How far would you go to protect your child? What if saving him meant letting him go? Jeff Nichols’s brilliant “Midnight Special” combines themes of parental responsibility and blind faith while paying homage to the sci fi road films of John Carpenter and Steven Spielberg and the writings of Stephen King. Many modern blockbusters seem to be more preoccupied with spoon feeding audiences and overexplaining every plot detail or character’s action. Hollywood seems overly concerned that audiences will ‘revolt’ if all of the information is not given to them, so they prefer to have the characters speak their thoughts, or provide voiceovers to explain everything, especially in action films. While South American parents are crying, shouting, talking, and often even throwing things, “Midnight Special” respects the audience’s intelligence and guides viewers emotionally to its themes, instead of narratively. It is breathtaking to see a film so carefully crafted by a storyteller who understands the medium and how to use it.
Nichols, who also wrote the film, sets the stage with immersive details from the outset. Roy (Michael Shannon, a regular in all Nichols’ movies) and Lucas (Joel Edgerton) share a motel room where they watch news of a manhunt for a kidnapper who abducted a boy. Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), the boy, is reading comic books in between the two beds in the room with a flashlight. Alton is special in a way that an entire religious sect has formed around him, which is led by Calvin Meyer (Sam Shepard). While Calvin’s compound is being stormed, Roy and Lucas escape with Alton, who they have in the backseat wearing night vision goggles. Instead of using headlights, they keep them off to avoid being spotted. Turns out, everybody is after Alton.
With the help of a specialist, the FBI interrogates a member of the cult, Paul Sevier (Adam Driver), attempting to extract any useful information about the boy and his importance to them. The cult Alton has created concerning the boy is built around the numeric patterns he has been showing them. These patterns also seem to have significance to the government, and so they are interested in why a child had access to them. In the end, the numbers seem to guide Alton, Roy, and Lucas to a certain point. Alton possesses the ability to transcend information through beams emitted from his eye, allowing him to convert people like Lucas who is recently converted. But Roy is purely a father at heart. Both guys need to get Alton there on time nothing will stop them.
There is a brief moment where the trio crosses paths with a state trooper, which details Alton’s father, Roy’s, motive. When Roy and Lucas pull a gun on him, he seems prepared to call it in after checking their license plate. Were they willing to murder a police officer? The drive Roy has towards doing what he believes is necessary for his son captures the essence of fatherly love, but is Lucas’ goal equally as resolute? And Alton’s mother, performed by Kirsten Dunst, what is her answer? The film comprehension of ‘Midnight Special’ is astounding because it continually asks questions, answers them, and then proceeds to ask more, never letting the audience catch up. It speaks volumes to the ability of Nichols’ in directing because we all know audiences are not easy to please. We trust he knows what he is doing and are willing to follow him wherever the roads lead.
Even though I shall never fully unveil it, the endpoint of that journey is surprisingly touching. Alton being ‘special’ can quickly be interpreted as a metaphor for a sick child. One who requires a completely different approach and attention. One who is unique in a way that only parents suffering from that level of loss would understand. There is also without a doubt a narrative of hope buried in “Midnight Special,” a narrative about faith. The idea of claiming something greater than ourselves exists without being physically manifested. A lot of these sentiments and emotions rest in the hands of Nichols’ cast. Nichols cast is aided by the performance of Michael Shannon, who gives a practical, nuanced portrayal, but who is also superbly supported by Dunst, Edgerton, Driver, and other top performers.
“Midnight Special” makes excellent use of the underlying contributions from cinematographer Adam Stone and composer David Wingo. Stone, almost like another character, records the world of nature as he did in “Take Shelter” and “Mud,” and turns a sunrise driven sequence into a work of art. Wingo completes the compositions by Nichols and Stone his score, which often propels us to the emotions of the film, works wonders while the movie frighteningly goes dialogue free for large portions of the action.
That’s the beauty of “Midnight Special” to me it shows how powerful visual art can be. It is the film’s imagery that constantly plays in my head: a father carrying his son and flames raining from the sky; the extraordinary reveal and the shaking of the grass that suggested something was about to occur. Nichols is one of the few filmmakers who understands that we are all looking for this in supreme cinema the ways in which art mirrors that which words cannot encapsulate. A father’s determined loyalty, the suffering of a sick child, a devotion to something greater than oneself. Certainly, we love quoting our favorite phrases and impersonating our favorite characters, but the images are the ones that pursue us. The ones that linger in our minds, that will never march away. Perhaps for eternity.
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