The Vast of Night

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If there is any benefit to not being able to see many of the films slated for 2020, it is that I get to see some that I would have otherwise missed. This film (which is now available on Amazon Prime) would be one of those. Set in a small New Mexico town some time in the 1950s, and taking place over one dark night, the story covers two teens as they try to track the source of a mysterious noise showing up on the radio. There is a palpable sense of foreboding hanging over this entire film; somethings going on. The question is does the audience care enough to find out what it is, and will they care at the end. I have a feeling this film would have scared the hell out of movie goers of an earlier generation. But don’t go to it expecting that. What you will get is a moody, atmospheric exercise in storytelling. The cinematography is the real pleasure here. Scenes are framed beautifully and manage to be both elegant and tense. The film uses several long dolly shots very effectively. My favorite one lasted just over four minutes, as the camera moved rapidly over the vacant town like a beast hunting prey (with an effective “boom-boom” beat in the background). It moved into a high school gym, where the giddy energy was contrasted effectively with the nebulous sense of menace, before the camera continued out of the gym and across town to the radio station. It’s a fantastic shot and exemplifies what is best about this film. However, the next scene, exemplifies where the film really stumbles. Starting at about the 35 minute mark, and lasting for an interminable 12 minutes, we listen to a phone conversation between the DJ (Everett) and the man who has called in with information about the sound. We never see that man’s face. Instead, we sometimes focus on Everett and sometime we get a dark screen. This is a very long time, almost 1/6th of the film, and it kills the pacing. As much as the conversation has tension in it, it goes on long enough to become dull. The shots of Everett listening (framed on the left of the screen and with the microphone almost off camera on the right) are really beautiful, but they are not suspenseful. If you are making a thriller, and I think that’s what this film is trying to be, then it needs to be thrilling. The tension should rise. But, this film was a very slow burn. That is its biggest weakness (or perhaps its strength, depending on what you want). The film never felt scary or creepy to me. But it often felt eerie, and I was very drawn in by the beauty of this little slice of 50s America. As slow as it was, I really enjoyed the film. But, again, it depends on what you are looking for.