The Midnight Sky - Movie Review (minor spoilers)

On December 23rd Netflix premiered the highly anticipated "The Midnight Sky" directed by George Clooney, who also plays the lead. The cast is excellent with Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Demián Bichir and Kyle Chandler, among others, although my personal favourite was Caoilinn Springall. If she sticks to acting this young lady will go far. Her expressiveness is outstanding, especially for such a young girl (She can't be older than 8 years.) and she is the perfect counterpart to George Clooney's aged character. The acting in general is superb and proves that George Clooney is the sort of director, who can get the best out of any actor. 

The set design sets itself apart from most Science Fiction movies. Spaceships are usually designed in a completely functional way, but the Ӕther has some unsual components that give it a slightly more organic look, without it becoming too dominant. It makes for a nice visual change. 

The problem with "The Midnight Sky" is the story or better said the brevity of the story. We learn that there was an event and that apparently most of humanity is dead. But the movie leaves it at that. It is evident that they wanted to focus on the current situation the characters go through, but the lack of background actually ends up being a distraction for the audience, especially during the phases of the movie that are paced slowly. The viewer starts wondering about the global catastrophe, which is most likely not what the film makers intended. This could have been easily fixed at the beginning of the movie with an opening text. This lack of context however makes this movie more actual, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The characters have to deal with a world that is not what the knew and suffers a catastrophe that affects everyone. 

The other major issue with the movie is the rather slow pacing. While it is positive that the movie sets itself apart from most overly action driven movies these days, the pacing is at times too slow and the viewer tends to become distracted as mentioned above. Too many scenes without dialogue can make it difficult to keep the audience engaged. These scenes although highly expressive, thanks mainly to Clooney's perfect acting and directing, are a little to extensive in this movie. 

Despite this "The Midnight Sky" is an enjoyable movie, if you value character development over action and like slow paced Science Fiction. The acting and the dialogues are fantastic to the point, where the movie feels more like a play than a movie. The premise although at points vague is very current and gives the audience a chance to reconsider the real priorities during this global pandemic. 

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