The Magical Mystery Tour That is Midnight Special
Writer-director Jeff Nichols’ fourth feature film, Midnight Special, has one of the most wonderfully mysterious opening sequences that I have ever seen at the movies, one that sets the tone for a science-fiction story that is somehow both epic and strikingly intimate. As the opening titles roll in white font over a black screen, the low drone of the local Texas news can be heard in the background. The black screen gives way to a cheap motel room that has been effectively sealed off from the outside world, with duct tape over the peephole and cardboard boxes crudely plastered over the windows. The news continues on the TV in the room with an announcement about a young boy who has gone missing: Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher). On the TV screen, we see the face of his alleged kidnapper, Roy Tomlin (Michael Shannon). Turns out, Roy is inside this boarded-up hotel room, along with his old friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) and Alton — hidden under a sheet, sporting big noise-cancelling headphones and a pair of blue swimming goggles. The three of them sneak out of the room in the grey twilight and make their way over to Lucas’s car — but not before the girl at the receptionist desk recognizes Roy’s face. The car speeds off into the night, before the enigmatic title of the film appears in bold white against the dark, rural highway.
So begins a surreal chase across the southern United States as two dueling groups try to find Alton, who is no ordinary little boy. Roy is his birth father, but Alton was taken away from him by the leader of the cult-like community where they lived, described enigmatically as “the ranch.” See, Alton does things that cannot be explained. He occasionally speaks in tongues, with his alarmingly sensitive brain picking up satellite transmissions in all languages and using his mouth as a microphone. Alton can cause these satellites to crash with his mind, if he wants to do so. He can also shoot bright rays of light from his eyes and broadcast thoughts and feelings into other people’s minds. Because of these mysterious abilities, the people of the ranch believe that Alton is a prophet and treat his words as gospel. When Roy takes off with him, the ranch sends gun-wielding apostles to track them down, determined to bring their salvation back. However, they aren’t the only ones on Alton’s tail. The government knows this small boy can intercept and translate highly secure coded communications; they just cannot figure out how or why, and this lack of understanding makes Alton all the more dangerous to them.
Whether he is a savior, a weapon, or something different altogether, one thing is for certain: Alton has somewhere else he desperately needs to be on a very specific day — Friday, March 6. The reasons why only become clear towards the very end of the film. Despite being as much in the dark as the audience, Roy and Lucas are determined to get him there, no matter the cost. Along the way, they pick up Sarah (Kirsten Dunst) — Alton’s mother, who had already left life at the ranch behind. Both Sarah and Roy realize that whatever happens on March 6, they may not see their beloved son again. But, their love for him and their belief in his powers overcome their own selfish desire to keep him with them. At its heart, Midnight Special is a movie about the lengths to which a father will go for his son, and to which anyone will go for something in which they truly, utterly believe.
The film is literally driven along by the wonderful cast, including a hilariously awkward Adam Driver as an NSA agent tasked with tracking down Alton. Nichols has cast Shannon in all four of his films, and one can understand why he would choose such a muse; Shannon’s harsh, haggard face is capable of showcasing an amazing intensity of emotion, especially when it comes to Alton. Dunst is heartbreakingly sweet as the boy’s mother, though it is odd to realize that the former child star is old enough to play a mother now. And, it is great to see Edgerton’s usual tough-guy facade crumble when faced with Alton’s precociousness. Good thing Alton himself is perfectly cast: Lieberher is an appropriately otherworldly child who manages to sell you on his strange abilities. An important quality, considering that the entire film hinges on the unwavering belief that Alton is special. Needless to say, all of the adult actors are at their best when reacting to this remarkable little boy.
Midnight Special leaves you with questions still unanswered (including why the film is called Midnight Special in the first place). Yet, for once, I was happy to not have all the answers. I liked that some aspects of the story were left enveloped in fog, as opposed to being presented neatly before me beneath harsh, unforgiving sun. (Conveniently, most of Midnight Special’s scenes take place under the murky cover of darkness, as Alton cannot handle the daylight.) There is a reason why this film keeps being labeled as a Spielbergian throwback, a spiritual descendant to Close Encounters of the Third Kind or E.T.; throughout the film, even as he reveals things to the audience, Nichols manages to artfully preserve a sense of mystery and wonder too often absent from the movies these days. It is a beautiful, refreshingly original story that will leave you feeling full of hope, as opposed to the apocalyptic sense dread and despair that most blockbusters trade upon these days.
