08. Midnight Special

08. MIDNIGHT SPECIAL

Director: Jeff Nichols

Release date: May 19, 2016

Much was made of The Duffer Brothers’ Netflix nostalgia-fest Stranger Things – and the praise heaped upon that TV series was certainly justified. But it should not be at the expense of Jeff Nichols’ impressive Midnight Special, a tense and beautifully made piece of old-school science fiction.

Just like Stranger Things, Midnight Special owes a lot to the suspense fantasies of the late ’70s and ’80s, from King to Carpenter and, of course, Spielberg. It’s a realistic road movie spliced with fantasy DNA, the fast-paced narrative rocketing to a memorable finale.

The film follows stoic father Roy (Nichols’ go-to actor Michael Shannon) and his son Alton Meyer, a boy with special powers. Roy was a member of a Texas cult built around his son’s incredible abilities, but steals him away in the night. Soon, both the cult’s heavies and members of the American government are after Roy and Alton. Father and son are assisted in their escape by Lucas (Joel Edgerton), a believer in Alton’s power, and Sarah (Kirsten Dunst), Alton’s biological mother. Sam Shepherd appears as the suitably unsettling cult leader and Adam Driver is again impressive as a specialist FBI agent.

The key to Midnight Special’s success is that Nichols bravely takes this high-concept science fiction seriously and grounds it in gritty realism. As with all classic sci-fi, a suspension of disbelief is required, but the movie richly rewards those that take the journey.