Starring michael shannon, kirsten dunst and adam driver, this film examines the intricacies of the media, faith and widespread panic in a wholly cinematic and beautiful way with an epic twist of science fiction which would get the carl sagan seal of approval. Midnight special blending grassroots character detail with a healthy dash of paranormal intrigue, jeff nichols puts an original spin on the road movie. The title comes from the refrain which refers to the midnight special and its everloving light sometimes everliving light. So it was with great anticipation i went to midnight special. Midnight special 2016 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Nichols drops us into the middle of a chase and demands us to pay attention and figure out whats going on. Contrary to popular belief, midnight special is a spiritual movie, turned scifi, turned.
It felt current and had some potent ideas that transcended the 1,5h duration, yet it leaned on a tradition of moviemaking that felt familiar, stylish in a 1970s or early 80s way. The deeper implications of what might really be going on. Ending explanation for the movie take shelter taylor holmes. And the writerdirector knows that can be frustrating for some moviegoers. What does the ending of the movie midnight special mean, if. The opening scene of midnight special, written and directed by jeff nichols take shelter, mud is stirring, suspenseful, and moving. The movie was both magical, gritty, heavy and airy. The blockbuster masters films were about a fathers legacy, how his actions present or not impact the life of the child. Its light shines into the sugar land prison in texas. In fact theyre baffling in their lack of imagination. A father michael shannon, goes on the run to protect his young son, alton jaeden lieberher, and uncover the truth behind the boys special powers. Jaeden lieberher and michael shannon in midnight special. So many modern blockbusters err on the side of handholding, underlining their.
Some of the movie s story ideas may seem very familiar, but its more about emotions than special effects or thrills. In the middle of the night, his father, roy, spirits him away from the isolated cult that practically worships him. The film worked as a universal allegory on the collapse of society through this fictitious setting. Spoiler alert by the ending of the movie, im guessing you mean literally the last two seconds. The midnight special in the song is, strictly speaking, a train, but its. Oct 21, 2018 if you havent seen the movie, i would recommend watching it, even if just for the last three minutes of the film. Starman is, in all ways, a more interesting, rewarding movie. Midnight special ends with more of a solid answer than take shelter did, but i felt like that took away some of the magic. Midnight special is a 2016 american science fiction film written and directed by jeff nichols. What does the ending of the movie midnight special mean. Midnight special 2016 stream and watch online moviefone. Released march 18th, 2016, midnight special stars michael shannon, joel edgerton, kirsten dunst, jaeden martell the pg movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 51 min, and received a.
There was real joy in experiencing the movie for the first time. Midnight special is a 2016 american science fiction film written and directed by jeff nichols, and produced by sarah green and brian kavanaughjones. The setup is very similar, with a duo of a believer partnered with a law enforcement officer who brave adversity in the shape of the man who is desperately trying to stop them. Midnight special starring michael shannon, joel edgerton, and adam driver, follows a boy. I have people who really love my movies and hate my endings. The film stars michael shannon, joel edgerton, kirsten dunst, adam driver, jaeden martell, and sam shepard. By the ending of the movie, im guessing you mean literally the last two seconds. Midnight special, while superbly acted and paced at just the right speed, has a bold message to deliver for humanity, however, most of the journey through the two hours of. The song is historically performed in the countryblues style from the viewpoint of the prisoner and has been. Midnight special was released by warner brothers shrouded in secrecy, with minimal advertising and trailers that only hinted at the plot and characters. It could be frustrating to some this movie manages to throw you into the story with very little explanation while also being pretty slow and quiet. But midnight special is a chase movie, and like all chase movies it runs the risk of losing all narrative momentum once it arrives at a destination.
The midnight special is a passenger train from houston. They also appeared in the hbo tv series boardwalk empire 20102014, and have appeared in two stage plays. Midnight special ending obviously spoilers posted by jack ruby on 61616 at 7. The heartbreaking story that inspired jeff nichols to write. Midnight special raises all the same questions as starman and has just as many answers, theyre just not as interesting. Jeff nichols, the director of mud, talks about his new scifi movie, midnight special.
Movie of the year basically just means that its a movie that make you really think and consider what is going on in the film. The lyrics of the creedance clearwater song are about. Warner bros initially set the film for a release on november 25, 2015, but in july 2015 moved the date back to march 18, 2016. Midnight special, while superbly acted and paced at just the right speed, has a bold message to deliver for humanity, however, most of the journey through the two hours of run time is watered down. Midnight special sets out its stall as an atmospheric chase movie before. What exactly happened during the finale of midnight special. But nichols has never attempted anything quite like the conclusion to his latest movie, midnight special. Pictures, and entertainment one handled uk distribution. Midnight special is the most recent offering from jeff nichols who brought us such delights as mud and take shelter. Behind the astonishing midnight special ending buzzfeed. Its a genre bending mashup of a road movie and scifi flick that pays homage to perfect world, starman, and close encounters. The lyrics of the creedance clearwater song are about the woes of a african american man who has been imprisoned for gambling and fighting. Mar 18, 2016 jeff nichols brilliant midnight special weaves relatable themes of parental responsibility and faith in that which is traditionally unexplainable into a scifi road movie, with echoes of john carpenter, steven spielberg, and stephen king bouncing throughout. It is nicholss fourth fulllength film and his first studio production.
Ive never gone so quickly from loving a movie for 90% of it i felt like i was watching something spielbergian, like e. Mar 16, 2016 jeff nichols candidly admitted that he was inspired to write midnight special after his own son nearly died at a tender age, and the fear of losing him completely paralyzed the filmmaker. In general, what happened was that, for whatever reason, the boy is just more a part of that other world than he is a part of our world, and he goes to join his fellow glowypeople in the other world. Midnight special is the kind of earnest concept scifi that always reminds me very much of cult tv show the xfiles. Dec 16, 2016 midnight special is the most recent offering from jeff nichols who brought us such delights as mud and take shelter. The midnight after showed that this apocalyptic tai po was what hong kong became after 1997 and the desire to stay or leave is very much a reflection of the hong kong experience and hong kong identity. Rachel brosnahan accepts the imdb starmeter award at the 2020 sundance film festival. A father and son go on the run, pursued by the government and a cult drawn to the childs special powers. Midnight special is the first movie of the director to be produced by a major studio warner bros. Dont continue reading if you havent seen the movie take shelter by jeff nichols um, midnight special anyone. The song refers to the passenger train midnight special and its everloving light sometimes everliving light the song is historically performed in the countryblues style from the viewpoint of the prisoner and has been covered by many artists.
People want a spielberg movie and instead they get a nichols movie. In midnight special, its about how a child affects a father. Dark and grainy, set on rural backroads, i felt like i was in a low budget 70s movie. Even though nichols remains averse to defining concrete conclusions regarding midnight specials final minutes, it is clear that he personally sees his movie overall as a kind of allegory not. Intriguing as the movie is, there are a few pieces missing that i would have liked added. Most viewers needed a way more spoonfed explanation to get it and maybe they should have received it, thats a failure of the movie production companies involved to not insist that the director gives it to them.
In midnight special, on the run with a highly unusual child. The heartbreaking story that inspired jeff nichols to. Jeff nichols brilliant midnight special weaves relatable themes of parental responsibility and faith in that which is traditionally unexplainable into a scifi road movie, with echoes of john carpenter, steven spielberg, and stephen king bouncing throughout. Midnight special spends very little time answering questions or explaining whats happening. The biggest quirk in the whole movie to me was not the whole lightbeing, parallel universe thing that was just somewhat of a typical sci fi movie explanation. Midnight special is the rare action movie that could stand a few more pauses for reflection, and the rarer jeff nichols movie that works more on pacing, energy, and excitement than on character. That said, the movies moral, redemptive values of sacrifice, family bonds, faith, and understanding ones true identity are strong. Alton meyer is a boy unlike any other in the world with bizarrely powerful abilities and strange weaknesses. Contrary to popular belief, midnight special is a spiritual movie, turned scifi, turned spiritual again. Mar 09, 2016 midnight special is the rare action movie that could stand a few more pauses for reflection, and the rarer jeff nichols movie that works more on pacing, energy, and excitement than on character. Even if alton did explain it at some point, about a world on top of ours, that still didnt register with most people. Midnight special respects your intelligence, letting you come to its themes emotionally instead of narratively.
During the finale of the movie midnight special 2016 there appear beings from the other world. Along with tom hanks performance as fred rogers in a beautiful day in the. Discussion ive never gone so quickly from loving a movie for 90% of it i felt like i was watching something spielbergian, like e. Why that midnight special ending makes perfect sense. Sep 28, 2015 the film worked as a universal allegory on the collapse of society through this fictitious setting. Nevertheless, theres enough wonder the rest of the time to make up for that. Synopsis in the scifi thriller midnight special, writerdirector jeff nichols proves again that he is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time, as a father michael shannon, goes on the run to protect his young son, alton jaeden lieberher, and uncover the truth behind the boys special powers. The movie starts without much explanation or backstory, all we know a man is on the run with his son. Opening with a child abduction and ending with a spectacular scifi. Jun 14, 2016 midnight special 55 of course, if youd like to connect with me. Midnight special was backed and primarily distributed by warner bros. To extend the metaphor further, the most obvious set of dots in midnight special suggests that alton is a fallen angel, and the beings who spend their days observing our world live in a kind of.
What midnight special is, and why many viewers didnt get it. Midnight special is a traditional folk song thought to have originated among prisoners in the american south. Interview with cinematographer adam stone midnight. The song refers to the passenger train midnight special and its everloving light sometimes everliving light. Even though nichols remains averse to defining concrete conclusions regarding midnight specials final minutes, it is clear that he personally sees his movie overall as a. Jun 08, 2016 spoiler alert by the ending of the movie, im guessing you mean literally the last two seconds. Their films together include blackbird 2007, the missing person 2009, return 2011, mud 2012 and midnight special 2016.
Jonathan romney caught the film at its premiere in berlin. The chase is joined by the fbi, a sympathetic national security agency analyst played by adam driver, and meyers emissary, doak, played by bill camp. Mar 18, 2016 synopsis in the scifi thriller midnight special, writerdirector jeff nichols proves again that he is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time, as a father michael shannon, goes on the run to protect his young son, alton jaeden lieberher, and uncover the truth behind the boys special powers. In general, what happened was that, for whatever reason, the boy is just more a part of that other world than he is a part of our world, and he go. Apr 01, 2016 people want a spielberg movie and instead they get a nichols movie. What the hell is up with the ending of midnight special. For that matter, so is the rest of the movie, right up until the very end. Jeff nichols candidly admitted that he was inspired to write midnight special after his own son nearly died at a tender age, and the fear. In the middle of the night, his father, roy, spirits him away from the isolated cult that practically worships him and is determined to regain him at all costs. Mar 18, 2016 but midnight special is a chase movie, and like all chase movies it runs the risk of losing all narrative momentum once it arrives at a destination.
The movie addresses the topics of faith, parenthood, and identity, though it covers the storys spiritualfantastic elements with as much ambiguity as possible. Midnight special 55 of course, if youd like to connect with me. Mar 21, 2016 midnight special was released by warner brothers shrouded in secrecy, with minimal advertising and trailers that only hinted at the plot and characters. Midnight special is a unique movie thats kind of hard to categorize.