The best mark of a good director is consistency. Any director an get lucky once (you heard me, Zack Snyder), but if your product is always interesting, buzz and success should follow. Jeff Nichols has never missed so far, and his Midnight Special is pretty much anti-miss. Midnight Special twists the Spielberg sci-fi model with a dash of family bonding and a pinch of the South.
Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher) is of particular interest to many people. A group called the Farm led by Calvin Meyer (Sam Shepard) believes he is some sort of deity. NSA analyst Sevier (Adam Driver) wants to know how he easily uncovers government secrets. And Roy (Michael Shannon) and Lucas (Joel Edgerton) abduct him because they are worried about abuse from both parties. Did I mention that is because Alton is a child with god-like abilities?
Nichols is a master of building tension and suspense. Midnight Special opens with a getaway done in the dead of night after watching ominous local news reports. From there, Nichols, taking cues from Steven Spielberg, keeps the audience in the dark as he slowly unveils new information. Nichols also gets that every new reveal should leave as many questions as it answers, at least until the third act. This combination of mystery and fear will leave you on the edge of your seat: What fell from the sky on the gas station? Did Alton do it? How in danger are Alton’s protectors? Your brain flies as you grip the hand of the person next to you, who yelps in shock because they will be riveted as well by your hand, the unexpected CGI, or a new twist to understand.
What Nichols adds to this Spielbergian homage is a more personal rooting interest, like E.T. Alton is the son of Roy and Sarah Tomlin (Kirsten Dunst). The two are in a terrible spot; they want to protect their son, but they are clearly protecting him so he can get to a place where they may have to let him go. Making it worse, the bond between the three is very strong, even without the word “love” said once. Nichols understands that you don’t need to say “I love you” for someone to understand, it’s about showing them, so when goodbye’s may or may not come, the moment is earned because all Alton’s parents want is for him to be happy. The fun Nichol’s twist is that usually parental faith is for a kid’s first day at school, not their child’s understanding of the greater universe, like in Midnight Special. However, parents will feel the same things trying to let go of their children, a complicated web of feelings that Nichols amazingly never tries to explain, just show through the eyes of his actors.
Another talent of the director: grab someone before people know how good they are so they keep working with you. Spielberg did that with Richard Dreyfus and Tom Hanks among others. Michael Shannon is Nichol’s muse. I’ve like Shannon in everything, even the bad stuff usually (damn you Zack Snyder). Shannon downplays the crazy that he usually excels at, playing Roy as a stoic, presumably Texan everyman, just trying to protect his son. Shannon unleashes some killer looks to convey how he feels, yet another weapon in his arsenal. Joel Edgerton plays the mirror game to Shannon, he’s fine, but not that interesting next to the star. Sam Shepard is scarily charming as the head of The Farm. Adam Driver makes Sevier analytic but funny, getting some good awkward line as he pieces the puzzle. Jaeden Lieberher is a good sci-fi child: enigmatic, kinda chilly, but able to convey warmth when needed. Most importantly, Kirsten Dunst shows up halfway through the film and somehow becomes its beating heart; I don’t know where Dunst went after Spiderman 3, but it must have been acting school, because she’s been dynamite since she returned.
Props to Jeff Nichols. At this rate, he and Michael Shannon will be starring in a Marvel Superhero movie sometime in the next few years. Please keep giving the director the dollars; I mean, he resurrected Matthew McConaughey for you. You owe him some favors, Hollywood.