Night Moves

Writer/director Kelly Reichardt (Meek’s Cutoff, Wendy and Lucy) tries her hand at a political thriller, imbuing the genre with her particular filmmaking style that emphasizes character-driven storytelling, gorgeous cinematography and a strong embrace of ambiguity. Three environmental activists, Josh (Jesse Eisenberg); his girlfriend, the privileged Dena (Dakota Fanning); and his mentor, Marine veteran Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard), plot to blow up a hydroelectric dam in Oregon. For Reichardt and her regular screenwriting partner Jon Raymond, Night Moves is in some ways atypical with a new emphasis on plot and genre. Yet, wrapped within a narrative that is paranoid and noirish are the elements that make the film uniquely Reichardt’s: a deliberate pace, the landscape transformed into a key character and an exquisite focus on the smallest details, underlining how even something that appears trivial can matter. Night Moves is not simply a thriller. Reichardt’s interests are more expansive as she examines both how their actions ultimately affect her protagonists and the broader implication of their acts. –Steve Ramos