Jonathan romney caught the film at its premiere in berlin. His films, which are concerned with the daily anxieties and struggles of ordinary. This time, shannon who has appeared in every nichols film, plays a father in crisis. Parents need to know that midnight special is a scifi drama that writerdirector jeff nichols made to help process his feelings of becoming a father. Behind the astonishing midnight special ending buzzfeed. Midnight special 2016 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. What midnight special is, and why many viewers didnt get it. I was knocked to the floor by take shelter and delighted by mud, both times captured by the ambiguity of the story telling and the respect the story teller had for his audience. Midnight special is the fourth feature by jeff nichols, the arkansasborn writerdirector who has rapidly established himself as an inventive, independentminded talent with a firm belief in old.
The title comes from the refrain which refers to the midnight special and its everloving light sometimes everliving light. Well, you wake up in the mornin, you hear the work bell ring and they march you to the table to see the same old thing aint no food upon the table, and no pork. Well you wake up in the mornin you hear the work bell ring and they march you to. Apr 07, 2016 without a telltale mobile phone in sight, midnight special also conceals for a long time that its even set in the present day, restoring the textures of 1970s and 1980s spielbergiana with. Midnight special respects your intelligence, letting you come to its themes emotionally instead of narratively. Midnight special may be nichols first studio film, but hes still tracking lives out of balance. The film stars michael shannon, joel edgerton, kirsten dunst, adam driver, jaeden martell, and sam shepard.
Apr 10, 2016 the film seems to start in familiar roadtrip thriller mode, but little by little, midnight special leads us towards a spectacular finalact reveal. Midnight special is uneven, but just successful enough to suggest that theres room in contemporary scifi for more positive, contemplative films. The midnight special, rich warren hosts folk music with a sense of humor, schedules, concert listings, and more. Midnight special is a good test runroaring, dark and captivating, toward something new. What does the ending of the movie midnight special mean, if. Lead belly the midnight special lyrics genius lyrics.
Jun 30, 2016 midnight special starring michael shannon, joel edgerton, and adam driver, follows a boy named alton and his father on the run from the government and a religious cult. It is a breathtaking display of visual storytelling, confidently rendered by someone who understands the power of cinema. By the ending of the movie, im guessing you mean literally the last two seconds. By the way she wears her apron, and the clothes she wore umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in. Its light shines into the sugar land prison in texas. Its a chase movie set in darkness, with a broken fatherson dynamic thats healing, and a history. Some of the movies story ideas may seem very familiar, but its more about emotions than special effects or thrills. Whats the story in the scifi thriller midnight special, writerdirector jeff nichols proves again that he is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time, as a father michael shannon, goes on the run to protect his young son, alton jaeden lieberher, and uncover the truth behind the boys special powers. Its really up to the audience to decide what kind of experience they want to have, said midnight special writerdirector jeff nichols. But was this a film youd always wanted to make, or did you feel like at this point in your career you were able to take this leap.
In general, what happened was that, for whatever reason, the boy is just more a part of that other world than he is a part of our world, and he go. Jan 02, 2018 the midnight special was a steam locomotive train that passed the louisiana state prison. Mar 17, 2016 it must first be said that midnight special is a patiently cultivated film where everyone involved creates the same textured authenticity that has been present in all of nichols movies to date. The midnight special is a passenger train from houston. Does midnight special really live up to its spielberg. We have no idea how or why this boy has these powers. In general, what happened was that, for whatever reason, the boy is just more a part of that other world than he is a part of our world, and he goes to join his fellow glowypeople in the other world. Well you wake up in the mornin you hear the work bell ring and they march you to the table to see the same old thing. That is my own definition of what makes a movie good, something that allows us to discuss the heck out of it here. But midnight special is a chase movie, and like all chase movies it runs the risk of losing all narrative momentum once it arrives at a destination. He pointed to the character of doak bill camp, who is tasked by the.
Therefore i will be as brief as possible to avoid spoilers. Contrary to popular belief, midnight special is a spiritual movie, turned scifi, turned. On the one hand, its about a father and a son bonding, while its also equally a roadtrip, scifi thriller too. Which isnt to say that theres not some initial promise. Midnight special should be added to his growing list of accomplishments, but for most people not glued into the genre, it may come off as disjointed and unfulfilled. Midnight special is a breathtaking display of visual storytelling, confidently. The film stars michael shannon, joel edgerton, kirsten dunst, adam driver, jaeden lieberher, and sam shepard. Everything you need to know about midnight special movie. Midnight special goes off its own narrative cliff, capping a compelling story with a thirdact resolution so misguided thats its the dramatic equivalent of punching the gas and plunging into. Yonder come miss rosie, how in the world do you know well i know by the apron and the dress she wore well an umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand. The song refers to the passenger train midnight special and its everloving light sometimes everliving light the song is historically performed in the countryblues style from the viewpoint of the prisoner and has been covered by many artists. It is nicholss fourth fulllength film and his first studio production. The film opens in a seedy hotel room, where kidnapper roy tomlin shannon, intense as ever.
Creedence clearwater revival the midnight special willy and the poor boys lyrics. One of the frequently asked questions is, if its the midnight special, why doesnt it start at midnight. Mar 21, 2016 midnight special was released by warner brothers shrouded in secrecy, with minimal advertising and trailers that only hinted at the plot and characters. The deeper implications of what might really be going on. Midnight special blending grassroots character detail with a healthy dash of paranormal intrigue, jeff nichols puts an original spin on the road movie. Their films together include blackbird 2007, the missing person 2009, return 2011, mud 2012 and midnight special 2016. Midnight special starring michael shannon, joel edgerton, and adam driver, follows a boy named alton and his father on the run from the. The midnight special was a steam locomotive train that passed the louisiana state prison. Why that midnight special ending makes perfect sense. I knew almost nothing about midnight special going in other than said comment, and i highly recommend you try to do the same. As cliche as this is, theres absolutely nothing special about midnight special. Movie of the year basically just means that its a movie that make you really think and consider what is going on in the film. Midnight special is the rare action movie that could stand a few more pauses for reflection, and the rarer jeff nichols movie that works more on.
If youre not carefulmeaning, if you expose him to sunlight, which is not too. The midnight special, an american night train formerly operated by the chicago and alton railroad and the gulf, mobile and ohio railroad between chicago and st. Mud director jeff nichols aims to replicate spielbergian wonder with this tale of a boy with magical. The lyrics of the creedance clearwater song are about. The midnight special is an american latenight musical variety series originally broadcast on nbc during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by burt sugarman. Jeff nicholss fourth feature film tries some interesting things, but loses. The midnight special, a 19721981 latenight american musical variety series.
He pointed to the character of doak bill camp, who is tasked by the leader of the ranch sam shepard to. A kid has special powers, michael shannon kidnaps him and he has to get him somewhere. The heartbreaking story that inspired jeff nichols to. Mar 18, 2016 jeff nicholss new film midnight special is at its best when it keeps things simple. All 26 songs from the midnight special 2016 movie soundtrack, with scene descriptions. Roy michael shannon is on the run with his 8 year old son alden jaeden lieberher from a religious cult that worships the boy as some sort of messiah. A little familiar, and slightly to the wrong side of the divide between spare and underwritten, midnight special falls short of recapturing the uncanny heights of metaphysical frisson nichols attained in take shelter, but its still pretty neat, and the performances are wonderfully fraught. The midnight special was a sign of death, if the light shone into your cell it meant you would be taken up and released to your maker, by your death. Apr 01, 2016 in midnight special, the relationship roy tomlin michael shannon has with his son alton jaeden lieberher still focuses on this idea, just told through a filter of paternity. Jeff nichols specializes in films, like 2011s take shelter and 2012s mud, with a sense of spare urgency. Saleem is a crosscultural name meaning peace, just like salman itself, as well as many related names including solomon, salome and salma. The film is wellmade, but the script is as scarce as water in the desert. The midnight special airs saturday nights from 9 pm until midnight. What movie was the song midnight special in answers.
Mar 24, 2009 creedence clearwater revival the midnight special willy and the poor boys lyrics. What does the ending of the movie midnight special mean. It is images from the film that pass through my mind mostflames falling from the sky, a father carrying his child, the shaking of grass as something is about to happen, and the jawdropping finale. Midnight special is an intriguing genre exercise that mostly succeeds. Creedence clearwater revival the midnight special lyrics.
Midnight special jeff nichols sets out to emulate spielberg, and ends up with his own distinct scifi film. Midnight special is a 2016 american science fiction film written and directed by jeff nichols, and produced by sarah green and brian kavanaughjones. Listen to and download the music, ost, score, list of songs and trailers. Jaeden lieberher and michael shannon in midnight special. The song refers to the passenger train midnight special and its everloving light sometimes everliving light.
So it was with great anticipation i went to midnight special. They also appeared in the hbo tv series boardwalk empire 20102014, and have appeared in two stage plays. What is the meaning of the term midnight special in the. Midnight special, the fourth film from popular indie director jeff nichols, feels like the offspring of steven spielbergs two scifi classics, e. In fact, theres something rather effective about the buildup, as nichols shrouds his premise. But its nicholss new scifi chase movie, the jangling, darkly addictive and supermysterious midnight special, which puts him in the frame for any such contest. Nicholss next film is decidedly different, a biopic about the landmark loving v. There was real joy in experiencing the movie for the first time. He was born at exactly midnight on the day when india became independent, and this gives him special powers. Let the midnight special shine a light on me let the midnight special shine a light on me let the midnight special shine a light on me let the midnight special shine a everlovin light on me yonder come miss rosie, how in the world did you know. Spoiler alert by the ending of the movie, im guessing you mean literally the last two seconds.
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