Night Moves

I went to the theater, a bit afraid I'd be on the receiving end of Enviro-Preaching. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find something different. This was actually a suspenseful thriller about paranoia taking hold after the commission of a major crime.

The environmental aspect was just a means to move the story along. Although the story involves eco-sabotage, the basic premise of the fallout from paranoia could have fit in a story about something similar like a robbery gone wrong, etc.

I was tickled to see the counter-culture hippie family eating bacon, and the self-righteous radical enviro-warriors owning gas-guzzling full-size pickup trucks. One of the guys, for all his professed love of the earth, treated his property like a pig sty. I don't think these and other little treats were accidents.

On the negative side, the movie was a bit on the slow side. Not horribly slow, but just a little on the plodding side. I think there were a few too many shots of the main character staring into space, having deep thoughts. Maybe it was constipation, I don't know. And the ending? Definitely could have been reworked, as it was rather disappointing.

In spite of these moderate flaws, I enjoyed this movie very much. It's well worth checking out.

Josh (Jesse Eisenberg) and Dena (Dakota Fanning) are radical environmentalists. They buy a boat called "Night Moves". They along with troubled ex-Marine Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard) plan to bomb a dam. They buy a large quantity of fertilizer, make their bomb and deliver it on the boat.

This is a slow, methodical movie. There are so many empty spaces. It's a two hour movie that could easily be squeezed in half. It's just so very slow. Everybody is doing mainly quiet acting. Some could see in it as deep emotional acting. They can read so much into their quietness. I can only read it as a lack of dialog. There are some emotional content in the second half but it's not enough.

"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-

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

"One person, that's all it takes." Josh (Eisenberg) and Dena (Fanning) are young environmentalists who are sick of watching the planet get destroyed. Along with a man named Harmon they come up with a plan to blow up a hydro-electric dam as a protest to what is happening. There are a few bumps but for the most part things go according to plan. When the papers the next day report something unexpected the three protesters become scared and trust is challenged. I wasn't sure what to expect from this at all but I was hoping for a movie like The East. That movie was very tense and I really enjoyed it, kinda like an Erin Brokovich on steroids. This one was not like that. On the other hand though I think this one is more realistic. This one deals with three people who are not affiliated with any organization who try to make a big statement but it doesn't go has planned. No one is a loud mouth or draws attention to themselves which is good for what they are doing, but not for a movie. This is very slow and has very little dialog. The movie isn't bad but never quite gets as tense and suspenseful as needed. Acting is good but the movie was really lacking something to make an impact on me. Overall, not terrible but slow and methodical. Almost too slow to stay focused on. I give this a B-.