Night Moves

  Kelly Reichardt might be my favorite director, I’ve enjoyed all of her movies that I’ve seen, and I’ve watched them all save one. It was the film Wendy and Lucy that first brought her to my attention. After reading Ebert’s review of the film, I had to check it out, and it became one of my favorite films. I’ve said before that I love realism in movies, and that is why I adore Wendy and Lucy and Reichardt’s films in general. Her movies are ultra realistic, and contain nuanced characters. This is subtle film-making, without the stupidity and cheese that dominates everything playing at the multiplex. Last year when I heard about her latest movie Night Moves, I was very excited. I finally got to see the film a few weeks ago and I have to say I wasn't disappointed, I don’t think this is her finest work, but it’s damn good.
  The story revolves around three eco terrorists who plot to blow up a dam. Once their scheme comes to fruition, the three are met with unexpected consequences that result in conflict and tragedy.  
  Jesse Eisenberg plays the lead terrorist, with Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard as the other two. These are accomplished, big name actors, and Reichardt uses them to their grittiest. Eisenberg plays the usual neurotic loner that he does in all of his movies, but with a slightly sinister edge and he gives this character a sub current of anger appropriate of someone plotting a bombing. Dakota Fanning is the one who pays for the boat (which she names Night Moves) and the fertilizer needed to fashion the explosive, the other two write her off as a spoiled brat for this reason. Peter Sarsgaard is the bomb maker and most frightening of the three, as we learn that he has military training and has spent time in prison. What unites these characters is their passion for environmentalism and open hostility for the greedy, destructive culture they live in. While they start off friendly, as the movie progresses relationships are strained between them as the pressure from the ensuing manhunt tests them in ways they were not prepared for.
  I watched this movie with a conservative friend of mine, and she told me during the film that this was Hollywood’s usual environmentalist propaganda, a notion that I quickly dismissed. The three environmentalists are not portrayed as heroic or noble, and their destruction of the dam is questioned openly. A background character at one point voices the opinion that whoever blew up the dam has achieved nothing, and that multiple dams would have to be destroyed simultaneously to create any lasting impact.
  The movie played with my expectations during a pivotal scene. As the plot moves forward you’re expecting one character to do something, and when that something is done by a different character I was surprised, though others may have seen it coming.
  This is perhaps Reichardt’s darkest film to date, Meek’s Cutoff had characters brandishing guns but I don’t remember much, if any, actual bloodshed. This film has a bomb going off (though we never see the explosion, we do hear it) and a small body count, this isn’t Friday the 13th but compared to her earlier movies this is pretty gruesome stuff.
  If this movie sounds interesting to you, or if you’ve never heard of Kelly Reichardt, I would highly recommend you seek out Night Moves or any of the director’s other titles. This is one I will be adding to the collection. I await Ms. Reichardt’s next film with great anticipation.