There are certain stories about parents and children that just resonate with us and stand the test of time. There is the innate profound relationship between children and those charged with raising and protecting them that creates a natural drama and power on the silver screen. The latest entry in that long line of powerful dynamic character relations is Jeff Nichols’ riveting Midnight Special.
Michael Shannon reteams with his Take Shelter writer-director and portrays Roy, a father to Alton. Roy’s son is truly special in that he possesses gifts of the supernatural. How exactly they work, we slowly learn over the course of Nichols’ enthralling film. But one thing is for certain: The government (led by Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Adam Driver) sees Alton and what he does as a weapon. Sam Shepard’s Calvin Meyer and his Texas cultish religious group, well they see Alton as their savior. Two sets of highly powerful foes want Roy’s son and he’s having none of it.
The film wastes no time. It opens with Roy and Alton on the run with Roy’s childhood friend, Lucas, at the wheel. Lucas is a Texas state trooper and his skills on that side of the law are impeccable in helping the trio from being found. Alton is too important. He cannot fall into either one of those other two groups’ hands. Roy’s protective fatherly instincts are on high alert and although he’s not sure why his boy has been gifted with these powers, he does know one thing — nothing good will come of it if either the cult or the government gets his son.
Shannon is his usual intense self, but in Midnight Special, it is all from the point of unconditional love. The Oscar nominee captures that innate parental feeling with pure conviction and it is a powerful one, to say the least. His chemistry with Jaeden Lieberher, who plays Alton, is profound. Shannon’s character might not know everything, or even what their next move is, but what we as an audience sense from what he is doing is that it is always with his son’s best interest in mind.
Edgerton too is masterful. Why his character is risking his career and his freedom, frankly, is never hard to believe throughout Midnight Special. They may be fighting a lost cause, but we know from what Nichols has given us in his screenplay through the tightest of exposition, is that this trio has right on their side. And right, we hope, will always win out over might.
Driver stuns as well as a NSA member who has been leading the government tracking of Alton. When his character meets Alton first hand, it is a chance for Driver to show off his talent that made his Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens such a rival in the evil-doer department for the iconic Darth Vader. He is certainly a talent to watch.
As is the case with his previous films, Mud and Take Shelter, as much as his cast shines, the true star of this film is Nichols and his storytelling prowess. The filmmaker has gotten to the point with this writer that if his name is attached, the film instantly becomes a must-see. His craft is also evolving and there is no question that Midnight Special is his crowning moment (that is, until we see his next film!). The way he masterfully pulls the audience into his story, regardless of its context, is stunning. You will not think of anything but what you’re watching for the entire two hours. It’s mesmerizing.
The other thing that Nichols has done with all three of his films is shine the subtlest of spotlights on the Midwest. The Arkansas native has set all three of his films on that part of the country and he does something truly magical that most of Hollywood could take a cue from. He paints pictures of regular people going through extraordinary things. The characters are never caricatures, the landscape is never simply the ground between east and west coasts. It is rich. The people are deep. And fittingly, so his each of Nichols’ films.
Grade: A