Nightwatch
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DVD details
Actor: Ewan McGregor, Josh Brolin, Lauren Graham, Nick Nolte, Patricia ArquetteBrand: Buena Vista Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-11-14
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Dimension
DVD Reviews of Nightwatch
DVD Review: Don't 'buy a radio', buy 'Nightwatch' (and watch it alone!)
Summary: 4 Stars
Okay, my hands are up right from the get go; maybe I'm biased about this film, but when I heard my two favourite actors; the always cooler-than-cool Ewan McGregor and the impossibly cute Patricia Arquette had starred in a film together, well I just had to see it, and boy am I glad I did.
'Nightwatch' tells a twisted, claustrophobic tale about a young and very wet-behind-the-ears nightwatchman Martin Bells (Ewan McGregor) taking over sentry duties at the local morgue where, as things first appear, his first enemy to confront and overcome is his overactive imagination. Stunning direction details this in one of the most tense and suspenseful sequences of sustained fear put to celluloid. It perfectly mirrors both Martin's unease and the audience's; he knows he shouldn't be scared, everyone in the building is dead - and WE know we shouldn't be scared, it's a film - but somehow, for both parties, the fear at the time seems VERY real, and sets the tone beautifully. A poignant moment highlighted in sound that was emphasised earlier in dialogue by the former watchman that introduces Martin to Security procedure 'Buy a radio, you'll be glad of it. Gonna be studying eh? BUY A RADIO! Trust me!'
Soon enough, 'Nightwatch' slams it's bloody cards on the table as all of a sudden, due to the very public news that a serial killer is most definitely on the loose with the morgue apprently the killer's latest 'favoured' hang out (co-incidence that it's around the time of Martin's employment?) naked mutilated corpses are on full view, blood is lining the medically drab green corridors and.....well they'll be NO spoilers in THIS review but needless to say, the film allows you no respite; not in the conventional sense that it hits you with a violent (though the violence when it does happen MAY be too much for some to stomach) dramatic sledgehammer every ten minutes, but that it's oppressive atmosphere, singlehandedly generated by performance and sound alone, are so strong that once it has you in it's slimy grasp, it's very hard to shake yourself of an overriding paranoia that resonates even after the credits roll - and quite simply, high praise indeed must be bestowed to both.
Ewan McGregor is predictably superb as our hero (though why some directors won't let him act in his natural tongue is beyond me, there ARE scottish people in America you know!), confused, out of his depth, terrified (Martin, not Ewan, lol!) and all of it comes across to the audience wonderfully. Instantly we have a character that we care about. The perfect 'other-half' in a female form is the sublimely 'real' Patrica Arquette (Katherine, Martin's understanding, un-obtrusive girlfriend) who has, in the same beat, innocence, fragility and strength all in her admirable arsenal, traits that simply shine, albeit a tad under-used, a common gripe of 'Nightwatch' I understand but also accept as the true strength and backbone of the film lies solely on Martin's wanderings in the dead hour morgue. Supporting roles go to Josh Brolin as the 'freaky-are-you-really-my-friend? James (who maybe went a little 'too far over the top' in a few scenes) and Nick Nolte proving, if he even had to, that he can command attention in a 'close up' far superior perhaps to any other character actor of his generation.
The sound in 'Nightwatch', both musically and atmospherically, is perhaps - in skill terms - on par with David Cronenberg's 'Scanners' (You know - remember having to turn the volume UP on late night screenings to catch the dialogue - only to have to scramble for the remote when the visceral 'loud as' scenes erupted?!!). It's a tried and tested technique Bornedal exploits that is un-nervingly effective and is a masterclass for those looking to tread a path in movie sound editing.
But let's not forget that at it's heart, 'Nightwatch' is a classic (albeit modernised) 'who-dun-it?' thriller and therefore one clear question remains : is the 'reveal' of the killer obvious or even worth the wait? Surprisingly (and I really can't sugarcoat this) no - not really - but pleasantly 'surprising' (and rather cleverly) is that this very 'flaw' leads succintly to yet again one of 'Nightwatch's hidden strengths; by knowing who the killer is 'early on', it serves as a perfect strategic cat-and-mouse scenario, a kind of 'will he/she get away with it?' and 'how will they get out of this one?' If that sounded intriguing then trust me, the cinematic reality of it is really FAR more gripping, putting our hero into......ah, I won't give it away.
In closing, 'Nightwatch' is not for everyone, it requires a fairly stern stomach and an even sterner moralistic base to truly appreciate it's value, but for those who DO choose to accompany Martin on his nightly rounds, there are some seriously fun times to be had. Keep guessing, keep shining a flashlight round those corners and keep thanking heaven (or should that be hell?) that someone out there is still attempting to make intelligent horrors/thrillers.
Description of Nightwatch
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