Night People

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.

Night People is an excellent example of how a low-budget film can provide an absorbing and entertaining cinematic experience. As the stories of the characters unfold at an engaging pace, each presenting its own set of circumstances, there is woven through each tale a set of moral and ethical dilemmas which create the tensions that hold your attention. The transitions between the characters and the events are cleverly intertwined to create moments of blackness followed by comedy -each serving to highlight the other. The camera work shows Edinburgh at its magical best and sensitively captures the emotional substance of the characters as they struggle with their individual predicaments. The outcomes of each story are realistic, no sinking into sentiment, but rather leaving one with a sense of hope and belief in the essential goodness of 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

Night People tries to be both a gritty account of life at the bottom of society in contemporary Edinburgh, and a heart-warming story of hope. The interaction of these two concepts ultimately felt too contrived: I needed to be better convinced that some of the characters really could break out from their stereotypes in the way the film wanted me to believe.

The film is entirely character-driven. It is centred on several disparate groups of people, who are merely living out events at the same time and in the same city. The screenplay constantly switches between their individual plots. Night People might be described as a series of short films on similar themes that have been carefully edited together. But that would be unfair. The film needs this variety to disguise the fact that each of the characters spends most of their time in the same location. Unfortunately, since the film is developing half a dozen different stories at once, I think it struggles to give individual characters enough screen-time to engage fully with the audience.

Night People has a lot going for it. Visually it is very well crafted. The film makes clever use of Edinburgh's ever-changing light and sky to create some visually stunning interludes, which give the other scenes a sense of time and place. The script is strong: Some fantastic one-liners, and the kind of small observations on the human condition that everyone can relate to. Perhaps some of the funniest lines are delivered a 'wee' bit too quickly for non-Scottish audiences to comprehend. Overall the acting is first class, in spite of the relative inexperience of most of the cast.

But in the final analysis, Night People doesn't quite hang together. It's on the verge of being a really good film, but yet it left me feeling hollow.

great film, beautifully shot. Full of warmth and promise throughout the difficulties in life that people are faced with. Each of the characters' tales lead them into a pivotal point in their lives; an immigrant priest confronted by the harsh reality of life, out with the confines of his religion; a single mother forced to ferry drug dealers around in a taxi at night, unable to find a day job or a babysitter to care for her daughter; a mistreated teenager, off to find a better life in London; a single father, struggling to come to terms with the responsibility of raising children without their mother. The film is full of dialogue; conversations and exchanges, written like a series of concurrent plays. Edinburgh is used cleverly; the shared stage, blending beautiful shots of the city at night into the stories, the city itself an additional, overseeing character. A fine debut working wonders with a small budget.