This is an updated review of Jeff Nichols’ MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. The original review, which can be found here, was updated in June of 2023. Most of the review was rewritten and the score was upped.
Jeff Nichols is one of the most promising young directors out there. His first feature film – Shotgun Stories – was an excellent low-budget revenge tale about brotherhood. His two other films – Take Shelter & Mud – put him on worldwide critics’ radar as they were some of the best films of the years in which they were released. That early filmography highlights an impressive and talented filmmaker who clearly has it within himself to be more than merely an indie darling. With Midnight Special, Jeff Nichols made his first film that is placed squarely in the science-fiction genre, and, back when it was released, it was one of my most anticipated films of that year. To me, this felt like the right moment for Nichols to make a film that could really get his name out there, but, while I did like it when I first saw it, it didn’t immediately live up to the expectations that I had for it. Having now, years later, had the chance to watch it over and over again, I can say that it has only gotten better with each and every rewatch. Midnight Special is an exceptional film that I think I understand much better now.
In the science-fiction, road movie chase picture titled Midnight Special, Roy (played by Michael Shannon) and Lucas (played by Joel Edgerton) have abducted a mysterious boy with special powers, named Alton (played by Jaeden Lieberher), and are now being chased by not just the FBI – led by Paul Sevier (played by Adam Driver) – but also by members of a cult dispatched by Pastor Calvin Meyer (played by Sam Shepard). Roy is Alton’s biological father and he only wants what is best for his son, who needs his father to take him to a specific location where his light can shine like it was always meant to.
This is essentially Jeff Nichols going full Spielberg just with his own sensibilities as a filmmaker. The film is especially reminiscent of Steven Spielberg films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, with the latter being an obvious comparison due to how the film can essentially be boiled down to being about keeping someone unique away from the spying eyes of the government.
When I first watched it, I was particularly transfixed by the scenes of Edgerton, Shannon, and Lieberher on the road, as they tried to elude capture. There are these nice little moments that work really well for the film, but these sequences also include larger set-pieces that wow such as the satellite debris crash that looks like a meteor shower or when Edgerton’s character has a staredown with an officer. Notably, the pacing of the film makes it so that it isn’t as gripping whenever the trio stops. That said, I’ve grown to disagree with my earlier review which argued that the film loses its way during these lulls and stops. I was also a little bit hard on the way the film wrote its primary female character. Kirsten Dunst is a terrific actor, and I’ve always thought she is given too little to work with. Her character feels a little bit too muted, but Dunst certainly does a lot with a little here, which I also suggested previously.
It works on a character-level and on a thematic level, for me, and I think it also works for its science fiction. Perhaps it is a little bit too grounded and indie in its visuals to garner a large following (and that is probably why it didn’t ultimately further launch Nichols into some sort of filmmaker fame), but the moments of true science-fiction amazement are well-executed. Nichols’ film uses hard-sci-fi visuals sparingly, but when they are used they do the job. Seeing Edgerton and Shannon react to Alton is particularly special.
Having already singled out Dunst for elevating her limited, muted material and Edgerton and Shannon’s reactions (Shannon’s work felt especially authentic to me), I should also highlight Lieberher and Driver’s work. While the film isn’t exactly funny, Adam Driver infuses his performance with a kind of energy that is occasionally quite fun to watch. I once read that there was a little bit of ‘Jeff Goldblum’ about his performance, and since then I’ve been unable to look past that on subsequent rewatches. Lieberher does terrific work here and never struggles to match the performances of his much more well-known scene partners. He’s such a talent.
When I first reviewed the film, I noted that it might’ve thrived with a different perspective that might’ve allowed for more of a childlike wonder. But I think that is a bit of a misreading of the film. That just isn’t the type of child that Alton is, and that isn’t what this film is. Rather, I’ve grown to think of this film as being about what it means to put your faith in your child. I imagine that for parents especially (though I am merely a godfather), having a child become a part of your family changes your perspectives and priorities. They are larger-than-life. They are the thing worth fighting for. What makes them special changes you. When you see their light, it is all that matters — not political ideology, not governmental security, and not the characters’ religious beliefs. Alton supersedes that. This is precisely why I now think the film does in fact ‘stick the landing.’ Being able to give a child what it needs is ultimately all that matters for these people. As such, it is a film about both belief, parenthood, and love — and it is oh-so very special.
8.5 out of 10
– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 