Night Moves, film review: Alfred Hitchcock haunts this explosive thriller
(15) Dir. Kelly Reichardt; Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, 113mins
Your support helps us to tell the story
In my reporting on women's reproductive rights, I've witnessed the critical role that independent journalism plays in protecting freedoms and informing the public.
Your support allows us to keep these vital issues in the spotlight. Without your help, we wouldn't be able to fight for truth and justice.
Every contribution ensures that we can continue to report on the stories that impact lives
Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Night Moves is the most plot-driven film to date by the US indie film-maker Kelly Reichardt. Fans of the determinedly low-key minimalist treasures Old Joy (2006), Wendy and Lucy (2008) and Meek's Cutoff (2010) will know that this isn't saying a lot.
And there certainly isn't any extraneous action in Night Moves. But it is precisely its leanness and the tight focus of its storytelling that make it such a tense thriller.
Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard play three eco-warriors who plan to blow up a hydroelectric dam outside Portland, Oregon. Their motives are largely unspoken and opaque, but their determination is clear.
The first half of the film details, with Hitchcockian precision, the execution of their plan, which involves procuring the right amounts of industrial fertiliser with which to stuff the boat that gives the film its name, and turn it into a bomb. The second half is about the repercussions of the explosion.
What begins as a merely watchful drama grows paranoid and dark, as psychological stresses fracture the group and they are isolated by their respective self-righteousness, naivety and anti-social tendencies. It isn't much of an advert for direct action, but it is a powerful reminder of that most fundamental rule of narrative cinema: that actions have consequences.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments