Night Moves

Kelly Reichardt's Night Moves, if nothing else, proves that the radical environmentalists of our time can be just as irritating as those who hold up signs blasting the alleged lies of global warming at crowded, echo-chamber rallies. The film concerns a group of three young, arrogant eco-terrorists, so concerned about the environment and so appalled by the blatant corporatism of America that they decide to set an example and wake-up the sheep of the country but staging an explosion of a hydroelectric dam in Oregon. Think about that last sentence and find the flaw in their young minds.

The three radical environmentalists are John (Jesse Eisenberg), Dena (Dakota Fanning), and Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard). John and Dena have come up with an elaborate plan to stage the bombing, but it's up to Harmon to actually construct the bomb, using ammonium nitrate among other things, to help carry out the attack. Co-writer/director Reichardt follows these characters in a way that's quiet, low-key, and not very menacing, given the subject matter, ripe for commentary and subjectivity. She chooses to shoot everything through a lens of softness, making good use of natural sound, light, and other devices to help the story move forward. Reichardt, nor the film's trio of environmentalists, are in any particular hurry whatsoever. The film is ten minutes shy of two hours and makes diligent use of its time.

A great deal of the last hour shows the mental effect the actual bombing has on its characters. We only hear the ammonium nitrate activating and exploding and do not see the actual explosion occurring, nor do we need to, for this isn't that kind of film. In true indie- film fashion, we are focused on what the bombing's long- term effects are on the film's characters, who feel guilt when they learn the rush of the dam currents drowned a man camping near the explosion. They never intended to injure or kill the sheep of the country, but rather, just inform them of what their actions are doing to the ecosystem. However, they now have a mess on their hands and must deal with it in their own manner. They split up and cut connections with each other, but grow weary of one another possibly ratting out the entire group when the rush of guilt becomes too difficult to bear.

The three eco-terrorists of the film are not very likable people. They are arrogant and self-absorbed, not willing to share their knowledge, but beat you over the head with it until your covered in metaphorical blood and shame for your alleged lack of interest or concern about Mother Nature. They are no better in their propagating of their idea of "the truth" then their greatest enemies, climate change deniers or the uniformed, are at iterating their own "truth."

However, that's not to say our three characters (I don't see them as protagonists, antagonists, anti-heroes, or any literary classification whatsoever) don't make substantial points in their arguments. One of the best moments of the film comes when the idea of the rich vs. the poor is elaborated in such a philosophical way it begs a mention in this review. The characters talk about how the poor live and work in the moment, operating on a day-by-day basis, using what available resources and cash they have in the moment. The rich, on the other hand, operate in the future, buying many things with credit, investing in long-term business plans, and so forth. To them, this is why the environment is such in a disastrous position because we've chosen to allow our greed to thrive in the moment and left our tab - environmental dangers, debt, and income inequality - for later, or worse, for somebody else.

Night Moves is a nice showcase for low-key filmmaking in the sense that we can still have a point, or even several points, be inferred or illustrated without obnoxious overtones and frustratingly overwritten dialog. To some degree, the film is underwritten because its characters lack evident personality, but it all comes back to the ideas I discussed in my reviews of 17 Girls and The Bling Ring in that the characters explored in these films have no personality other than their immediate gratifications through violence, theft, pregnancy, or what-have-you. To give them illustrated personalities would be giving them too much credit. The emptiness of the characters in this particular film are crafted nicely by Eisenberg, Fanning, and Sarsgaard, particularly Eisenberg who, in The Social Network, managed to play the same sort of role. Quiet, unassuming, but uncompromising in his brilliance and his approach to the world. For some, this may be one of the best films you've never heard of, and for me, it's one of the most surprising independent efforts of its year.

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, and Peter Sarsgaard. Directed by: Kelly Reichardt.

For anyone familiar with famed indie director Kelly Reichardt's work you know what you're in for with Night Moves. Reichardt specializes in a sort of pondering, slow paced narrative that has seen her reach some great heights (Wendy and Lucy) and some real lowlights (Meeks Cutoff) that now with Night Moves has seen her move into an interesting new direction without losing the style that has gained her a steady stream of critical praise over her years in the industry.

This new direction we speak of is that of the eco/environmental thriller, a new sub-genre that has sprung up in recent years as the continued focus on the earth's natural demise has been more prevalent. Reichardt's slow burn pacing and nearly non-existent background work actually works incredibly well in setting up Moves central plot devise, that of an act of eco-terrorism in the blowing up of an energy dam.

For the first hour or so here Reichardt ratchets up the tension to an incredible level and it's not through scripting or clever edits, merely through a methodical pacing that almost feels as if it's playing out in real time, making the audience feel a part of whatever is about to go down. Once the films central act becomes old news the film takes on a less effective yet in the end scenes, tension riddled aspect that sees Reichardt's cast come to the forefront.

Everyone's favourite bundle of nervous edginess Jesse Eisenberg is front and centre here in Moves and his natural persona fits perfectly for the characters of Josh, a young man clearly dedicated yet not overly ready for the repercussions of his actions, even if they are in theory, for good. Eisenberg is ably supported by another grown up turn by Dakota Fanning who can still deliver dialogue in a unique way and Peter Sarsgaard in another one of his somewhat creepy loner roles. The lead cast of three produce an uneasy and well played out chemistry that fits this tale well and along with Jeff Grace's moody score and Christopher Blauvelt's stoic cinematography, creates a real unique feel to this non-conventional thriller.

Night Moves is a film too ponderous for the mass market of movie lovers yet it has a humble and effective feel to it that allows those that go along with it to be invested and on edge with what is taking place. With a cast of solid leads and with a lovely visual feel, Night Moves has a groove all to its own and while never reaching grand heights, it's certainly a sight bit better than many of its more explosive yet idiotic thriller counterparts and a breath of fresh air for those that like their movies tinged with a slower pacing.

3 1/2 bags of fertilizer out of 5

"You said no one would get hurt!" -Dena

I was not particularly excited going in to see this one but I was certainly interested, Night Moves is another of those movies that premiered a year ago at the Toronto Film Festival that are only now getting released in my country though this one has also taken a while to get it's release in the U.S. It was a year ago then that two films premiered at "TIFF" that stared Jesse Eisenberg, one of them was The Double and the other one was this one, both received good reviews, The Double continued to get it's share of talk while this one kind of was forgotten, still though I remembered the good early buzz that had continued throughout it's promotion so I still went ahead and saw it.

Night Moves is Directed by Kelly Reichardt and it stars Dakota Fanning, Jesse Eisenberg, Alia Shawkat, Peter Sarsgaard, Katherine Waterston, James LeGros and Griffin Newman. " Three radical environmentalists coming together to execute the most intense protest of their lives: the explosion of a hydroelectric dam-the very source and symbol of the energy-sucking, resource-devouring industrial culture they despise."

Night Moves is not a picture that I loved, I didn't it's no doubt flawed and I can see many getting way of this one but I got to say that this is a good little film that's being underseen. I am not familiar with director of the movie, I had heard about some of her pictures but she seems to be someone who divides audiences and I guess this is another picture that will divide audiences. It will not break audiences because it's weird or too complicated but because it's too simple and many will probably find it uninteresting and boring.

Though the movie certainly has a slow pace I would disagree with those who say it is boring though I got to say that I would understand those people too because I feel there's a lack of character development. I'm not saying they should have gone with some cheap clichéd sh*t and put up a background on the characters but they could have made a bit more effort. We are never truly able to understand these guys, their motivations seem awfully weak, they are basically people who want to protect the environment and all that jazz but the fact is that the movie's tone is much bleaker, these characters are completely alienated, especially Jesse's and we never get the sense of why. They basically are acting like terrorists doing some "Mickey Mouse" job that doesn't really have a great deal of importance in the big scheme of things but they take it like they are revolutionizing the world and I think that made it kind of confusing for the audience.

It was also confusing what happens afterwards, I mean was it really that surprising that someone got injured or killed, I mean that blew up a f*cking dam like tough guys but then they couldn't handle the consequences of their job that was ultimately successful. I mean this collapsing of the characters in the afterwards of the job is certainly an interesting character study on guilt, on fear and on redemption and I think it's handled quite beautifully but I still I couldn't help but to feel confused. It's kind of a paradox because that made me feel confused but it also helped me relate with the characters because they are no big timers they are just normal people, with good intentions and a heart and it's very interesting to their reacting to the consequences or their actions, their reactions aren't from a gangster where he doesn't feel anything, this the way probably a normal person would react.

The film takes it very slowly but then again it's never boring even though the movie is never really exciting or thrilling it's always at least engaging and an interesting watch and certainly quite tense to. It's a very intense film with doubt and I got to applaud the director for creating such a mood where you feel trapped, claustrophobic, very gloomy and heavy. It's a very simple story with few twists in it, very straight forward and there are not a great many deal of surprises but again I say the movie is always very tense and there's quite an emotional complexity to it all.

The performances certainly helped. Peter Sarsgaard is such a great actor, very underrated, good in everything he's been and unfortunately he's face doesn't bring audiences and because of that he usually is not given big roles, here he does have a good little role that he plays well, not a great deal of showy scenes where he lets loose his talent but still worth mentioning. Dakota Fanning is still seen as a child by many, such as myself, but the fact is that she's already taking big roles such as this one with a performance that I'm not going to lie, impressed me. She's great in this though she's not the star of the movie. The star of the film is Academy Award Nominee, Jesse Eisenberg, who gives he's best performance since The Social Network. What a good performance, very contained performance, as a seemingly shy, quiet, lonely, alienated young fella. He almost reminded me of Travis, this guy is really quite sick, very paranoid, it seems like he's always cooking up something and I mean those last 25 minutes just showcase Eisenberg's talent, he here proves that The Social Network wasn't just luck.

Night Moves is a simple yet beautifully made picture, with a slow pace but gut wrecking intensity at times and performances that alone are worth your while, it also raises up some interesting questions like "when do legitimate convictions truly demand illegal violent behavior?" and a good meditation on consequences when it comes to political extremist acts. See it!

Rating:B-

Okay...I was expecting more. All the movie is about the plan. A clearly stupid and poor plan. We even don't know why they are doing that. We actually don't know anything about the characters because everything is silent and green. And that leads us to a non transparent story, full of holes and doubts.

Dialogs are nearly abstract, very plain. Eisenberg can't convince us he is kind of a criminal. There's no tension and that makes it more boring.

Then, the characters change, product of a particular situation (which was patently predictable)and we are expecting the characters to be real human beings, but...they are not.

And then the movie ends. There's no much more. And...OK.

The film comes down to the raw basic of film making as it tells a very suspenseful story of three environmentalist about to become Eco terrorist.

The movie's best quality is that it's real low key. They don't try to hide the purpose of the movie or why they are doing anything. They keep this artistic freedom to a low,so the movie is not frustrating or hard to follow.

Which is good because this movie is painfully slow. No real action is in the movie. All the best action is done off camera so you just have to imagine what's going on, which is not hard cause the focus of the movie is clear.

I myself found the movie enjoyable, but I will admit there a lot of slow parts that I almost fell asleep on.