Review:
"Night Call"
Release Date: Jan. 17, 2025 Rating: Not Rated Running Time: 91 minutes A Brussels-set ticking-clock thriller with a slight political bent, the Fantastic Fest selection Night Call pits a young Black man against a ruthless crook in search of his stolen money. A job gone wrong for locksmith Mady (Jonathan Feltre) results in the death of one man and the theft of the big bag of cash that Yannick (Romain Duris) owes another crime syndicate. Yannick gives Mady until dawn to recover the money from the thief (Natacha Krief) who hoodwinked Mady into letting her into an apartment to purloin Yannick’s ill-gotten gains. Mady’s search for his quarry unfolds against the Black Lives Matter protests of a horrific case of police brutality, which influences Mady’s decision not to go to law enforcement for sanctuary. Director Michiel Blanchart and screenwriter Gilles Marchand are not interested in exploring race and policing in Belgium beyond how it pushes Night Call forward, so the film could be set in any European or U.S. city simmering with racial tension. But Blanchart and Marchand do a masterfully job of positioning the street protests as both a help and a hinderance to Mady as he crisscrosses Brussels to find the thief, Claire (Natacha Krief). Of course, Blanchart’s use of the 1963 Petula Clark hit single “La nuit n'en finit plus”—the night never ends, in English—foreshadows a long and stressful evening for Mady. And Blanchart throws in enough twists and turns to keep Mady’s race against time and efficient and effective exercise in suspense. The sense of urgency Blanchart brings to Mady’s quest is matched by the desperation that fuels Feltre’s Mady throughout the night. Feltre also amplifies Mady’s deep-seated moral code, which informs an explosive but disconcerting climax that ties into the film’s main thematic concerns. Romain Duris is far from intimidating in a rare villainous turn, leaving Jonas Bloquet to bring the menace and the muscle as the harried henchman shadowing Mady. As the initially duplicitous Claire, Natacha Krief also adds a high level of intrigue to a survive-the-night nail-bitter that serves as a worthy calling card for star Jonathan Feltre and first-time director Michiel Blanchart. Posted: Jan 17, 2025. Web site: https://www.magnetreleasing.com/nightcall/ |
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