Midnight Special

Plot synopsis:
The glow of a television set illuminates an otherwise dark motel room. On the news, the story of a missing boy named Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher) last seen with a man named Roy, traveling in a primer grey Chevelle.Roy (Michael Shannon) pulls back duct tape covering the peephole in the door and sees that its night. He tells Lucas (Joel Edgerton) that its time to go. They gather Alton, whos reading a comic book underneath a bed sheet. Hes wearing headphones and darkened swim goggles. They exit the room.The front desk clerk of the motel watches as the peculiar threesome get into a Chevelle. The news is on in the motel office too. She picks up the phone as the Chevelle drives away.Elsewhere, Calvin Meyer (Sam Shepard) tells Doak (Bill Camp) that he must get the boy back no matter what. They exit the room and we see theyre on the altar of a large congregation of religious followers. He starts reading scripture which sounds more like a series of dates and numbers. The FBI raids the church and we see that were in the compound of a Waco-like cult. They gather up the members of the congregation into school buses and take them away.Through their police scanner, Roy and Lucas discover the authorities have a description of their vehicle. Lucas puts on night vision goggles, turns off the headlines and speeds through the darkness. After driving through three counties, Roy tells him to turn the lights back on and slow down. As Lucas does, their car narrowly misses a stalled car in the middle of the road. However a vehicle heading in the opposite direction isnt as lucky and crashes into the stalled car. Lucas stops, gets out and checks on the driver. As he does, a State Trooper pulls up. The trooper is about to assist, when he gets a message on his radio about the Chevelle. Lucas pulls his own gun and tells the trooper not to do it. The trooper pulls his weapon anyway, so Lucas shoots him, gets back in the Chevelle and off they go. Roy assures Lucas that the trooper was wearing a vest.The FBI questions the members of the congregation about the large collection of weapons theyve started to amass. Calvin says its still currently legal to own guns in this country. We also find out that Calvin Meyer is Altons adopted father. Roy is his biological father. NSA agent Paul Sevier (Adam Driver) arrives and questions the congregation too. He asks about Altons powers. Calvin tells him that he speaks in tongues and has given the church a series of numbers. It turns out those numbers are classified government information. They also talk about the light Alton has in his eyes. Sevier lets everyone return to their church. Doak and Levi (Scott Haze) gather a secret stash of weapons and head out after Alton.Roy, Lucas and Alton get to the home of a former congregation member named Elden (David Jensen). He hides them and already has a darkened room for Alton to sleep. In the morning, the entire house is rumbling like theres an earthquake. Roy runs into Altons room and sees Elden staring in the bright lights shooting out of Altons eyes. They pull Elden away and get the goggles back on Alton. Elden explains that he just had to see it one more time. Lucas takes the man's car and gathers Alton. Roy pulls his gun on Elden and tells him that he has to do this because the man knows too much. He begs Roy to spare him.Alton reads comic books in the back of Eldens stolen utility van and asks questions about Superman and Kryptonite. Roy admonishes Lucas for letting him read that. Lucas defends his decision by saying that its good to read. Roy doesnt want Alton reading stuff that isnt real. We get the sense that, before all this, Lucas wasnt a member of the Meyer family like Roy was. Alton starts speaking in Spanish. Lucas is surprised he can do that. Roy says he cant and turns on the radio. It turns out that Alton is reciting what a DJ is saying on a Spanish speaking radio station even though the radio wasnt even turned on. Roy was able to determine that the numbers Alton was saying to the church were coordinates with a corresponding date. He needs to get him to those coordinates by that day a few days from now.They end up at a gas station. Lucas goes inside to get supplies. Roy makes a phone call and tells Alton to stay in the van. Roy tells the person on the phone that he misses them and will see them in a few hours. Something above catches Altons attention and he gets out and wanders away to the edge of the parking lot. Roy runs over and Alton apologizes and points to the sky. Fiery debris rains from the sky onto the gas station. Lucas and Roy take Alton, get in the van and drive away as the gas station explodes behind them.They go to the home of Sarah (Kirsten Dunst). Shes Altons mom and concerned that hes not looking too well. She puts him to sleep.Re-joining Sevier and Agent Miller (Paul Sparks) from the FBI at the aftermath of the gas station, we find out that a defence satellite in charge of stopping nuclear weapons exploded and crashed at the gas station. Theres a heat reading comparable to a nuclear bomb where Alton was standing when the satellite exploded, but there isnt any radiation present at the site. They determine they can program a drone to track that exact same reading, so next time Altons super powers flare, they can figure out where he is.Doak and Levi, armed with duct tape and guns, pay a visit to Sarahs mom.On the radio, the official report is that a weather satellite crashed.Lucas works on rigging up Sarahs car with some equipment while she makes small talk. We find out that Lucas was a childhood friend of Roys before he left to join Calvins cult. His job before all of this, he was also a State Trooper. Sarah couldnt handle seeing Calvin raise her child, so she left the cult. Roy bravely stayed behind to keep an eye on Alton.Doak and Levi go to Sarahs house and find Eldens van. Then they go to Eldens house and find him alive. Roy couldnt kill him after all. They ask where the heroes are headed.Our heroes drive and suddenly Alton has difficulty breathing. They pull over and try to help him. Lucas insists they should go to the hospital, but Roy says they cant. If they do, they wont be able to get to the coordinates. Light shoots out of Altons eyes and he cant control it. They take him out of the car. The grass around him starts to die. He recovers and tells Sarah and Lucas to go. He points to a distant light in the sky the government knows where they are.Roy and Alton flee into the woods and find a cave. Alton tells Roy that he needs to be outside in the day time. Roy says that could harm him. Alton says that Roy needs to trust him. In the morning, Alton and Roy watch the sunrise. Alton recovers completely and his hand illuminates with light.Sevier decodes the numbers from Calvins sermons. Theyre a series of coordinates with corresponding dates. Some line up to stuff like where the State Trooper was shot and where the gas station explosion happened. Others are just government secrets. Putting the government numbers aside, Sevier is able to find out where our heroes are headed next!Lucas and Sarah are holed up in a hotel room. Sarah reassures Lucas that Roy wont stop at anything to get Alton where they need to be. Theres a knock. It cant be Roy and Alton because its daytime. Wrong! Its them. Roy says that Alton was able to show him a glimpse of where he needs to be. Alton explains that he belongs with people who live on a plane of existence thats parallel to ours, but different from ours. He shows Lucas that place through the lights in his eyes. Lucas now believes.Lucas puts on his Kevlar vest and goes out to get their car. As soon as he opens the door, hes shot by Doak and Levi. Ray grabs his gun and exits the room too, but hes shot in the neck. Doak and Levi break in the room and take Alton. They zip tie Lucas, Ray and Sarah and drive away. Sarah breaks free and rescues the other two. They head off after the kidnappers, but the trip is short. Theyre stuck in the traffic of a military roadblock. Ray goes off road to get to the front and there they see a military helicopter flying away from Doak pick up. Inside the open truck, the blanket that Doak used to cover Altons head. It's over.At a military compound a group of military leaders and scientists try to talk to Alton. He could be a valuable asset. He says that hell talk to Sevier and only to Sevier, so everyone else leaves. Using telekinetic powers, Alton is able to make it so the security cameras arent recording the actual present events. He telekinetically opens the door which imprisons him. Sevier sheepishly goes inside to talk to Alton. Alton shows him his light.In the middle of nowhere, Roy is devastated that he failed. Then all of the nearby payphones start ringing at once. He picks up. On the other end, Sevier tells him that he has Alton and tells Roy where they can meet. Alton magically helps Sevier steal a car.In the morning, Sevier turns over Alton to Roy and Sarah. He handcuffs himself with Lucas cuffs and asks if Lucas would be willing to punch him which Lucas has no interest in doing.Alton tells Roy that theres one route they can go to get through the government roadblocks keeping them from their final destination. Roy and Sarah also come to terms with the fact that Alton might not belong with them after all and that once they get there, its goodbye.They drive through a small military blockade on a country road. Alton and Sarah get out of the car and run through swamp land. Roy and Lucas keep the military occupied while driving in Sarahs, now badly damaged, car.As if by magic, a dome appears around Alton that takes up a good third of the United States. Everywhere, everyone sees this magical world where Alton belongs. All of the beings that inhabit that world are made of light that comes from their hands and eyes, kind of like an evolved version of Alton. Lucas and Roys car crashes. Alton and Sarah share a goodbye glance and then as suddenly as everything appeared, it, along with Alton disappears.AFTERMATHLucas is being questioned by the government. His incredible story is the only story he has to tell. Sarah cuts her hair in a scummy bathroom clearly on the run. Roy is in a prison. He has electrodes on his head and stares into the sun. His eyes magically illuminate like a lesser version of Altons.

Tags: psychedelic, suspenseful, murder, cult

Review:
You start to understand that, in spite of the hype, movies are not as good as they used to be -- more like production-line white-bread, all mapped out and pre-sold into the appropriate distribution channels before the first viewer ever even gets a look -- and that in the same time period, TV has come to surpass film in terms of quality and entertainment value.And then every now and then you get a film like Midnight Special and for a brief moment you start to think this medium might someday recapture its glory days.I am not going to tell the story or do anything which will diminish your experience, should you choose to see this film.I will simply say that, if you believe the primary goal of a movie is to hold your interest and entertain, this one does the job from the first frame to the closing credits.Boy is that refreshing!
Roy enlists childhood friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) to help them get to a specific location on a specific date, the reasons for which are unclear but may involve some sort of otherworldly or cataclysmic event.The comparisons with Starman (1984) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) are apt, but this is very definitely a different movie altogether.The actors are uniformly excellent, especially Michael Shannon, who gives another intense and believable performance as a man who would do anything for his son.
So I enjoyed quite a lot this movie, though at the end I thought the story was a bit too light, I walked away with the feeling that there were quite a few questions left open and that I would have wanted to know more....like when you finish a dinner and you're still hungry.....
With Midnight Special, Jeff Nichols enters the pantheon of those nostalgic American filmmakers armed with their lens flares, Pandora's boxes and deeply sentimental reasons, driven by a protective father figure and a maternal relationship to the plot itself.Lately, Christopher Nolan's Interstellar walked on the same path, and in many ways Midnight Special strangely looks like Interstellar.
David Wingo's soundtrack is electrifying, the script is intelligent enough for not telling us the whole plot and characters' background in a few lines of dialogue, and despite a half-hearted performance by Michael Shannon, who still shines in its restraint, and some facilities in scriptwriting approaching the end of the film, Midnight Special is so perfectly controlled that it would be difficult to get out of the theater unscathed..
First and foremost, Jeff Nichols is quickly becoming one of my favourite directors working today, and I honestly believe that his movies have increasingly become better.Midnight Special starts off in the middle of the plot, and does not rely on exposition.
In terms of the characters, Michael Shannon's character does feel like a father who would genuinely do this for his son (especially because he may feel as though he is making up for lost time) and the other characters are very enjoyable and feel necessary to the movie.
Jeff Nichols has made it no secret that classic sci-fi films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind are inspirations for his film however, I find the fact that his relationship with his own son was used as an inspiration too, much more intriguing.Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) is an eight-year-old boy who possesses otherworldly powers.
When his father, Roy (Michael Shannon), takes his son and flees from a religious cult, they must travel across the country to an undisclosed location on a specific date, during which a celestial and possibly world-changing event may occur.Mystery is a strong point for Midnight Special, the entire mystery surrounding Alton's powers, what will happen on that specific date and the reason a religious cult want him back, all playing a part in making the story such a captivating one.
Here in "Midnight Special" we have the nearest thing I've seen to a loving tribute to that classic.Our hero Roy (obviously!) played by Michael Shannon (Zod from the recent "Superman" reboots), and with help from childhood friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton), kidnap a strange light-sensitive child with strange powers from the Texan HQ of a doomsday-focused religious cult led by Calvin Meyer (Sam Shepard).
Although very atmospheric, it takes the "Midnight" from the title rather literally in places: something that I can see causing difficulties for TV viewers in working out what the hell is going on in places.This is a slower paced film than many might like, but for me it perfectly balances character with mystery and action.
Midnight Special is the first movie of the director to be produced by a major studio (Warner Bros.); though this film is as stylish as all of his former pictures, even if this time around he must have been more aware of criticism and must have had to defend his ideas and choices to impose his point of view again and again.
In fact, the sci-fi elements of the film have an organic style, they look quite real, inspiration of movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial by Steven Spielberg or even Starman by John Carpenter with their opaque dark night.
There are 2 kings of bad movies: The ones that are plain bad from the beginning, and you stop watching them rapidly, cutting your losses.The ones that look initially appealing, and turn into an horrible mishmash of meaningless drivel, but in such a way that you stay until the end, hoping for it to get better.(some spoilers here)Midnight Special is the second kind.
I'm all for superpowers, aliens, bad government wanting to kill or exploit the gentle benevolent being everybody roots for, but here the story devolves into some incomprehensible emotional junk that looks like a religion propaganda movie, but without the religion.Yuk!.
"Midnight Special" focuses on a father (Michael Shannon) who goes on the run with his son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) who seems to be a conduit channeling earthly and celestial information, as well as being the chosen prophet of a religious cult in rural Texas, from which his wife (Kirsten Dunst) formerly fled.
The bulk of the film entails the family's mission to bring Alton to a specific geographical location (for purposes that remain relatively undisclosed until the end) while the FBI, CIA, and US military relentlessly pursue them.To put it straight, I am not typically a sci-fi fan, but Jeff Nichols's "Midnight Special" almost defies the category itself in many ways.
The film starts out with a starkly ambiguous premise, and revels in its own ambiguity for the majority of its duration; Nichols keeps a steady hand on the trigger from the opening scene to the visually astounding conclusion, and the audience is kept in a state of contemplation and wonder that never really closes in on itself.In many ways, it's a road film, and in others it is full-blown science fiction-meets-the horror aspects of "Village of the Damned" with shades of David Lynch.
I'm sure I could edit this into a one hour TV episode and deliver the same story.Second, and I hope this is not considered spoiler, because this is kind of like my opinion and everyone else could think differently: the ending only revealed the what, not the why and the implications.
Austin-based filmmaker Jeff Nichols serves up some of the familiar themes of spiritualism and parenting seen in his first three films: Mud (2012), Take Shelter (2011), Shotgun Stories (2007), but this time he goes a bit heavier on the science fiction  while maintaining his focus on the individual.An exceptional opening scene kicks off the story, and Nichols makes sure we are alert by forcing us to absorb and assemble the slew of clues flying at us  an Amber alert, cardboard on the windows of a cheap motel, a news report tying us to San Angelo, Texas, duct tape on the peep hole, a duffel bag of weapons, two anxiety-filled men, and a goggled-boy under a white sheet who seems extremely calm in an otherwise hectic environment.
An FBI agent (Paul Sparks) leads the raid on the compound and takes us to an interrogation of Calvin by NSA analyst Paul Sevier (Adam Driver).Alternating between sci-fi special effects and an "on the run" story line, we slowly pick up more details about the boy Alton (Jaeden Lieberther), as well as the men with him – his father Roy (Michael Shannon) and Roy's childhood friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton).
It's not long before they reunite with Alton's mother Sarah (Kirsten Dunst) and we really start to comprehend just how different and special Alton is.It's easy to see the influence of such films as Starman, E.T.: The ExtraTerrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and The Day the Earth Stood Still.
We seem to have jumped right in the middle of the story and it is the job of the film-makers to give us subtle bits of info for us to catch-up with the history of why our characters have ended up at this point in time.As the film goes on there are moments of surrealism that is never over-blown and does not de-tract from the pacing and tone.
Her anguish at the film's end brought tears to the eyes of many in the audience and her performance has all the depth of a much older actress.Adam Driver is appealing in his role as an FBI agent who easily inserts himself into the action and takes command in several scenes.Sam Shepherd with his steady gaze and razor sharp eyes, is appropriately cast as the leader of a cult who can speak volumes with just a sideways glance.
In the most widespread versions of the song, Midnight Special is a train and the chorus asks the train to "shine your ever-loving light on me" (or, "ever-living" in other versions).The main character in this movie shoots light from his eyes, and it's a light that could be understood as corresponding with the song's lyrics in several different ways.
All of this means that Alton is a boy of great interest to many different people.Alton's parents are Roy and Sarah (Michael Shannon and Kirsten Dunst) who, at the time of the boy's birth, were living in a religious compound (which is called "the ranch" and is made to look like the rural central Texas Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' YFZ Ranch, which was raided by Texas law enforcement in 2008).
When the story does finally come together (kind of), there are some good action scenes and the acting is strong throughout, but Nichols refuses to make clear why the story's developments are taking place, or why we should care.This film includes elements of movies like "Powder" (1995), "Phenomena" (1996), "Michael" (1996), "K-PAX" (2001) and "Tomorrowland" (2015), while trying to be a 21st century version of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977) or "E.T." (1982).
Less time spent with concept development and more actually put into the plot would have seen a far better film.In the end you are left with a "That's it?" feeling.
The cast looked interesting -- Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Sam Shepard -- and so, for once, I didn't bother with reading reviews, and instead went into the movie with no preconceived notions of what to expect.
I have nothing against open endings or cliffhangers, however Midnight Special does nothing to entice and interest the viewer throughout its 2 hour run time to make the ending worthwhile.The plot is as bare bones as it gets, and remains that way until the very end - boy needs to get somewhere, big bad government wants to stop him.There was just enough intrigue throughout the movie that I held on, hoping for something to happen, be it some kind of revelation, or at the very least, more information about the boy, however it never happened.There are far too many loose ends by the end, and too much is left to the viewer's imagination for the story to be considered coherent.
The lead kid is awful, Michael Shannon gives the exact same performance he gives in all of Nichols' films, and Edgerton and Dunst feel about the same.
More of a film for a lazy day as opposed to a weekend with your friends, but I get the feeling that having landed Kirsten Dunst, Joel Edgerton, Michael Shannon and Adam Driver - as well as the very talented Jaeden Lieberher - we haven't seen Nichols at his peak quite yet.
Midnight Special, written and directed by Jeff Nichols, is in essence a story about a boy, his parents and the lengths they are willing to go to to keep him safe.Without a doubt Alton played by Jaeden Lieberher and Roy played by Michael Shannon are the stand out performers in this film.
This movie feels engineered for the internet age, where Buzzfeed articles and comment section philosophizers can pick apart every detail to search of deeper meaning.Midnight Special is a good film.
I would describe this film as combo of a sci-fi and road movie and while it is a good flick overall , I found it a little bit underwhelming compared to the magnificent Take Shelter and the captivating Mud. Great special effects,the acting is strong enough : Michael Shannon,Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver and the little kid who plays Alton were brilliant.Sam Sheperd was also good in a small but pivotal role.However, I was really disappointed in how underwritten was Kirsten Dunst's character.While delivering a solid performance, you can still feel that something's missing.She doesn't seem to find her footing and the movie could have worked just as well without her.
I bring this up because it seems to be that many reviewers of this film are looking for something besides a good thriller, a tight mystery with clues strewn here and there but little definite plot until, as the film continues, a willing viewer can easily get caught up in several kinds of espionage and cult subterfuge, one can get caught up in what I might call a Midnight Special,i.e. a film to watch for fun, to suspend one's disbelief so that the involvement is total.The ingredients are here: the film has an independent streak, features five actors of compelling capability, several really frightening jump-out-of-your-seat moments, and enough likely intentional references to past films of a similar nature to echo past thrills as one runs away with the haunted, gifted child escaping and his parents.
Jaeden did play Alton extremely well, alongside his devoted father, Roy (Michael Shannon), who knew that his son was special, and he had to fight off a cult and the government to protect him, with the help of his friend, Lucas (Joel Edgerton).
Enjoyable!Round-Up: This movie was written and directed by Jeff Nichols, 37, who also brought you Shotgun Stories, Mud, Take Shelter and the upcoming Loving, which all star Michael Shannon.
Budget: $18million Worldwide Gross: $6.2millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their adventure/sci-fi/dramas, starring Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Jaeden Lieberher, Sam Shepard and Bill Camp.
Jeff Nichol's Midnight Special is not that kind of movie.
His role is eventually minor but Sam Shepard is very effective as Calvin Meyer, the cult leader someplace in Texas.The movie starts with Michael Shannon as Roy, the special boy's dad, and his friend Joel Edgerton as Lucas, traveling at night with the boy, heading for the state line, towards N.
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL is suspenseful, often emotional, and full of mystery.I can't help but feel a little bit of an Amblin vibe from this movie.
Midnight Special, directed by Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud), is an interesting science fiction film.
Whatever it is Mike Nichols delivers once again a thoroughly enjoyable film with an amazing cast including Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver, Sam Shepard and of course the young Jaeden Lieberher..
Also the effects are great for a movie with a small budget.Overall it's a decent film that would have been really good had the story played out a little differently..
'Midnight Special' a Sci-Fi Mystery Drama movie, that had some outstanding Actors, great Visuals, & musical scores, no doubt.Yet, all along the movie, I was expecting something new and surprising to happen, something we haven't already seen before elsewhere...
You just start watching getting confused about if u accidentally fast forward it to 30-40 minute and missed the hole story.Then you reallize you didn't and think all the pieces will start coming together ,and *spoiler alert* They don't!!!!You know something is wrong in a movie when you just cant feel a damn emotion about any of the main characters and for the bond between a father and a son,which are the main ones.Seriously i never felt anything,no pity no sympathy, no love, no overprotection , i didn't even end it up hating them...Really don't watch it.
Jeff Nichols (Mud 2012, Take Shelter 2011) is a gifted artist, provided with rich imagination and a particular talent for making up interesting situations.The present film is one of his best: the story revolves around a special family and it's full of catching ideas, well developed and entertaining.In the end you will find that some things are left untold, some questions unanswered and some words unspoken.
Take the story of a boy with special powers, a cult that worships him as a messiah, a government that believes him to be a weapon, and a father that will do anything to protect him, and you have one of the most interesting and intense films I have seen this year.
Midnight Special (2016) was not the movie expected to see, in fact it was extremely slow and it never really had that big band at any point in the film.
Midnight Special is the new science fiction movie from director Jeff Nichols, and it follows the story of a young boy who is being taken by his father (Michael Shannon) and a state trooper (Joel Edgerton) to a place.