Night People

I found Night people to be an enjoyable and refreshing film. Although the script deals with some difficult subject material it never feels miserable or heavy handed it has a lightness of touch and a fresh attitude about it. An ambitious project made by a first time feature director and a young inexperienced cast I think it should be lauded as a very impressive piece of work and held up as an example of what it is possible for a low budget production to achieve. It is a well written piece, thoughtful and true, funny and sad in the right places, all concerned in the production deserve congratulations for making a brave and original film. The positivity in each of the characters stories and the beautiful photography of night time Edinburgh, the film's real star, conjure up a charming fairy tale quality that shines bright throughout. I think it's a film about hope and the nature of human spirit. I found it to be inspiring and uplifting

One of the best films I've seen this year. Red Road pales in comparison. What first attracted me to NIGHT PEOPLE was the spectacular shots of Edinburgh that I saw in the trailer. Previous films set in Edinburgh like Trainspotting have failed to exploit on the capitals inherent beauty until this one.

To digress for a moment I'm sick and tired of "wee bobby stuck up a close films" the qualifications for funding seem to be:

(1) Is it depressing? (2) Does it show Scotland in a bad light?

Yes? Give that man a grant!

So I had no expectations regarding NIGHT PEOPLE; in fact, I had low expectations going in to watch it; as any film emanating from Scotland seems to wallow in degradation like a toddler fascinated by the contents of its potty.

Whilst I don't deny the existence of such people and places if I want to watch a tap dripping I'll switch one on in my house not pay a tenner for the privilege.

A film makers first job is to entertain.

From the get go in watching NIGHT PEOPLE I knew I was in a safe pair of hands. It's clear that Adrian Mead can tell a story evident from the brisk pace and lack of fat in the narrative.

The film follows the progress of a disparate group of people over the course of one night in Edinburgh. Mead displays a deft touch in handling such diverse subject matters as child prostitution, drug dealing and dog kidnapping.

Now it sounds like I'm contradicting myself by what I've said before.

No, TALENT RESIDES IN THE EXECUTION. NIGHTPEOPLE lacks the overweening worthiness of it's inferior counterparts.

Mead does this by injecting humour into the proceedings to vary the tone of the piece (something lacking in many monotone movies of today) and by keeping his actors on a tight rein avoiding overindulgence and bathos.

The dialogue is first class, in one exchange a priest tells a young homeless girl that God is inside her to which she retorts: " I hope he's wearing a condom."

With the exception of Alan MacCafferty the cast is made up of unknowns which works in its favour since you concentrate on the stories rather than who is baying for a Bafta. Mead also avoids the obvious temptation to interlink the stories in contrived ways. CRASH anyone?

The genius of America and Americans is having no real history of their own they created their own mythology. You see Bullitt and you want to go to San Francisco, watch Pulp Fiction and you want a milkshake in Jack Rabbit Slims. Question? Why can't the Scots do it?

When I watched Red Road it didn't make me want to visit Glasgow anytime soon. Trainspotting did nothing for Edinburgh but Adrian Mead's NIGHT PEOPLE seems to be at the vanguard of something new.

He makes Edinburgh look filmic, it's aspirational, it's a place you'd want to visit on the strength of his images. So if Meads backers have any sense they should be punting NIGHT PEOPLE to North America where I predict it will be a sleeper hit.

I saw this film last night and was very pleasantly surprised. I really liked it! The photography was stunning, I loved the subtle differences in the night shots of Edinburgh as the time passed, using the changing light brilliantly. Wildlife-in-the-city shots were also unexpected and this was a clever way to change scenes. For a film that has a supposedly micro budget it had the look of a film with very high production values all round. I liked that there were proper endings to the stories, sensible, believable endings. Not too predictable, we could see the end was coming as it was getting near the morning, but each story could have ended differently, and I think that the audience cared about the characters stories. There wasn't one poor performance from any of the actors, and it's to Adrian Mead's credit as Director that they carried off the comedy as well as the drama. And the little girl? Where on earth did they get her? She was wonderful but I don't think I could stand her if she was around my house all day! It would be unfair to say that this is one of the better Scottish films of recent years, it could quite easily be one of the better British films.

We enjoyed this film. Although the subject matter appeared to show the darker side of society, at the end of the day most of the plot lines finished with a positive perspective, although universally happy endings were not ever likely. The photography was excellent, using relatively simple subjects to create scenes of great beauty, without using the easy option of going for all of Edinburgh's more photogenic attractions. It could actually have been any city (except for the accents....) Where there are a number of different plot lines, it is always difficult to maintain interest in them all equally, but the script seemed to get it mostly right. I thought a couple of the plots were very good, and I was less interested in one of the plot-lines, but I suspect everyone watching this film will have their own favourites. The point to a film like this is to come away full of images and stories relating to one night in one city, and I thought the film was successful in this regard. There must always be room for a slower-paced film, but with relatively simple plots, where one can appreciate the craft of camera-work, use of light, sharp dialogue, etc etc.. I would recommend this film.

I was quickly captivated by this film and wanted to know the outcome for each of these characters. There were some very strong performances. I particularly liked Father Matthew's struggle with his role as a priest in a secular land. A strong interconnecting theme of how we, in a moment of time, can change both our own lives and the lives of others. Also the images of Edinburgh were stunning. I live there, yet had forgotten what a beautiful city it is at night. It is difficult to believe that this film was shot on such a small budget. It shows that it doesn't need masses of money to make a good film. It does need a good story and a good script and of course a director with a vision.