MovieChat Forums > The Vast of Night (2020) Discussion > Interesting film

Interesting film

posted 4 years ago by PrimeMinisterX (8300)
8 replies | jump to latest

I watched this tonight after being tipped off to its existence by a friend.

This is very much an indie sci-fi film: small in scope, with a rather un-Hollywood style, and low-budget. Apparently the film was made for under a million dollars.

It's also very talky, and there are a surprisingly small number of actual scenes. Instead of using typical time compression techniques, the director chooses instead to let many of the scenes essentially play out in real time, and by the end of the movie it feels like the entire story is told in what might be a total of seven or so scenes.

I would say that this should best be looked at as a feature-length episode of a show like the Twilight Zone, and in fact there's a framing device that encourages exactly this.

My biggest complaint is that the ending is rather weak. I was hoping for more. It's very simple.

But overall, I enjoyed it. The story is told in an interesting way and the director clearly has talent. It was a welcome diversion and a nice way to take my mind off all the crazy shit that's happening in the world for a little while.

[–] NoEasyBuckets (334) 4 years ago

I agree about the ending. I also had a hard time not zoning out during the two scenes with the characters explaining the "sound." I don't know if it was the writing or the actors but I feel like those scenes just didn't work. Too long, too boring.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8300) 4 years ago

Yeah, it's interesting how the writer and director just allow most of the scenes to play out in real-time and go on and on. It's unusual, but I'm okay with it.

I think this was at least partially due to the fact that they had a small budget and only a few locations so they relied on long takes to meet their feature-length runtime.

[–] Seanyd88 (24) 4 years ago

yeah, i think this would have made a great mini-series. looking forward to his next work

[–] Cathexis (112) 4 years ago

Long takes are a staple of art house cinema, so this is hardly unusual. Here I think it had the intended effect: making the viewer lean in closer, be more observant, and get into a sensitized, focused state of mind in line with the main characters.

[–] Wint3rFir3 (6931) 4 years ago

I loved it. It's meandering and reminiscent of so many things I've enjoyed, which I know people have had a big problem with. But it's like they told a story I've heard a thousand times in a new and interesting way, and it just worked for me. I wanted more from the ending, but I wasn't unhappy with it.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8300) 4 years ago

Awesome! Glad to hear you checked it out and liked it.

As you say, it takes a familiar--and basic--story and makes it feel fresh and interesting through the way it's told. It definitely has a lot of interesting stylistic flourishes and it will be interesting to see what the director does next.

[–] Wint3rFir3 (6931) 4 years ago

I'm excited for the director's next projects also.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I thought the ending was just about right. I kind of wish some other people had been around to witness what happened to the protagonists. And I kept waiting for the army to suddenly rush into town at some point. But overall I still found the narrative satisfying.