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Jaeden Liberher

Midnight Special: When Worlds Collide

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Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) is a special young man. He’s so special that several government organizations with a spectrum of motivations and a cult devoted to things Alton has said are hot in pursuit of Alton and his father, Roy (Michael Shannon). In writer/director Jeff Nichols’ brilliant followup to?Mud, the action occurs in bursts as the father pursues an unseen level of safety for his son. With a throwback feel to films like?Starman?or?Escape to Witch Mountain, this one is ultimately about what you believe and why you believe it.

midnightspecial2In the beauty of Nichols’ story, we’re dropped right into the middle of the chase. We don’t know exactly what Alton can do, why the government or cult want him, where they’re going, or what exactly all of the relational dynamics are between Roy, Alton, and fellow travelers who come and go. We do know that Lucas (Joel Edgerton) is determined to protect Alton, even as much as Roy, but we know that Lucas’ belief spectrum is much narrower than Roy’s. It’s the beauty of how belief is presented: there are no right or wrong answers, but our own understanding of faith comes into the way we appreciate characters in the film.

midnightspecial3Several other characters develop this spectrum of faith. There’s a rather important part played by Kylo Ren, er, Adam Driver, as Paul Sevier, an analyst who understands more about Alton than anyone else, and another, thanks to a Kirsten Dunst sighting, as Sarah Tomlin, Alton’s mother and Roy’s wife. [Note the moment when she gets an important haircut later on in the film.] Seriously, Nichols’ use of strong acting, even by actors we’ve come to know in other, different settings, is part of what makes this film purr along. Case in point: go check out?The Confirmation to see more Lieberher.

midnightspecial4But for those considering plot: this is a straight up “chase” film. Will the baddies catch the fugitives? Or will Roy get Alton wherever he’s going? We don’t know exactly where “there” is but we know it’s paramount. It’s just like the way that we know that this is a science fiction film, but we don’t know exactly what we’re seeing. The pacing is spot on, and the mood, thanks in part to David Wingo’s score, makes for a feeling of anticipation and dread. Will you love the ending? Potentially. So much of your appreciation for the film depends on how much you are drawn into the characters – and the main dynamic of father and son.

In a “flipped” Parable of the Prodigal Son, we find a father who is willing to run?with?his son rather than?toward?him. The father’s desire to protect his son is an amazing display of paternal love – but it’s also something more, reflecting the divine. We know that it’s a reflection of Nichols’ own struggle with nearly losing his son (you can check out the review on ScreenFish) and the way that parents come to realize they can’t control, protect, direct, or change their children forever. And yet that impossibly powerful love remains, just like the love of the Father for the Son, passed on to us?because of letting go.?Can Roy’s love be big enough to let Alton go if need be? If so, what would that look like? What would it accomplish? What will be the sacrifice?

It all depends on what you believe – it’s all part of the process Nichols is taking us through. In the end, I found it mind-blowing – sci-fi on a dialed back, less CGI-focused scale. And it was perfect.

Special?features?include a focus on the five key characters (Roy, Alton, Sarah, Lucas, and Paul Sevier), and Nichols’ own look at the way the worlds of the film collide.?

Midnight Special: Light Cannot Be Hidden

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For a good portion of Jeff Nichols’?Midnight Special, we don’t know exactly?what?is going on but we can tell?something?is going on. In the writer/director’s fourth film, he takes us on a spellbinding journey, traveling along on a progressive chase with Ray (Michael Shannon, 99 Houses, Take Shelter) and his young son, Alton (Jaeden Libeher,?St. Vincent, Aloha). With a religious cult, the FBI, and the NSA hot on their heels, the two are running – but what are they running for?

To be clear, Alton isn’t normal. He possesses special powers that would make him worthy of the X-Men, if we knew exactly what they did. For most of the first half of the film, the special effects-worthy aspects of the narrative are back-seated to Ray’s determined effort to protect his son at all costs. Sure, we have some “greater good” arguments that come into play, but we know that if someone came to take your kid… you’d fight back.

midnightshannoncarryWhile his involvement is less clear in the film’s narrative (just to Nichols’ liking) is state trooper Lucas (Joel Edgerton), who was once Ray’s best friend and is now intent on protecting Alton. Lucas doesn’t understand Alton – and doesn’t even claim to believe in what Ray says must be true about the boy. But the journey isn’t Ray’s alone, as they travel with the ‘bad guys’ in hot pursuit. Thanks to Dave Wingo’s driving score, it’s a pulse-pounding, anxiety-filled ride that entertains in ways most films only dream of. [And, in a slightly more wordy way, it works toward the?Mad Max: Fury Road?mode of storytelling: show, don’t tell.]

Pick a film from the 1980s -?E.T., Starman,?Firestarter – and you’ll see a pattern where the forces that be determine that someone (or somebody in the case of E.T.) has special powers that they can’t control on their own. [If you choose to be more paranoid, you can say that the government wants to control said powers.] But for Nichols’ script, full of places for us to imagine or?wonder, it doesn’t matter why Ray and Alton are running as much as it matters that Ray believes.

midnightdriverBelief. Obviously a big topic at a site like ScreenFish, right? In Nichols’ script (and under his watchful direction), belief gets analyzed by the atheist (Lucas), the zealot (Sam Shepherd’s cult leader, Calvin Meyer), a former cult disciple (Kirsten Dunst’s Sarah), an NSA agent (Adam Driver’s Paul Sevier), and several other less-heralded characters. To be honest, I don’t think Nichols cares if you’re satisfied with his answers, but he’s determined to ask the questions.

He believes in something. You don?t.? Sarah
It doesnt matter. Good people die all of the time. ?Lucas

This exchange between Sarah and Lucas highlights the issue. For some, it’s not about belief, it’s about practicality. For others, it’s about belief in the face of impracticality but which must be explored. For a third set, it’s about belief that rises above (denies all?) practicality and any other reason. Artfully, the film presents us with the various options, and asks us to consider which category we fall in,?without narrowing it down to a single choice.

midnightspecialdunstDriver – The FBI thinks you?re a weapon. The Ranch thinks you?re their savior.
Alton- I?m not any of those things. I belong to another world.

It’s this faith-filled discussion that drove the film to places that I think the best science fiction goes. Why are we here? Who are we supposed to believe? Is this it? It’s the kind of question that Nichols seemed to point to in our interview yesterday, and the kind of questions that I think we’re supposed to ask – whether we’re involved in organized religion or not.

While all of those ’80s sci-fi thrillers are good places to find comparison, I couldn’t help but think of the times from my own reading of the Bible where I saw people misinterpret who Jesus is or was. I think we still do it today. In John 6:15, it says that “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” Or, in Matthew 27:11, we see it when Jesus refuses to let Pilate pin him down to one thing.

Friends, there is?mystery?here. While I believe in an omnipotent God who sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sins, I will admit that I can’t understand or fathom it all. I don’t even always know what questions to ask! But I know it can’t be controlled, or hidden, or held onto – much in the same way that neither Ray nor the NSA can quite hold onto Alton. Alton’s light shines – and light cannot be hidden.

Go see this movie, and ask yourself what questions do you need answered.

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