Sometimes as a critic you just have to get to the point, and here’s that point: Midnight Special is a special movie. Jeff Nichols has captured magic, visually and narratively here in a way that hasn’t been done in a great while. While I’m sure Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and Carpenter’s “Starman” will be brought up in the Midnight Special conversation, and rightfully so, Midnight Special is a very unique experience. What it does have in common with those aforementioned films though, is that special brand of pure optimism.
Like those films, Midnight Special concerns itself with a happening that can’t be explained. A phenomena so outside human logic and knowledge it causes awe, panic, and fear. From here we follow three distinct journeys of processing this information.
Firstly, there are the faithful. To clarify, faithful here means faithful in the classical sense, pure love, compassion, and trust in the face of all opposition. This is not the fanatic breed of faithful, no these people come later. This group is composed of a small group of people intent on saving and protecting the source of the phenomena, which in this case is a small child.
Secondly, are the fearful. In this film it is the military and the government. They are desperately trying to define, contain, and defend against this phenomena.
Thirdly, there are the fanatical. This is made up of a cult who take the words of the child and warp them, turning them into your run-of-the-mill doomsday religion.
With these three groups of interpretation battling for the boy and his abilities, the film brings the theme of human’s capability to be both violent and evil and compassionate and good, sometimes within the same few moments.
This is what makes Midnight Special such a great film, it is an examination of humanity but in the most hopeful and touching way. In the universe of this film, the magical is possible and the humans within it are capable of overcoming great struggles to preserve and protect it.
The other accomplishment that sets this film apart is it delivers this soulful and touching message all while being a hell of a good time. Jeff Nichols has shown great filmmaking, and great ability to build characters and this film is a continuation and expansion of that feat. In Midnight Special he is both an entertainer and an optimistic bringer of comfort.
Within the current landscape of our culture, Midnight Special is not only a landmark film for its skill in craft and storytelling, it is a landmark in its message of hope. There is good in our world, there is pureness, and there is compassion. What Midnight Special reminds us of is that it’s worth fighting for.
