Jeff Nichols continues to impress. Right out of the gate Take Shelter was brilliant and Mud was just as impressive if a little bit more conventional. Midnight Special definitely embraces Take Shelter's enigmatic approach to storytelling, something I love as both a filmmaker and a member of the audience. There's little to no exposition, with short conversations giving you hints of the events that led to this moment in time. I love being thrown into a story like this.
The cinematography is superb and the use of colour with lots of earthy tones gives it a real mid-America vibe. Contrasting that with the more sci-fi images helps create a real contrast between the human and the fantastical elements that works really well with the tone of the story.
As with Nichols previous films, the performances are great. Michael Shannon is underrated and I love that Nichols recognises his talent. Kirsten Dunst was brilliant too. I didn't detect much chemistry between Shannon and Dunst and it felt like an odd match-up but I think that works within the story. I'd imagine their relationship on the ranch was either arranged or slightly forced and their love for their son is all that really remains of that relationship. Speaking of performances; Adam Drive. Always more Adam Driver please.
Wish I'd seen this in the cinema. I think this escaped a lot of radars last year and that should be rectified.