Review of Night Moves (2014) by Panta O — 24 Sep 2014

It is a very slow paced thriller drama directed by Kelly Reichardt and written by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond. Interestingly directed, it had lots of substance which gets even better with the stars Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard, Alia Shawkat, and James LeGros. Another of the films shown in the main competition section of the 70th Venice International Film Festival and at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival which definitely needs a special attention!

The story of three radical environmentalists - Josh, Dena, and Harmon, who are teaming up to execute the most spectacular direct action event of their lives: the explosion of a hydroelectric dam, was more story based and the actors were wisely chosen to make that story more effective. Regarding the story, Edward R. Pressman Film filed a lawsuit in September 2012, demanding that filming cease because of too many similarities to Edward Abbey's novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, planned to be adapted into an authorized film by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman.

Kelly Reichardt did a good job, but I wish it was outstanding! There was plenty of room for improvement, but even this was more than enough for a happy audience. The only problem I really had was the ending. Some people claim that it was a smart decision to live the ending to the viewer, but to me the feel was that something was simply unfinished!