Writer-director Jeff Nichols has always infused his gritty American dramas with a bit of mysticism, but he’s getting outright supernatural for the first time this year with Midnight Special. Nichols casts his muse Michael Shannon as a father on the lam from seemingly everyone when it’s discovered that his young son possesses potentially dangerous superpowers. On their journey, the two cross paths with quite an interesting cast of characters played by Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Sam Shepard, and more. In his review of the film, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky states that this one-of-a-kind film is carried “by Nichols’ measured style and an embarrassment of wonderful performances.”
Midnight Special opens in Chicago theaters on April 1, but The A.V. Club and Warner Bros. Pictures have an opportunity for you to see it for free on March 29. For your chance to win a pair of passes to the advance screening, simply follow the link here and enter your information. Remember: Advance screenings are often intentionally overbooked, so be sure to arrive early if you want to guarantee yourself a seat. An official plot synopsis and trailer for the film can be found below.
A provocative, genre-defying film as supernatural as it is intimately human, Midnight Special follows a father, Roy (Michael Shannon), who goes on the run to protect his young son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), a boy with mysterious powers that even Roy himself cannot comprehend. What starts as a race from religious extremists and local law enforcement quickly escalates to a nationwide manhunt involving the highest levels of the Federal Government. Risking everything, Roy is committed to helping Alton reach his ultimate purpose, whatever that might be and whatever it costs, in a story that takes audiences on a perilous journey from Texas to the Florida coast, while exploring the bonds of love and trust, and the nature of faith.