When GONE IN THE NIGHT premiered at SXSW this year, it was titled THE COW. Exactly. It wasn’t even on my radar at the festival because, quite frankly, who wants to watch a thriller called THE COW? Not me.
As the movie begins, we’re introduced to a couple on their way up to a cabin the Redwood Forest somewhere in Northern California. Kat (Winona Ryder) has driving for hours and just wants to get there. Max (John Gallagher, Jr.) is just chill in the passenger because he doesn’t have a license. When they eventually arrive, they find the cabin is already inhabited by a young couple, Greta (Brianne Tju) and Al (Owen Teague). Tired and not wanting to drive back to civilization, Kat agrees to stay after Greta says the couple can crash there for the night. The two couples end up drinking and playing one of those Spencer’s Gifts “sexy” board games (that I refuse to believe anyone actually buys). Greta and Max start hitting it off, flirting, you know, that kind of stuff. Al is having none of it, sitting there stewing in his juices. Kat goes to bed and when she eventually wakes up in the morning, she finds the cabin empty. She finds Al crying out on the property and he tells her Greta and Max have run off together. Kat is shocked that Max would just ghost her like that, but she eventually gets in the car and goes home. Movie over.
Just kidding, that’s just the set up.
Look, it’s no secret that for years I just really didn’t care for Ryder for most of her career. Mainly it was jealously because, I mean, she’s always been so gorgeous and for Gen X, she was/still is our “It” girl. So, my dislike is irrational, I know. In GONE IN THE NIGHT, I just feel sorry for her because the film does her a mighty disservice. It does everyone a disservice, really, including the audience. Ryder does what she can with this script and none of my complaints about the movie are to deal with her.
GONE IN THE NIGHT is supposed to be a thriller. The trailer made it seem like it was a horror film. It’s what piqued my interest in the first place. The elements are there. The premise is okay (if not overused), the talent is there, but the script itself is the issue. There is absolutely something to say about aging and the age difference between Kat and Max. She’s trying to hang on to her youth and is dating him partly to stay relevant. He’s got a foot in both worlds; he scared of getting older and wants to do all the things he didn’t do in his 20s. Also, he’s hot for teacher. The movie isn’t clear on how long they’ve been dating (maybe a year) but it is pretty clear that the two don’t have much in common. At one point, in front of her older dinner party guests, she makes fun of the Bad Brains T-shirt Max is wearing, “… $150 plus shipping from Tokyo…”. I think we’ll all agree Max is an asshole who looks like he shops in Ryan Adams’ closet. Actually, I love Gallagher, Jr. and would absolutely go out on a date with him looking exactly like he does in the movie. Still, he’s an asshole.
There are things that Kat does throughout the film that just made me think, “What the fuck? No way!” There’s a point where she meets a man named Nicholas (Dermot Mulroney) and their adventures are wholly unbelievable. Going any further into a discussion of her actions goes right into spoiler territory, but if you decided to watch this movie, you’ll know what mean. It’s just head scratching, and I can’t believe someone didn’t bring this up before the movie was even made.
GONE IN THE NIGHT is just one of those unremarkable movies that you’ll forget within a week. Apart from the performances, the movie is just there. The direction isn’t interesting. The photography is okay, I guess. I mean, it’s hard to make the Redwoods look bad, but there’s nothing special going on here. As I said earlier, I feel bad for the actors. With a better script and a better director, this could’ve been great. As it has been presented to us currently, this is hardly worthy of a watch.
GONE IN THE NIGHT will be released in theatres on July 15th. It will be available to watch on demand on August 2nd, 2022.
Tags: Alain Uy, Arndt-Wulf Peemöller, Brianne Tju, David Baldwin, David Bolen, Dermot Mulroney, Eli Horowitz, John Gallagher Jr., Matthew Derby, Owen Teague, Sci-Fi, Thrillers, Vertical Entertainment, Winona Ryder, Yvonne Senat Jones
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