A Slow-Burn Sci-Fi Delight
The story itself revolves around two central characters, charismatic radio DJ Everett and 16 year old switchboard operator Fay. After an impressive 18 minute opener that predominantly revolves around these two discussing their professions across a few tracking shots, the film settles into a consistent rhythm and very slowly starts to build up the tension. When Fay uncovers a weird audio transmission while working, what follows is a descent into sci-fi territory as Everett and Fay struggle to piece together what’s happening to their small town. The Vast Of Night may not be wholly original with its plot while the simple set design and character-driven screenplay leaves a lot of the heavy lifting up to the actors to prop the narrative up. That’s not a bad thing though and both Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz do a great job in their respective roles. Given the sheer number of long shots – some of which going on for upwards of 7 minutes – the realism they both project in the wake of what’s happening really helps sell the concept. There are sci-fi elements here though but a lot of this is reserved for the third act of the film when things really start to kick into high gear. The pacing is simple, progressing and growing over time without any dips or valleys, but what’s particularly impressive is the way the camera work and technical elements complement what’s happening in the story. The long cuts help to paint a portrait of these two young characters and their job, laying the foundations for what’s to come. The second act introduces some lovely tracking shots across the floor that, instead of simple cuts between scenes, give a sense of scale in this small town. The screens fading to black during a caller’s story emphasize the details of speech while the infrequent cuts to a black and white TV screen help to place this in time and feed into that Twilight Zone feel. All of these ideas aren’t just here for stylish reasons either and the fact they play back into the theme of the film is partly the reason this works as well as it does. Published: 29 May 2020 at 8.45 am on TheReviewGeek.com
