 | MOVIE #1,276 • 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 • 12.12.23 The framing device of this being an early monochrome teleplay that merges into a full cinematic adventure is excellent, although I’m not sure if its overlong story passages totally work. They're well written but their length and how they're so flatly presented lost me (especially the old lady's confessional tome towards the end). Despite flourishes of visual splendor this film is more ‘tell, don't show’ which normally isn't effective. But in the context of this as a 1950s TV mystery production, I understand its loquaciousness. Also, I think many of these issues and the film's pace can be chalked up to its miniscule 700K budget, so that's a crime I'd like to forgive. It's not a perfect film but it's definitely worth watching. |
And I appreciate the underlying theme of ‘the other’ bubbling throughout. The visitors from outer space are a metaphor for outside intrusion into the idyllic (white) 50s world. Be it the away team basketball squad (full of “Indians”), the story of Blacks and Mexicans being used by the military for dangerous procedures, or the spinster living in shame for having a baby out of wedlock, this unfounded fear is ever present, lurking, waiting to snatch something away. We reckon with the fear about as well as we do with hypothetical alien invaders. It's a subtle but powerful message that isn't hamfisted into the narrative. LOW 8/10
CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ MOVIE #1,275 - (YOU ARE HERE) - MOVIE #1,277 ⫸
⫷ MOVIE #1,275 - (YOU ARE HERE) - MOVIE #1,277 ⫸
The Vast of Night is a 2019 American science fiction mystery film directed by Andrew Patterson. It was co-produced and written by Patterson (under the pseudonym James Montague) and Craig W. Sanger. The story takes place in 1950s New Mexico and is loosely based on the Kecksburg UFO incident and Foss Lake disappearances. The film follows young switchboard operator Fay Crocker (Sierra McCormick) and radio disc jockey Everett Sloan (Jake Horowitz) as they discover a mysterious audio frequency that could be extraterrestrial in origin. It was released on January 26, 2019.
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