Director Report Card: Kelly Reichardt (2013)

5. Night Moves

Throughout Kelly Reichardt's last two features, there were occasional scenes of tension and quiet unease. A disturbed vagrant hovering over a sleeping Wendy or a stand-off between Emily and Meek left audiences uncertain of what would happen next. These moments suggested Reichardt could make a top-tier thriller, if she ever did something like commit to a genre. With her fifth feature, Reichardt would do just that, bringing her naturalistic approach to a story of criminals sneaking around and risking discovery. “Night Moves” would also, perhaps not coincidentally, feature the most recognizable actors the director had worked with up to that point. The film would win more critical raves, continuing the director's positive streak.

A pair of radical environmentalists, the intense Josh and the young but knowledgeable Dena, believe that the rich and powerful are hoarding water in the mid-west, as just an another example of how modern industry is destroying nature. They plan to blow up a dam, flooding the valley. They buy a boat, called Night Moves, and team up with another environmentalist (and former veteran) named Harmon. Packing the boat with fertilizer, turning it into a bomb, they sneak in under cover of the night and complete their mission. Soon afterwards, it's discovered that a camper was killed in the flood. Fear, paranoia, and guilt begins to tear the trio apart.

From its opening frame, a quiet tension infects every moment of “Night Moves.” A sense of unease exists in every interaction, a feeling that our protagonists are never more than one foul-up away from being discovered. It's a feeling that only increases after the dam is destroyed, a moment Reichardt masterfully keeps entirely off-screen. Now, “Night Moves” reveals itself as a movie about paranoia. A passing glance in a crowd, headlights in the rear-view mirror on the freeway: Normal, every day events are now fuel for fear. The view can't hear James' thoughts but we know they are. “Do they know?” “Am I I being followed?” “Will I get caught?” All followed by a sea-sick certainty that the answer is “Yes.” It's a mood Reichardt and her team expertly created, further aided by Jeff Grace's quivering, unsettling score.

Perhaps it's so easy to enter “Night Moves'” paranoid head space because the characters really do come close to screwing up several times. The script throws many inconveniences in their path as they race towards their goals. Buying the fertilizer needed to create the bomb is stymied when the seller asks for Dena's social security number, which she's obviously reluctant to give. The night of the detonation, campers are spotted by the dam, forcing a frenzied attempt at a defusing. James and Dena are stopped by cops after driving away from the scene of the crime. Each moment is rift with dread, Reichardt following those rules of cinematic suspense. The audience knows what's at stake, we're not sure what the characters know, and the suspense lies in the uncertainty of what may happen next. The repeated close-calls also reveals the radical protagonists' inexperience, making them more relatable and sympathetic.

Because Reichardt, ultimately, does want us to sympathize with these characters. The film clearly aligns with the characters' philosophies, which it makes apparent by showing a reasonable nature documentary early on. Blowing up a dam is extreme but anyone paying attention knows industry is out-of-control, at nature's expense. The conflict of “Night Moves” arises when ideology meets morality. None of the three are comfortable with taking a human life and, when it happens, they all find their commitment to the cause flattering. Josh's refusal to do the right thing leads him down a path of further misery. While the film is arguing for moderation in beliefs, a leash on ideology before it becomes fanaticism, it's as much about people in over-their-head, trapped by their own commitments. Reichardt transfers her favorite theme to a new level. Here we see people trapped not just by places and circumstances but their own ideas and beliefs. 

It only makes sense that Reichardt would make a film about environmentalism, considering the clear interest she showed in the natural world in her previous work. Once again, the trees and forest play a key role in establishing the particular mood she is after. As in “Old Joy,” the forest is a place of beauty and quiet, as opposed to the noisy and crowded urban areas. Yet this contrast serves another purpose. Her human characters aren't just figures in a landscape here. Close-ups on their faces are used more often, bringing us into their worlds, their inner thoughts and fears. This more intimate approach, when paired with Reichardt's trademark isolation, creates the chilly atmosphere of unease that propels the story's paranoia.

“Night Moves” is also home to three fantastic performances. Jesse Eisenberg stars as Josh. It's a part that makes good use of Eisenberg's skills. The nerdy resentment of “The Social Network's” Mark Zuckerberg morphs into an unnerving intensity here. Eisenberg says most of his early dialogue in a gruff, stern whisper. Josh is dead fucking serious, Eisenberg transforming that focus into an intimidating energy. Yet, as Josh's conscience starts to get to him, Eisenberg taps into that neurosis visible in most of his comedic roles. The proud eco-warrior facade fades, revealing the scared boy underneath. It's a transformation that draws the viewer in, more and more, as the film progresses.

Starring opposite Eisenberg is Dakota Fanning, as Dena. Fanning is similarly well-cast. In her early scenes, she's almost bubbly, joking around in a girlish manner. Yet Dena is no less serious about ecology than Josh is, Fanning affecting an impressive grimness during several frank moments. Dena also cracks up eventually though, Fanning getting a chance to exercise her well-known ability to cry and panic. The combination creates a fully-formed character, sometimes bratty, sometimes scared, always human.

Peter Sarsgaard rounds out the central trio as Harmon. It's a performance that, honestly, makes me uncomfortable. While everyone else around him is grave, Sarsgaard is casual. He chats with friends, talks about fishing, and jokes around. Perhaps I feel that way because I relate more to Josh and Dena. Yet Sarsgaard goes through a change before the end too. While Josh and Dena begin to crack up, Harmon remains calm and almost calculating. It's another way the film keeps up guessing. (Also, watch out for Alia Shawkat, in a small supporting role. It's always nice to see her.)

Reichardt's first four films shared an almost complete disinterest in traditional dramatic elements, like romantic subplots or on-screen violence. “Night Moves” swerves with these ideas in interesting ways. One moment in particular sticks in the mind. Josh is out gathering firewood and returns to the camper. He pauses at the window, Dena and Harmon's erotic moans audible from the outside. The scene is never brought up again. There's no real hints of attraction between Josh and Dena. Yet you can't help but read his face in that scene as one of disappointment. The two had pretended to be a couple in an earlier scene and you wonder about Josh's thoughts concerning that. It's an interesting, if perhaps superfluous, sequence.

If we suppose Josh does have a crush on Dena, the film's climax plays in a much different light. In one of the most upsetting moments of Reichardt's career, Josh chases Dena through a steamy bathhouse before strangling her. Was Josh's initial reluctance to track Dena down just based on him not wanting more blood on his hands? Or did he have feelings for her? If so, did his jealousy over her dalliance with Harmon contribute to his decision to kill her? I might be completely imaging this but the subtle suggestion adds to the film's overall depth.

“Night Moves” features another trademark, non-conclusive Kelly Reichardt ending. Yet the ambiguity comes with more implications this time. The final image of the film is Josh looking into a mirror at a man over his shoulder. Is this a plains-cloth cop? More likely, the last shot represents how Josh will be looking behind himself for the rest of his life. And what do we make of his decision to get a job in a camping goods store, after being told to disappear? Perhaps Josh is hoping to get caught, having already had enough of the guilt. That “Night Moves” suggest so much with so little, leaving a viewer with such beguiling questions, is another testament to its strength.

Though by far Reichardt's most accessible film, “Night Moves” did not break through to box office. It remained an indie darling. The film did, however, attract some legal attention. (And, no, not because it shares a title with a Gene Hackman/Arthur Penn movie.) A lawsuit claim the film plagiarized Edward Abbey's novel, “The Monkey Wrench Gang.” I haven't read the book but the plots seem similar, with wildly different tones. Ultimately, the matter was settled out of court. Regardless of its originality, the execution makes all the difference. “Night Moves” is the engrossing, disquieting thriller we all know Kelly Reichardt had in her. [Grade: A-]