I was able to see this Vast of Night at TIFF midnight madness and it did not disappoint. The film takes the story of a small town alien abduction theme and carries out the story precisely the way you would expect; but, its genius comes from HOW the audience is taken through this twilight zone esque story. This is done with fantastic performances from the small cast, and some of the best cinematography I have ever seen, all carried out with the vision of director Patterson. The three acts are carried out in seemingly 3 shots, some scenes lasting over 10 minutes at a time with the operation and set up of 1950s switchboards and film reel taking up much of the action. It allowed me to focus on the scenes primarily with my ears after a few minutes. The action became secondary to the dialogue. So much so that this could work almost as well as a radio play as it does a feature film. When the camera does move, the flow takes us literally seamlessly travel across town and back again which allows us as an audience to feel like we are truly bearing witness to one thrilling evening in a very very small town. At certain points of the film I was begging for a camera cut however, desperate to see the actions or even movement of another character in the scene instead of the one angle, but that's what ultimately gave it its charm. It felt like sitting in the living room listening to a story with our eyes.
This sci-fi thriller has the feeling of an old twilight zone episode story but revitalized with incredible performances, direction, and cinematography that allows it to carve out its own unique place: as eery as it is charming.
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