Millennials Talk Cinema

It’s increasingly the case that films designed for the big screen are debuting instead, in larger and larger numbers, on various virtual streaming platforms. In some cases, this is a shame, since certain films will definitely have brought more ‘wow factor’ in a theater than on a television screen. But some films, including the two our local reviewers have discovered this week, are more intimate, and might even be better watched at home without all of the surrounding distraction and pomp and, you know, coughing and sneezing around you, breaking the delicious movie-making spell. From the larger-budget visual pyrotechnics of director Marjane Satrapi’s Marie Currie biopic “Radioactive” to the eerie and emotional claustrophobia of Jeremy Gardner and Christian Stella’s “After Midnight,” these two decidedly unusual (even somewhat strange) films – both now available on Amazon Prime – invite their viewers to sit still, lean in, and become carried away.

Here’s what a pair of writers from our pool of film critics have to say about these two new movies.

‘RADIOACTIVE’

Amazon Prime

Amber-Rose Reed

“Radioactive” is a strange mix of biopic, visual trip through the timeline of the science of radioactivity, and philosophical meditation on responsibility and legacy. It’s visually stunning, with confident use of color that, with the aid of music, creates a creeping dread. The green glow of the radium throughout illuminates the scene, and poisons it.

Director Marjane Satrapi and lead Rosamund Pike as Marie Curie, the discoverer of radium, create a compelling, difficult character, whose pride and refusal to compromise drive her to ingenious discoveries but also to personal and professional strife. It’s a sad truth that great men are often excused their misbehavior or antisocial tendencies, while the same courtesy is not afforded to women. I am sure that you can think of at least three male historical figures who were known to be nightmares, but who got ahead in life anyway, because Great Men are allowed to be difficult in ways women are not supposed to be. Marie Curie refuses to compromise her vision, refuses to apologize for her brilliance or qualify her beliefs, and the barely-reined-in exasperation of Science Minister Gabriel Lippmann (Simon Russell Beale) and the constant, smitten heart-eyes of Marie’s husband Pierre Curie (Sam Riley), are both completely understandable.

I read a headline the other day from an article in a science magazine. It said that our perception of time as being linear may be completely false. “Radioactive” embraces this idea, though perhaps not fully enough to be entirely effective. It skips through time like it’s tracing the ripples of the stone Marie Curie dropped into waters of both science and human existence. Some of these cinematic ripples are especially compelling. For instance, a slice of life in Hiroshima in the moments before the bomb hit, just after Pierre Curie’s speech on criminal uses of science, or a moment when the child versions of the Curies play in forests hundreds of miles apart, but it feels like they’re a breath away from meeting.

“Radioactive” is strange, sometimes a little uneven, and leaves open to interpretation a question its lead character asks toward the end of her life.

“I found a way to make people better,” Marie Curie says. “I did. Didn’t I?”

‘AFTER MIDNIGHT’

Amazon Prime

Katie Wigglesworth

“After Midnight” is not what I was expecting.

At all.

But it turned out to be something I loved anyway.

Jeremy Gardner stars as the waylaid and wallowing Hank — a thirtysomething man who’s been antagonized by a mysterious monster every midnight since his long-term girlfriend, Abby (Brea Grant), left an “I’ll be back someday” note and vanished. It’s a really well put-together and tightly written relationship study with a small, solid cast and good cinematography.

Not only did Gardner — who delivers a solid, genuine performance as Hank — write the screenplay for “After Midnight,” but he also co-directed and co-edited the film with collaborator and cinematographer Christian Stella.

I’m a sucker for inventive uses of color in movies, and “After Midnight has two distinct pallets that are playfully painted throughout the movie. Scenes with Abby are slightly over-saturated and warmly lit with a slightly diffuse, buttery yellow, whereas scenes with Hank have a harsher contrast, a grey sheen, and a grimier feel. These extremes dance throughout the story, acting as visually emotive commentary on Hank and Abby’s relationship, pairing well with the nuances helmed by Grant and Gardner’s performances.

But let’s address the monster in the room — this isn’t a horror movie.

“After Midnight” is a drama that smartly dons elements from both the horror and romantic comedy genres to weave its own narrative, and it does it well. The monster is well-designed and well-used, and Gardner sells, in both his writing and acting, that the creature of the feature is believably terrifying to the tormented Hank. However, it doesn’t feel as though the movie itself wanted to be scary to the audience.

The focus is much more on exploring Hank and Abby’s relationship, with the monster being a narrative device to frame things around. Without spoiling anything, Gardner’s writing is interesting and empathetic of its subjects without excusing faults or mistakes. The final handful of scenes feel a teensy bit rushed or unevenly paced, but it didn’t hurt my engagement in the story at all.

“After Midnight” isn’t a monster movie meant to keep you shivering in your seat, so if you’re expecting “A Quiet Place,” you’ll disappointed. This original vision is more along the lines of “500 Days of Summer” with a dash of ”Pan’s Labyrinth” and the barest dusting of “Jaws.”

Will it keep you up at night fearful of bears, radioactive cats, panthers, werewolves, or aliens?

Most likely no, but the story it has to tell so expertly done and wonderfully acted, it’s definitely worth a watch.