A father, a son, and a random tough weirdo on the run,
pursued by both a fanatical, Branch Davidian-style cult and a shadowy branch of
the government that includes members of the FBI, NSA, and probably others. That’s
the core of writer/director Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special,
but there’s much more going on than this relatively simple premise. His
follow-up to Mud and Take Shelter, this
is a genre-defying mixture of science fiction, family drama, road trip movie,
conspiracy thriller, and more, one that marks Nichols, yet again, as one of the
most intriguing, exciting, original American filmmakers currently working.
