#MallorieRodak

[doomonfilm]

Review : The Vast of Night (2020)

In this mad dash to consume as much 2020 film content as I can, I find myself often watching a parade of trailers waiting for the right combination of something that stands out from the pack and something that grabs my attention.  While recently combing through what seemed like a set of horror and science fiction options, I stumbled across a film getting praise for being one of the more stunning debuts in recent history, which intrigued me, as it usually means some sort of fresh approach to storytelling or cinematography.  With that little bit of information and hope, I chose The Vast of Night and buckled in for the ride. 

An episode of Paradox Theater titled The Vast of Night opens up with Everett Sloan (Jake Horowitz) headed towards Cayuga High School to help get the radio broadcast for the basketball game set up.  HIs friend Fay Crocker (Sierra McCormick) has just purchased a new tape recorder, a rarity in the 1950s for anyone outside of a professional level, and Everett agrees to show her the operational basics as he walks her to her job as a switchboard operator.  The majority of the small town is at the basketball game, so when a strange noise infiltrates the switchboard, it goes largely unnoticed.  Fay decides to share the noise with Everett, who opts to broadcast the noise on the radio in hopes of learning more about it, opening up a world of mystery too unbelievable for Everett and Fay to ignore.

The alien story is one used in the world for film for years, but The Vast of Night finds ways to infuse new energy into the genre, draping us in nostalgia and sprinkling in what sound (at first) like absurd accounts of technology, which keen viewers will recognize as versions of existing technology.  With this familiar type of tale presented, and wrapped up in the medium of a TV show, certain expectations are set that play against the film’s way of unveiling information with no clear boundaries in regards to how far it will push the tale.  The period piece nature of the movie puts us into a reflective, introspective meditation on a much more innocent time while giving us a few true glimpses (as well as one major bomb drop) of how the times were.

In terms of the script, information is revealed while the story progresses like objects emerging from a thick fog.  We are given a strange element to propel the narrative thrust, only for new characters to continuously chain off of that element and grow the lore right in front of our eyes and ears.  The connection between Fay and Everett keeps us locked in to not only the events, but the way they read them and debate one another in regards to how far they should explore things, but not at the expense of keeping a somewhat grounded reality in the form of work and familial responsibilities that would definitely still exist (and not be forgotten), no matter how intriguing the mystery.  I believe that most of the rave reviews about this film stem from the way that its strong emotional core is housed by a web of strange people and strange events, which we experience from the inside and moving outwards towards the unknown.

Skinning the entire movie within the framework of the Paradox Theater TV show, as touched upon earlier, sets an immediate tone for the viewer, building expectations inherent to the medium that must paradoxically (no pun intended) exist within the world of a film.  The story is paced out well, with occasional reminders of the TV-style crafted tale popping up to skew our perspective on the world we are seeing, and the events taking place within them.  The dialogue, right from the jump, has a snappy and colloquial energy to it, removing us from our modern ministate and rewiring our brain to focus deeper on the unfolding events.  The cinematography finds a perfect balance between driving, kinetic, almost ghost-like moments of navigation and patient, observant, respect-laden moments when characters are allowed to share without restriction.  The score further builds the mystery, weaving itself in and out of the diegetic central tone that the film initially builds itself around.

Sierra McCormick brings a youthful, energetic innocence to her role that masks a budding passion and sharp awareness for the potential of technology, which is reflected in everything right down to a walk that shows her literally always trying to catch up with her next thoughts.  Jake Horowitz has a confident assurance that pulls him through the world of the film, driving him towards an answer even when it seems that he may not believe in the information being provided to him.  Gail Cronauer projects the already budding mystery forward at light speed, rolling out a metric ton of mysterious exposition in the fashion of one that not only believes, but has experienced and been traumatized by the unknown.  Supporting appearances by Greg Peyton, Mark Banik, Mollie Milligan, Brandon Stewart, Cheyenne Barton and Mallorie Rodak, plus a voice only appearance by Bruce Davis, round out the film.

If you’re a fan of Spielberg-style fare, especially stuff like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, this film will be a slam dunk in terms of appreciation.  I tried to not dwell too much on specifics in my review, but this one is best experienced going into it as blind as possible, if possible.