directed by:
Brent Baird written by: Brent Baird, Pete Comrie genre: Drama |
No one really seems to want to talk to Stan unless he’s paying them, as this film begins, leaving one to wonder how the heck we’re gonna get a plotline and some decent character development goin’ on here. With that said, I liked Cheryl (Diane Newling) right from the get-go, who is on the step of “denial” in the twelve-step program she’s been in, but getting to like Stan (Pete Comrie) proves to be a serious challenge. Concerns about this film make themselves known nearly immediately as we try to follow along with a drunk who keeps waking up in the back of his truck only to start drinking again, like some strange form of “Groundhog Day” with what’s a tragically absent presence of a much-needed Bill Murray somewhere. Awake, asleep, awake, asleep, rarely sober, back to being hazy & drunken…what in the actual heck are we watching? The introduction of Cheryl’s son, Nathan (Brent Baird), adds a little promise and potential into the mix, but truthfully, “A Night With Nathan” feels like it’s rolling along on square wheels as it begins. Whether it’s the rhythm and pulse of the storyline or the stiffness of the acting involved, it’s hard to pinpoint, but there’s something undeniably amiss in the pacing of this film as it gets underway. I’m all for story-building, of course, but unlike Stan, you’ve gotta keep the rest of us awake as it happens.
For all the drinking goin’ on here, this film presents itself as extremely dry…to the point where you’d have to wonder how many folks are going to be able to stick with it past its first half hour, which is a crucial amount of time when trying to hook people. As Nathan & Stan start to create an unlikely friendship, you get the feeling there could be a bit of a spark to this film about to come to life, but it’s almost entirely dependent on dialogue. “A Night With Nathan” flounders in its early moments, most likely leaving the whole audience watching and wondering what is going to be enough to save the rest of its next hour to come. So far as the movie’s first third is concerned, it’s genuinely tough to get into, but I do like the potential of this odd-couple pairing, and I also felt like the camera-work & the way this is filmed is a positive as well. Stan’s made it his mission to make sure that Nathan gets laid for the second time in his life now that he’s in his early thirties…and…I mean, that’s probably a weird goal for someone to have for a stranger that they barely know, but sure, why not? Everyone needs a hobby, and Stan’s clearly found his – it’s Nathan. As the struggle continues, as viewers, we’re left to wonder if “A Night With Nathan” is trying to be a Comedy while masquerading as a Drama, but if that’s the case, the jokes and humour just aren’t landing, which kind of leaves you wishing that this movie simply stuck with a more serious direction instead. It’s bizarre that we keep running into new characters that seem to be much more concerned with Nathan having sex than Nathan is himself. He’s practically oblivious, or basically uninterested, and so we’re left with the war stories of body counts past, and an awkward feeling while we watch this film. Rooster (Myke Armstrong) definitely ain’t going to be the missing piece to Nathan’s puzzle. As his own story unfolds, we hear about the days he spent rocking the stage long ago, and we can see where that got him. Whatever happened to just having a beer without some kind of strange-ass agenda involved? I suppose you can look at it like this…movies like “Singles” or “Reality Bites” and/or the majority of Kevin Smith’s films rarely, if ever, had some kind of groundbreaking plotline or point to make – and all of those were hits that moved in a similar fashion to “A Night With Nathan.” I don’t think we’re quite going to get to the same level of cultish fan following by the time this movie wraps up, but stranger things have certainly happened, and time will tell the tale on that, of course. With Brent not only playing the titular character, but being one of the co-writers and the director of this film as well, you have to wonder if he was simply too close to the material to recognize that, honestly, a lot of it doesn’t work. If we’re looking at this objectively, the pairing of Stan and Nathan together would be considered one of the reasons why women cover their drinks at the bar. About an hour into “A Night With Nathan,” I’m dying to know how they could ever pull this off by the end – it doesn’t feel like it could be possible at this point. It seems like there would be a much higher chance of this movie ending like “The Sopranos” did & just black-screening its ending.
Am I just restless? Did I not get enough sleep? Believe me when I tell you, I end up examining myself a whole lot when I don’t enjoy a film as much as I was hoping I would, because being in a certain kind of mood can genuinely affect how you view a movie sometimes…But I really don’t think this one’s on me. It felt like there’s an odd perception to this film’s main characters, that kinda borders on a dangerous sense of entitlement, as if they’re saying a bit of alcohol should get the ladies to spread their legs & that there’s nothing else to it than that. No real effort needed. No craft. No personality. It’s all concerning. There’s not a damn character in this movie that I wouldn’t run far, far away from if they cornered me at the bar – and how do you shape a movie around that? We desperately need something to connect with in “A Night With Nathan,” and beyond having a heavy drinking fetish or having been to parties you really wish you could have left a whole lot earlier than you did, you might not have anything in common with anything happening in this movie at all. Is it supposed to be a coming-of-age type of film? For a dude in his thirties? Is that what we’re doing here? For me, the REAL issue with “A Night With Nathan” came around the hour and ten-minute mark, where the film actually starts to work brilliantly for a moment or two. Why is that the case? Exactly what I was mentioning before – the movie finally ditches the attempts at humour, gets super serious, and fully embraces the dramatic side of its script as Nathan has a meltdown in describing the details of his past traumas. Obviously, it wouldn’t have made “A Night With Nathan” a whole lot of fun if this were the tenor and tone of the film, but it would have been effective, and I’d definitely have been interested. As it stands, it’s a Hail Mary attempt to fix what’s been broken in this film’s priorities and focus, but likely way too late to change the many minds it would need to. I found myself practically screaming at the screen in its final third, yelling WHY DIDN’T IT JUST GO THIS DIRECTION from the very beginning? This was the movie they were supposed to make, and just like a bad date telling a long story where you’re waiting for them to get to the freakin’ point, once it finally ends up getting there, things start to snap into focus and make some goddamn sense. I’m not saying that “A Night With Nathan” is going to roll up to awards season & take home the hardware – hell, I’m not even saying that point B needed the LENGTHY journey it takes to get from point A, but I will say that the final third of this movie did improve it – dramatically, and yes, pun intended. You look at the way this finishes, and you want Laird to simply be more bold with his filmmaking…this is where the story arrived, so you know he intended for it to get here all along – he just needed to know it would actually work, and it does. The unevenness of “A Night With Nathan” costs this film a whole bunch of points, but I feel like what Brent will learn from this experience will make him much better with his craft in the future. For me, a solid 2.5/5 stars feels right. Straight down the middle. But I also feel that there is some brilliance here - just waiting for more experience to be unleashed. |
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