6/10

Director Kelly Reichardt returns with another social commentary on life. This time, it’s about the damage being done to the environment so we can continue down a road of being spoiled at the hands of damaged wildlife and waters. Night Moves is a story about fighting for a cause and just how far you are willing to take that fight. Despite the poor grade i gave this film, i found it to be a decent film that had some problems filling in the blanks. Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Saarsgaard, and Dakota Fanning as three environmentalists who have the idea to blow up a dam to make a protest towards the energy sucking dam. I personally felt that all three brought something to characters that on paper could’ve been played by just about anyone. Eisenberg in paricular has a fire growing below that quiet exterior. He continues to impress on serious roles that bring so many dimensions to his skills as an actor. Fanning is alright. I will say that she has become more tolerable than her roles as a child, so that is a plus. Saarsgaard is one of my favorite actors in film today, and serves as a kind of leader for this group as a former Iraq war soldier who knows a lot from his time overseas. The tone of tension building for the film is absolutely perfect even if it never quite pays off. The film has enough during it’s first act and into the second to leave you shading an outline for the trouble that this trio has in front of them that they have not quite realized yet. I think the locations of a foggy and dreary wildlife park and surrounding areas of an agricultural harvest farm inject a spreading of melancholy for the wildlife that we take advantage of every day. The film does have some good points and keeps the viewer well informed from the decrease of fish population over the next 30 years to the percentage of dirty air that will surround the trees that breathe natural oxygen. In that aspect, the film feels like a documentary more than a film at times. The third act is where the film (like most in 2014) got ruined for me. It’s basically the reaction from the madness that these characters have caused, and i just don’t buy it. The characters are of course expected to make stupid mistakes and act consciously, and that isn’t my problem with it. My problem stems from the complete 360 that these characters do when the pressure gets too hot. I won’t spoil anything for you the reader, but it’s hard to see these actions happening when they were very cautious planning it out, and almost scared to follow through with the act. The final scene is kind of left to the viewer in terms of where these viewers are going, and a movie like that can be very dangerous because it rarely ever works. We are the viewer and you are the director, so we look to you for the answers and not vice versa. The viewer will feel ripped off by the lack of ending that Reichardt gives us, and that is why it’s hard for me to recommend this film. I did enjoy it for the little things that i mentioned as well as a chilling musical score by Jeff Grace, but Night Moves feels like a half effort from a director whose message in 2001’s The Unbelievable Truth cut straight to the point and did it for less than a quarter of the budget. I don’t believe that Reichardt’s best days are behind her, but i think Kelly would be best to give us more substance with the environmental facts next time. Night Moves is a thorough examination of guilt based on ideals, and how far we are willing to go to define the moment before the moment defines us. With an ending as powerful as it’s first two acts, this film could’ve been at the top of the list for suspense films in 2014. If you want a film that challenges you and forces you to search for the right answer, look for it on DVD next week.