Written by Connor Lightbody on July 2nd 2019 as part of Edinburgh International Film Festival
Immersed in science fiction’s grand history ‘The Vast of Night’ pays homage to the radio plays that circled the airwaves of the 1950’s. While ambitious and impressive as a feature debut by director Andrew Patterson, it also struggles to launch.
In 1950’s New Mexico - utilising one of the many subtle wink winks to science fiction history such as Roswell - wickedly smart teenager Fay Crocker (Sierra McCormick) intercepts a strange frequency through her switchboard. She contacts her friend, Everett (Jake Horowitz) and the two go on a pulpy, intrigue laden scavenger hunt for the signal’s source.
Patterson frames ‘The Vast of Night’ as a pseudo episode of The Twilight Zone, cutting and utilising different media from the period, casually reformatting itself from the small black and white screen. Intriguingly, Patterson mimics the structure of a radio play, with three sprawling, dialogue heavy acts. Providing a cinematic version of this style will always prove to be difficult, and as much as Patterson valiantly attempts, it doesn’t translate to screen as fluidly as he wants. By dipping into long cuts of deep black, trying to make the audience lean into the radio conversation at hand, it leaves the film floundering. It’s an intriguing concept, but with a visual medium readily available it exhausts rather than absorbs, especially when the film is already shot in such low light.
With such a limited budget, it’s astounding that Patterson’s direction feels so grandiose in such a minimalist setting. His movement and shot selection is electrifying, with one such take sweeping the entirety of the small Texan town he shot in as the camera, mounted on a gimbal, floats in between the heads of the residents. While showcasing the extraordinary acting prowess of the two leads, who’s shoulders the film rests on, Patterson provides a ten-minute uncut take of Fay piecing the beginnings of the mystery together. It’s a little bit magical.
It’s ambition and love for the material, combined with stellar production design, makes ‘The Vast of Night’ a film to seek out. As much as it accidentally alienates it’s audience, it’s one of the most tantalising and passionate debuts in years.
Comments