Contenders ‘20/’21: The Midnight Sky

“Please Don't Come Back from the Moon” was a typically complex composition Charles Mingus recorded during his notorious 1962 Town Hall Concert. It also basically sums up the message Dr. Augustine Lofthouse has for the crew of the Æther. Technically, they are returning from one of Jupiter’s moons, but the upshot is the same. A mysterious cataclysm has destroyed the Earth, so they are better off where they were. Getting that message out will take some doing in George Clooney’s The Midnight Sky, which screens for MoMA members as part of the current edition of Contenders, or the “Big Netflix Catch-Up,” as it could be called in January.

Nobody really describes what happened, but it was clearly bad. Lofthouse’s arctic research station is evacuating, but he decides to stay, because he has nobody to get back to. He once had someone, as we see in flashbacks, but he pushed her away with his single-minded dedication to his work. He never even bothered to meet the daughter his ex-lover raised on her own. However, he suddenly finds himself exercising his unused parental muscles, when he finds a mute little girl named Iris has been left behind. Perhaps that was a blessing for her, because the arctic region will be the last to be consumed by the Wrath of God, or whatever it is (seriously, why would scientists be interested in such details?).

Lofthouse quickly determines the only space exploration mission still operational is the Æther, which was scouting the moons of Jupiter for habitable environments. He hopes to warn it away from Earth, once it enters the range of communications, but he will need an antenna with more range.

In many ways, Midnight Sky is a decent example of the earnest, character-driven side of science fiction, but Clooney way over-cooks the emotional symbolism of his scenes portraying Lofthouse, the anti-social greybeard (literally). Iris’s function in the narrative is so blatantly manipulative, we are instantly suspicious of her secret. Not to be spoilery, but she is just so obvious.

Frankly, the film is much better when it focuses on the crew of the Æther. Of course, it makes no sense that Dr. “Sully” Sullivan would proceed with the mission while she was pregnant, but Clooney wanted his first casting choice, Felicity Jones, so he had pregnancy written into to the story. It doesn’t make real-world sense, but it heightens “Noah’s Ark” significance of the Æther crew.

As Sullivan and Commander Adewole, Jones and David Oyelowo have good Kirk-and-Spock or Picard-and-Riker rapport. Demian Bichir and Kyle Chandler also add tremendous human dimension to the crew as Sanchez, the temperamental engineering officer, and Mitchell, the family-oriented American astronaut.

Don’t Let Go (a.k.a. Relive, from Blumhouse)

It is rather fittingly ironic when a film about communicating in the present back into the past to prevent tragic mistakes is substantially re-edited. Supposedly, that was the case for the film previously known as Relive, which I reviewed for Criminal Element, as part of my exclusive Sundance coverage. The latest version of the film sure seems a lot like what screened in Park City, but that was actually quite a good movie, so there really wasn’t any call to run it through a Soderberghian blender. As a result, Jacob Estes’ Blumhouse-produced Don’t Let Go is still recommended when it opens today in New York.

Det. Jack Radcliffe is a good cop and a good uncle. His brother is a bit of an irresponsible flake, so he often picks up the slack with his bright teen niece Ashley. As a result, he is completely devastated when she is brutally murdered, along with her parents and the family dog, presumably the victims of the sort of violent drug-dealers her father was supposedly no longer associating with. He prays for chance to somehow turn back time and save her—and then he gets a mysterious call from Ashley, originating a week before the murders will be committed.

With the clock ticking in the earlier timeline, Radcliffe will guide Ashley’s investigation over the phone, while trying not to freak her out with the prospect of her looming murder. There is indeed some rather clever time-bending material in DLG, which distinguishes it from similarly themed films (particularly the sadly under-seen Cryptic).

David Oyelowo still deserves genuine breakout stardom for the smart intensity of his performance as Radcliffe. His chemistry with Storm Reid (as Ashley) also holds up well during a second viewing. Plus, it is still a pleasure to watch veteran character actors like Mykelti Williamson, Alfred Molina, and Bryon Mann dig into their characters and Estes’ well-written dialogue as Radcliffe’s partner, their captain, and a rather insensitive Internal Affairs detective, respectively.

We liked this film enough to write an entirely new review (albeit a tad shorter), which should say a lot, considering how many releases clamor for our attention every week. This is a good one, so genre fans really ought to give it a chance. Enthusiastically recommended for fans of time-warping movies (but not necessarily for devotees of the Blumhouse horror brand, which does not really apply here), Don’t Let Go opens today (8/30) in theaters around the City, including the AMC Empire.

Gringo: South of the Border Farce, with a Body Count

Apparently, smoking marijuana takes too much effort for Millennials. If only they could just pop a pill and be done with it. As it just so happens, Harold Soyinka’s dodgy pharma company has developed exactly such a product in its ultra-sketch lab south of the border. A lot of tough customers would like to get their hands on a sample. As a result, this will be a very bad time to fake an abduction, but Soyinka always had bad timing. However, the drastic turn of events just might have a liberating effect on the trod-upon worker drone in Nash Edgerton’s Gringo (trailer here), which opens today in New York.

Soyinka starts out as an early Walter Mitty, putting up with his exploitative boss, Richard Rusk, because he condescendingly pretends they are friends. Yet, Rusk has secretly seduced Soyinka’s grasping wife Bonnie, who is on the verge of leaving her sad sack husband. That does not sit well with Elaine Markinson, Rusk’s corporate co-president and possessive lover. Having gotten wind of an impending merger, Soyinka tries to fake his own abduction, but it will be more convenient for Rusk if his supposed pal is killed down there. That is really bad O. Henry-esque news for Soyinka, especially when he is kidnapped for real.

It is just one darned thing after another for Soyinka. Things will look up when he is ostensibly rescued by Rusk’s merc-turned-social worker brother Mitch, but he is still in more danger than he realizes. At least he rather enjoys crossing paths with Sunny, an American tourist who might be even more naïve than he is. However, her drug mule boyfriend Miles is up to his snide neck in a scheme to smuggle out some of Rusk’s pot pills.

Gringo is about a millimeter deep, but screenwriters Anthony Tambakis & Matthew Stone pack each second with a plot reversal or a violent bit of slapstick humor. Edgerton cranks the pace up to warp speed and the spritely upbeat soundtrack takes the rough edge off a lot of the cartel violence. At times, it comes perilously close to becoming a Ben Stiller parody of Sicario, but poor Soyinka’s peril is always quite real and pressing.

Indeed, Gringo showcases David Oyelowo as we have never seen him before—as a cringy doormat. Sometimes, he is just hard to take. On the other hand, it is jolly good fun to watch Charlize Theron vamp it up as the emasculating Markinson. Joel Edgerton also oozes slime as Rusk. Frankly, Sharlto Copley is almost too charismatic for the ethically ambiguous Mitch Rusk, albeit in a weird way, but Amanda Seyfried is appealingly sweet and earnest. In contrast, Harry Treadaway’s Miles is perhaps the most abrasive character in a film overflowing with duplicitous sociopaths.

Much has been made of Paris Jackson’s film debut in Gringo, but keep in mind she has maybe two minutes of screen time in what amounts to a cameo. Nevertheless, she shows some promising screen presence and on-the-beat comedic delivery. Viewers will laugh during the film and leave feeling satisfied with the pay-offs, but a year from now, probably the only thing most folks will remember would be Theron cranking up the femme fatale dials to eleven—but that is something. Recommended as a screwball diversion, Gringo opens today (3/9) in New York, at multiple theaters, including the AMC Empire.