The Vast of Night simply has no right to be as good as it is. For a film that I completely stumbled across one night, I am absolutely floored that it doesn’t have more weight to it’s name!
Set entirely in one night (because that’s all we need to see), the film follows two teenage friends – a charming and suave local radio presenter Everett, and his mile-a-minute switchboard operator friend Fay, as they investigate some mysterious happenings in their small hometown in New Mexico.
So much impressed me about this film. For a film that has a reasonably predictable plot (I mean, it is New Mexico, after all) it does SO much that I didn’t expect. The chemistry between the two co-stars, for example, would be enough to carry the 91 minutes of the film alone. The yin to the other’s yang, they are a dynamic duo if there ever was one.
What impressed me the most though, was the directing – Andrew Patterson strikes a perfect balance between surreal and understated sci-fi. I thought about some of those continuous camera shots for a long time after I finished watching the film itself. Though I was only half-watching when I first started the film, I challenge anyone to try to watch the scene with Fay operating the switchboard and hearing those sounds for the first time, without becoming completely hooked and overcome with intrigue.
Blown away!