, but I didn't find his performance to be "enough" for the character he was portraying. He holds the same facial expression almost the whole film.

The writing in Midnight Special is brilliant. They always give you enough information to be invested, and leave enough out to keep you guessing until the very end. I loved the dialogue between the characters and the mystery element to the story. Speaking of the story, though it borrows some tropes from past films, it is both adventurous and mysterious. It also has some very creative ideas that work beautifully.

Jeff Nichols proves once again that he is one of the best directors working today. The shots were gorgeous and I adored the way the whole film flowed. The pacing was a little too slow for the first half, but once the second half begun, it never let out until the last shot. The cinematography and musical score were very reminiscent of older sci-fi films. Both are spectacular.

Overall, Midnight Special is a unique, beautifully directed sci-fi film that is one of 2016's best so far. See it!

RATING: 9.25/10.