Film Review: The Vast of Night
a Dialogue-driven Sci-fi Stunner, The Vast of Night is a Breath of Fresh Air
The directorial sci-fi debut of filmmaker Andrew Patterson transcends its genre trappings and micro-budget to deliver a gripping investigative yarn. Bolstered by two magnetic lead performances and a refreshing directorial prowess, The Vast of Night is a lo-fi narrative driven by dialogue and chemistry. Its bare-bones story is ultimately a deflated endeavor, but its human element is so charming that its thin plot can easily be overlooked. Minor spoilers ahead…
New Mexico. The 1950s. Science fiction. With these words, it isn’t difficult to see what The Vast of Night is all about. Set in the small fictional town of Cayuga where a strange signal has made it onto the radio waves, director Andrew Patterson makes his indie debut adhering to some well-tread sci-fi archetypes. And while The Vast of Night’s story doesn’t do much in challenging the conventions of UFO fiction, the film’s strengths lie in its impeccable construction and captivating lead performances. With the film’s meticulous direction, Patterson proves to be a filmmaker to watch - subtly confident long takes, a dizzying interplay of moving parts, and a charming fidelity to its era make for a thoroughly entertaining movie experience.
Right off the bat, The Vast of Night commits to its 1950s roots, framing its story as an episode of The Twilight Zone-esque Paradox Theater. With each act, the film zooms through the analog static of a black-and-white television into a world of color, bookending a fiendishly pop mix of Patterson’s filmmaking prowess and an energetic script written by screenwriters James Montague and Craig W. Sanger. Don’t be fooled by its galaxy-spanning sci-fi trappings, because The Vast of Night is quite intimate in scope: a two-hander that deftly combines the magnetic energy of Aaron Sorkin’s walk-and-talks with a healthy dose of detective storytelling.
“…The Vast of Night is intimate in scope: a two-hander that deftly combines the magnetic energy of Aaron Sorkin’s walk-and-talks with a healthy dose of detective work.”
The film’s premise is exceedingly bare: While the town is preoccupied by a high school basketball game, Everett (Jake Horowitz), a fast talking disc jockey, and Fay (Sierra McCormick), an amateur engineer and Cayuga’s switchboard operator, investigate a mysterious signal and reports from residents seeing something strange in the sky. Not much background is given to our intrepid protagonists, but their electric rapport is all that’s needed to convey their chemistry - fast-paced ripostes, a palpably budding friendship, and period-accurate slang do much of the heavy lifting in shading these great characters. Fay teems with a naive curiosity, enthusiastically reciting future predictions from Popular Mechanics while her prized handheld recorder sits on her waist; and Everett, ever-so-comfortable with a radio mic and quick comebacks, makes for an excellent foil.
But where The Vast of Night shines most brightly is in Andrew Patterson’s astonishingly confident direction. The film’s signature long takes are impressive in their subtlety: they’re the types of intricate tracking shots recognizable only because you were told they were tracking shots. The best one? An uninterrupted, near ten-minute shot of Fay operating her switchboard - plugging wires in and pulling them out, connecting different calls, all the while slowly discovering that something otherworldly is happening in this small town. It’s a oner with a degree of difficulty masked only by Sierra McCormick’s magnetic performance. And Patterson’s affinity for elaborate long takes isn’t his only burgeoning talent; a self-assured command of soundscapes is another one of the film’s great advantages, embarking upon an auditory journey that harkens back to one of The Vast of Night’s biggest influences: the old-fashioned radio play. Unafraid to cut the picture entirely, there are stretches of the film that build atmosphere with dialogue alone; against a black screen, some of the narrative’s most gripping moments play out like the world’s first podcast investigation.
The Vast of Night, however, does suffer slightly from a deflated third act that doesn’t quite live up to its investigative charms. And while the ending peters out, its perceived thinness is more than made up for with the resourcefulness of the film’s production and the strength of its characters. Even within the framework of a story we’ve seen before, Andrew Patterson proves his chops with a gripping debut that eschews almost all the hallmarks of modern sci-fi; with barely any special effects or loud bombast, The Vast of Night is a refreshing throwback to vintage storytelling and character-driven alien fiction.
GRADE: B+
