Gone in the Night

It begins with a decent build up, buy slowly decends into absurdity. At the end, there is no end...no real dramatic resolution...it just ends and you wonder why you watched this. Just plain bad.

I somewhat invariably hold the opinion that feature-length films should be released in cinemas. With that being said, I have no problem with a movie so poorly conceived going straight to VOD, as I have to imagine the typical viewer would have left the theater feeling as if their time and money had been wasted. The performances range from average to below average, and although the writer's ending was anything but safe, the last act was so outrageously overwrought that I found myself audibly laughing at the surprise "a-ha" moment. All of the suspense and intrigue that had been building up to that point evaporated in an instant. When mystery films are done right, they feel plausible, but occupy a space slightly outside of reality; when they're done wrong, you get a movie like Gone in the Night.

This is a fun little movie. It's not the most clever mystery, but it's interesting enough that it didn't overstay its welcome (and I say that as someone who mostly figured it out fairly early). The flashback structure is hit or miss, sometimes giving you enough to make you more intrigued, and sometimes dispelling the tension it's already built. I knew absolutely nothing about the movie before I saw it, and I left happy to have seen it. It's nothing you'll be talking about weeks later, but it's an enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes.

The first hour or so of this was intriguing. Normally I guess these types of mysteries but I was kept guessing. But the twist after the first hour was so over the top that it kind of ruined everything up to that point. The pros of this movie is that it did have a little bit of suspense and good acting of course by Winona and Dermot. The pacing was good and it was never boring. I also think the flashbacks and gradual unveiling of the twist was well done. I just think if they could have just had a better twist that was a little bit more plausible it would have bumped up at least a few stars. It was definitely a letdown. Some of the characters' actions were also unbelievable. When this happens it really just ruins the film for me. This is one of those movies that had promise but was a letdown towards the end.

Gone in the Night is a mildly intriguing movie with an interesting story. It's helped by non-linear story-telling. I didn't hate watching it. It's not a terrible choice if you really have nothing else to watch.

Why didn't I like it more? I don't really know. I just wasn't that engaged. I could tell it was more of a streaming-level movie. I looked up that it had a limited theatrical release, but it's not theater-worthy in my eyes.

I also found the story to be mostly predictable. Maybe I watch too many movies. I think others will enjoy this much more if they don't see everything coming. But you're probably better off rewatching a great movie instead. (1 viewing, 4/8/2023)