Night Moves is the latest film from Kelly Reichardt, following her 2010 Western Meek’s Cutoff. The film is, essentially, about three radical environmentalists who plot to blow up a hydroelectric dam, because of its damaging effects on the surrounding nature; as Josh (Jess Eisenberg) puts it bitterly; "killing all the salmon, so you can run your iPod every second of your life."
There is never a lot of talking in a Kelly Reichardt film, and Night Moves is no different. We never fully understand why they think the act is just a statement or whether it will make a difference – the dam is only one of ten along that stretch of river, for instance. It soon becomes apparent, especially after the job is complete, that the film is less interested in assessing the justice of their cause than it is showing the way in which they handle the experience in the days that follow it.
The three eco-warriors are Josh, Dena (Dakota Fanning), and Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard). The characters, even with the lack of dialogue and sense of mystery, feel well rounded with a clear sense of their personalities. This is surely helped by great performances, particularly from Eisenberg – Josh is a quieter, darker, and more unpredictable version of the kind of awkward characters he has often played in the past, leaving the audience with the uneasy question throughout, of whether to root for him or to not.
Night Moves is slow, with plenty of calming shots of nature and of the characters just observing and doing mundane tasks (including the preparation of the bomb). A lot of suspense is generated by planning and preparation, in fact – with Josh and Dena driving out to the suburbs to buy the power boat whose name gives the movie its title and when they try to buy a large quantity of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. The tension is slightly elevated with a barely touched upon potential love triangle, which seems to become more important later in the film, as a sense of jealously bubbles under the surface of Josh’s calm exterior.
Like with many good filmmakers, Reichardt (and her long time writing companion, Jonathan Raymond), do not deal in black and white when it comes to the good and the bad in their characters and the situations they are involved in. Right up until the ambiguous and somewhat loosely-tied ending, there is the feeling that these idealistic people are on the right track but have veered off course and are not even sure of themselves anymore, if they ever were.
Night Moves will be shown at Broadway Cinema until Thursday 11 September 2014.
Night Moves Site
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
