Peter Hsieh’s Drive All Night is a noir-style story that follows Dave, a reserved taxi driver working a double-shift as he picks up a strangely vague Cara from a local hotel. With no final destination in mind, Cara has Dave take her on a variety of stops, including an arcade, a concert, a diner, and to pick up a mysterious duffel bag. Meanwhile, Cara is being tailed by a hitman, sent by an unnamed crime syndicate. As Dave struggles to understand Cara’s lifestyle and decision-making, it’s clear that they have a romantic connection, regardless of their personality differences. With the unpredictability of the night, Dave can only ask, “What happens next?”
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I need to point out what an absolutely beautiful film this is. The use of colors and cinematography alone are worth giving it your attention, at least initially. Peter Hsieh’s focus on lighting for specific characters and signifying their different emotional moments is wonderful. Several stylistic scenes reminded me of Panos Cosmatos’s Mandy, with vibrant usage of pinks, purples, and blues. There was such a contrast between colors, making the audience feel what the character was feeling. All the camera work and scene transitions screamed neon ’80s radness, while an absolutely gorgeous synth score from Robert Daniel Thomas washed over me. The visuals were like a film equivalent to an album by The Midnight. I loved these aspects of the film.
The acting was mostly strong. I thought Yutaka Takeuchi (Dave) was wonderful. He had such a heartfelt and understanding presence on screen. Takeuchi perfectly displayed the hesitance of taking a swing on going along with Cara, yet also the confidence once he made the decision. Lexy Hammonds (Cara) and Sarah Dumont (Morgan, Dave’s love interest) were both stand-outs, too, able to portray a range of emotions, and their interactions with each other and Dave were intense. Most of the other actors in the film had smaller roles, and never really stood out to me, but that also comes with almost no character introduction or development of them.
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My biggest issue with the film was the story. I never really felt like it went anywhere. I’m sure there was some unknown symbolism by me, showing the representation and evolution of Dave’s personality and emotions as the film went on. But rarely do stories focused on a small amount of single character development do anything for me, especially with a character as naturally stoic as Dave. The film wanted me to do all the work in figuring out what cuts from the main story to artistic moments meant. Unfortunately, I just found myself bored, and questioning the path of the film, only to notice there was only 20 minutes or so left. There is just only so fat pretty sights can carry a film. It’s a lot like looking at a painting at an art museum, and make no mistake, this film is visually a hell of an artwork.
Overall, I still think it was worth the watch, and I’m positive more artistic minds could appreciate it. Drive All Night premiered at Cinequest last week.
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