"The Vast of Night" now playing on Amazon Prime: A Subtle Soft-Voiced Film That Mesmerizes

                                 

A Rod Serling-like voice opens the film, telling us we are entering Paradox Theatre, “…a realm between clandestine and forgotten.”  Through the oval screen of a vintage  television, we watch the opening of a story set in 1950s Cayugo, New Mexico (actually shot in Texas, though reminiscent of our vision of Roswell, New Mexico in that time frame).  The whole town is excited about that evening’s basketball game.  Lights flicker in the gym.  Squirrels are blamed. But they are not at fault, after all.

“The Vast of Night” (2019, USA), which began streaming on Amazon Prime on May 29th,  is the first feature film of Oklahoma  City director Andrew Patterson, and it is an incredible production. This story of friendship between the highly confident and competent radio host Everett (Jake Horowitz) and Fay (Sierra McCormick), a switchboard operator filled with curiosity, begins as they each head to work and he explains to her the best way to interview folks.

They hurriedly walk out of the gymnasium, a room bursting with pre-game activity and brightly lit but bathed in dusty yellow light.  The contrast in lighting outside the gym - darkness lit by car headlights of those waiting for the game to begin, with blue and green hues - is jarring .  Kudos to Chilean cinematographer M.I. Littin-Menz for creating this beautiful noir eeriness.

Almost immediately there are strange happenings at Fay’s job: lights flicker and switchboard calls are cut-off.  As Fay listens to Everett’s broadcast in the background, suddenly his voice is replaced by weird industrial sounds.  Then, Fay receives a call that is also peculiar mechanical or underwater sounds. She calls Everett, wanting his opinion on the sounds.

Patterson uses odd machine sounds and strange flashes of soft light when he brings us back to watching the story on the screen of the retro television. Also, his technique of going back and forth from the television screen to the story on the full screen distances us from the story and the characters.  Are we just watching a show?  Is there something else going on in the world of the television viewer?

Effective use of occasional black screens build the mystery.  During a phone call from Billy (Bruce Davis), who calls Everett’s station after Everett airs the weird sound on his broadcast , there are times when we only hear Billy's voice since the screen is black.  In this fashion, we experience the call as if we are receiving it ourselves. There are no visuals to distract. It’s quite a powerful way to ensure the viewer focuses on the words of the story.  Another technique is used to get our focus on the story:  when Mabel (Gail Cronauer) calls in, she intrigues Everett and Fay.  “I can tell you what’s going on.” But they must come to her home.  There, Mabel, in an extraordinary and lengthy monologue, tells her tale of woe that relates to those “up there.”  Her story stuns; it is heartfelt. But Everett is skeptical.

I particularly enjoy the cinematography of the film - the use of grain, color filters, shadows, darkness and mist to create an enigmatic mood,  a sense of mystery and danger.  Also, the use of mostly interior rooms gives a claustrophobic feel even though the suggestion throughout is that they may be dealing with aliens from outer space.  It’s rare we get a look at the full sky, or that the lead characters look up. “If there’s something in the sky, I want to know,” laments Everett.  When they do gaze upwards, it is powerful.

Yes, we know this plot isn’t completely original. We’ve seen many television shows and films about the possibility of others “out there.”  But Patterson’s storytelling (and credit is due also to his co-writer, Craig W. Sanger) is fresh, his visual style intriguing. There’s no intent to be campy, to wink at the genre.  We genuinely begin to see and feel the story as Everett and Fay do. Patterson gives due credit to filmmakers who have influenced him: Michael Mann, David Fincher, Yann Demange, Gaspar Noé and Alan J. Pakula.

Here is the director’s philosophy of filmmaking with respect to challenging the audience:

“I always want to feel like that kind of, ‘Catch up, catch up, catch up’ quality when I’m watching a movie. The best is when I am watching a film and I like the characters and I like the world but there’s so much going on that keeping up is a challenge. And I hate when the dialogue is just characters saying things to each other they would never say at that moment or in that dynamic. And so I like making movies where you don't feel like you are getting all the answers handed to you early on. Eventually you get the answers, but maybe not right out of the gate. So building the trust in a viewer that you will get a chance to catch up all the while not handing them everything is the real challenge.”

  

“The Vast of Night” was an official selection at the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival and won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. The film also has won the Feature Film Jury Prize at the Overlook Film Festival in 2019 and is nominated for Best First Screenplay at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. 

Here is a link to the trailer, but I actually suggest you NOT watch it since trailers these days pretty much tell you the whole story.  https://youtu.be/ZEiwpCJqMM0   

I recommend that you just watch the film and live in it from beginning to end. That way, you experience the strange mystery with no preconceptions. Trailers are a necessary part of promotion, but as the director says, that  ‘catch up, catch up, catch up’ quality is what he looks for as a viewer. If that fits you, then, watch this film fresh.

"Selah and the Spades," First Feature Film of Tayarisha Poe, debuts on Amazon Prime April 17,2020

 "SELAH AND THE SPADES," FIRST FEATURE FILM OF TAYARISHA POE, DEBUTS ON AMAZON PRIME APRIL 17, 2020

Celeste O'Connor, Lovie Simone, Jharrel Jerome, Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Selah (Lovie Simone) is feared and revered as the leader of the Spades, one of five factions at the Haldwell School, a private boarding school.  Selah is fixated on her legacy as the most powerful and fearless leader of the most dominant faction.  The other four?  First, there is the Sea, run by Tarit (Henry Hunter Hall), teachers’ pets who actually are rogues, helping students cheat.  Next, are the Skins, run by Amber (Francesca Noel), who handle the gambling needs.  The third, the Bobbys, are run by Bobby (Ana Mulvoy Ten); they organize illegal dorm parties. The fourth, the Prefects, are headed by Two Tom (Evan Roe); this faction keeps administrators from discovering  all the illegal activities.  The Spades, the most powerful and led by Selah with Maxxie (Jharrel Jerome) at her side, sell booze, pills, powder and more.  

The dictate followed by all the factions is “don’t be a rat.”

 “Selah and the Spades” (2019, 97 minutes), is a gangster movie disguised as a fable about teenage angst, high school politics and friendship.  Selah, confident and in charge, eyes a new student, Paloma (Celeste O’Connor).  Paloma may be  the right candidate to groom as a protégé, to take over the Spades after Selah graduates.  At first, Paloma enjoys the attention and is happy to follow Selah’s lead.  As Paloma delves into this world, she develops her own confidence and begins expressing her own ideas about power and school politics.  The seeds of distrust are sown. 

This film is the first feature film of writer and director Tayarisha Poe.   The student body of Haldwell School is mostly black and brown students, an intentional reversal of the conventional private school film populated with mostly white male students (think “Dead Poets Society, “Rushmore,” “Scent of a Woman”).   Asked about how she developed Selah’s character, Tayarish responded:

Selah was born out of this frustration of me knowing that if I were too headstrong or aggressive, I might be stereotyped as an aggressive black woman, so I spent a lot of time being chill and even-tempered. But it’s exhausting to constantly be thinking about how other people are seeing you, so Selah was born of my frustration with that, combined with the notion of examining what life would be like if you didn’t have to lean into the image of what you should be,  or how you should act, or what you should be doing with your life, or your body, or your energy. Selah came out of those feelings, and she’s evolved over the years into something deeper and more complex.

So, when Selah learns that there is a snitch, she will track him down, no holds barred.  Paloma isn’t necessarily buying into Selah’s point of view, that “you have to put fear in them, to show actions have consequences.” Paloma’s gut tells her this isn’t right. She is not sure she is willing to get her hands dirty “for the greater good.”  Selah gives her a loyalty test. She passes it, for the moment.  

After the betrayal is handled, the Spades and other factions are told by the principal (Jesse Williams) that prom is canceled. He is aware of misconduct, maybe not all of it, but enough to draw a line. Selah organizes a summit meeting of the factions. They will take the power back and hold their own prom.  They are in charge.  A rowdy party ensues, and Selah turns on Paloma.  What happens to the bond between Selah, Paloma and Maxxie?  Stay tuned.  I have read a few sources that say Amazon is developing this into a series.

Tayarisha Poe was asked what she is saying about human nature.  She responds:

I’m fascinated by the purity of emotion that exists in teenagers…..I should qualify that in no way do I think that Selah is good or bad – and this applies to the other characters. I view them all as neutral and living in a grey area, which is why I love them, because I believe in living in grey areas. But my biggest goal with the film springs out of that phrase sympathy for the devil – but for me, it’s empathy for the devil. I want audiences to have empathy for people who are doing things in life they may disagree with.

This film is beautifully shot with a bright colors, a gauzy look at times and occasional jazzy camera moves. At times, the camera holds an image so we can reflect and contemplate the still-life.  Many times, there are close-ups of the characters’ faces, highlighting changing emotions, limiting the need for dialogue now and then. These moments of prolonged silence, along with the use of fade-to-black moments, allow time for contemplation.

“Selah and the Spades” will begin screening on Amazon Prime on April 17, 2020.  Here is a link to the trailer:  https://youtu.be/-nK6WFgdchM  The film received accolades at Sundance, the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Blackstar Film Festival.  

“The Assistant” Has Us Quietly Question: What Would We Do?

Jane (Julia Garner) receives her dream job after graduating from Northwestern. She is an assistant to a top movie producer and this fits right in with her plan to produce films one day.  The Assistant” (2020, 87 min.), written and directed by Kitty Green, explores how Jane unwittingly must deal with an unscrupulous movie mogul at the top of his game - and with all of the underlings (beneath this powerful bully) who enable his bad behavior in pursuit of their own career advancement.

As the newest assistant in this film production business, Jane is paying her dues, facing daily tedium: getting to the office first to open up, starting the coffee, arranging water bottles, cleaning the couch in the boss’s office and picking up a piece of woman’s jewelry while in there. 

Jane remains stoic, her face a mask and her words minimal, but her mundane activities - photocopying, delivering scripts to other staffers, handling travel reservations, washing coffee mugs - allow her to mull over all the insinuations that her boss is a sexual predator.  When a very young new assistant appears for work, Jane is told to accompany her to a fancy hotel and drop her off.  This is the final straw.  Jane heads over to the Human Resources Office.

For me, this is the most chilling scene of the film. Jane enters the office of Wilcock (Matthew MacFadyen), the HR director.  At first, he appears sympathetic, with his silky smooth voice.  “Whatever’s going on, you can tell me.”  Hesitantly, Jane describes the signs of exploitation.  Wilcock asks Jane what her long term goal is. “Movie producer.”  He responds, “I can see you got what it takes. Why are you trying to throw it away with all this bullshit?” Then, Wilcock throws out an aside. “You’re not his type.”

The boss is amorphous.  In fact, he is never seen, just heard, reprimanding Jane on the phone after Jane has to make excuses to his wife about his whereabouts, giving orders, disappearing after the new young assistant is sent to the hotel. It’s a clever treatment of the predatory boss.  We see the results of his bad behavior without actually seeing him in action.

Green was originally inspired by the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement.  Green explains:

When I began drafting this film, I saw it as a work of scripted nonfiction based on the specifics of the stories that women had told me," says Green.  "Eventually the script began to evolve into a composite of the thousands of stories I'd heard, seen through the eyes of one woman.  While the goals of the project remained the same, it took on a life of its own. I guess now I would define it as a fiction film that had an intensive documentary-style research process."

By focusing on simply one day of Jane’s work, the filmmaker allows us not only to see the way in which Jane is practically invisible to the boss and all of the other staffers.  We also see how a powerless person is witness to a subtle toxic work environment, to which the others in this workplace, also on career ladders, are inured.  

Green speaks to the choice of Julia Garner for the lead role:

"The first time I saw Julia, I was immediately struck by her presence," says the director.  "We were looking for an actor with the right combination of strength and vulnerability.  Julia brought depth, humanity and sensitivity to the role of Jane, and it was a privilege to work with her."

This quiet film does not shout out an easy answer for Jane.  Instead, through her reflective face, which at first shows tedium and confusion, but then develops into looks of worry and concern, we feel her pain. At the end of the day, she has to face herself and her reactions. What will she do? What would you do?

Here is the film trailer: https://youtu.be/z9761kQCNWc.  As more women, and some men, step forward with stories of careers thwarted - or compromised - perhaps one day this film will be an echo of distant times.

The movie opens in Albuquerque on Friday, February 21st at High Ridge Theater 8.