Summer’s not just the time for big family vacations, y’know. Though it’s five months away from Valentine’s Day, couples still want that romantic quiet getaway (even the Griswolds, I’d bet). And that’s just how this week’s new movie release begins. And as with many outings, well things don’t go as planned. Usually, it’s fodder for a zany slapstick comedy, or a tender love story, or the beginning of a nightmare, And considering that the producers are tauting the lead actress’s most recent, popular work, you can figure out that we’re taking a trip into terror. We’re right by her character’s side as she tries to find out why her partner has GONE IN THE NIGHT.
Oh, the lady in question is a hydroponics expert and plant shop owner Kath (Winona Ryder). We first encounter her as she steers her station wagon through dark forest trails, guided by her navigating app and her much younger beau, the free-spirited Max (John Gallagher Jr.). He’s rented a cabin online from its owner for a rustic night deep in the Northern California woods far away from the noisy city to get Kath out of her “comfort zone”. They finally arrive at a clearing illuminated by electric lights and spot the cozy cabin and…another car. The front door opens and a lanky frowning twenty-something man emerges. Max pops out to introduce himself, which is returned when Al (Owen Teague) tells him that they’ve already settled into the place, so somehow it was “double booked” and the new couple should exit. Ah, but just as tempers start to flare, a young woman appears, Al’s girlfriend Greta (Brianne Tju). She announces that they’re willing to share the rental. After much cajoling Max convinces Kath to accept the kind offer (though Al seems not “into it”). As the newcomers settle in, Max discovers an old board game, a “swingers” adult mix of “Truth or Dare” and “Monopoly”. Kath reluctantly joins in even as one “spin” results in some provocative “play” between Greta and Max. The drive has worn out Kath, so she retires as the trio plot an early morning hike to the beach, When Kath awakens the following day, Max is not beside her. Wandering outside she sees a near-weeping Al who explains that Greta and Max ditched him and ran off. After a fruitless search, Kath returns to the city. Her friends tell her to forget about Max, but she can’t let it go. She calls the owner of the cabin, Nicholas (Dermot Mulroney) who refuses to give out any info on Greta. Kath lies and says that Greta left a book and she’d like to ship it to her. Since he’ll be in the city soon, Nicholas offers to drop by and pick it up. When they meet, Kath tells him the story, and the duo starts sleuthing. But will Kath regret solving the mystery? And just what’s “going on” with the hunky Nicholas?
As I hinted earlier, this modest thriller capitalizes on the still astounding “second act” of Ms. Ryder. After being the “it girl” of late 80’s and 90’s cinema a public scandal sidelined her until she was cast in the streaming series phenom “Stranger Things”, which has returned after a pandemic hiatus with its massive global audience intact. There’s a similar sense of “off-kilter” unease this film shares with that series, though Ryder as Kath is more proactive than Joyce Byers (and no skittish “ticks” too). Oh, and she’s facing the realities of her years as the quest for Max feels like a way to “turn the clock” back just for a few hours of fun. Her fearless determination kicks in as Kath refuses to be patronized or underestimated. But her torch isn’t merely burning for Max as the sparks seem to fly in the encounters with “silver fox” Nicholas. Mulroney utilizes his considerable charms as a guy who refuses to ‘sell out” as his moral code pushes toward a cure for a family health legacy. All the while his laid-back chemistry with Ryder is a big bonus to the tale. There’s a much different vibe coming from the missing Max who Gallagher plays as a fella’ also holding on to his youth, although it’s only a few years rather than Kath’s decades. But this pursuit is not tempered with the “wisdom of years” as his Max becomes a reckless “wild card”. That’s especially true of his interactions with the younger couple, with League’s Al a scowling puzzle and Tju’s Greta a free spirit who harkens back to the dangerous “dames” of film noir. She’s a “party gal”, but secretly she’s “playing” everybody.
Speaking of film noir, director Eli Horowitz has crafted a spiffy take on what might have been thought of as a “B” programmer back in the days of double features. But that’s not to say it’s not as interesting or entertaining as the big studio fare (I’d take this over a couple of summer blockbusters). Thanks to the taut screenplay that he co-wrote with Matthew Derby, we’re kept “off-balance” for most of the mystery elements, veering us far away from the usual “cabin in the woods” flicks. That’s to say that there are no sinister ax-wielding killers nor buckets of viscera dangling from the trees. But, from the appearance of the young couple, we know that something’s “hinky”. After Kath returns to her home, Horowitz “plays’ with the timeline, having her detecting move forward, as it’s split up with a series of flashbacks leading up to that “fateful night” and pushing into the next day. It all culminates in a final confrontation that will have you wondering who’s “in cahoots and whether a big “triple-cross” is being hastily executed. Yes, it’s a modestly filmed effort, but it’s certainly not “by the numbers” right up to an ending that leaves us wondering what the next few hours will bring to the group we’ve been observing. GONE IN THE NIGHT may just have you thinking about it well into the next day…or two.
2 Out of 4
GONE IN THE NIGHT is now playing in select theatres
