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.
