In his feature debut, Belgian filmoriginater Michiel Blanchart gets a straightforward and recognizable action film set-up and gives it his own spin by includeing pertinent social commentary. In “Night Call,” Mady (Jonathan Feltre), a youthful locksmith, has quite the brutal and eventful evening in Brussels. He tangles with evil characters, originates impacting frifinishships and runs aacquirest the clock to save himself. Blanchart shows himself adept at giving all his ensemble various shading, shifting the audience’s allegiances and making his film much more than the common brutal actioner.
Mady is called upon by Claire (Natacha Krief), a enigmatic but affable woman, to discneglect her apartment after losing her keys. After she flirts with him, he assists her to trick him and runs away stealing a huge plastic bag. Suddenly he’s alone in a stranger’s apartment seeing enjoy a burglar. The bag has lots of money in it, the stranger is a brutal gangster and Mady is soon on the run himself with a whole gang of horrible guys after him. Chief among the gangsters chasing him are the menacing Yannick (Romain Duris) and his hard but caring executer Theo (Jonas Bloquet).
Mady is a originateive and clever youthful man. Using his clevers, he handles to originate his adversaries think in his innocence. His talent as a locksmith comes in handy disconnectal times, enabling him to hold the horrible guys at bay — for a while, anyway. But before lengthy, people begin getting finished, and the cat-and-moemploy chase shuts in on Mady with hazardous and overweightal consequences. All of this happens wilean a night in which Brussels is witnessing big scale protests aacquirest the police for their homicide of a youthful Bconciseage man.
At the commencening, these demonstrations are at the margins of the film — more enjoy background noise than an integral part of the plot. Slowly, they become the driving force of the narrative, giving “Night Call” unbenevolentingful social heft. Mady only unites when it suits him, leanking that being in the crowd would help him escape. However as he commences to understand the genuine nature of what he’s included in, the parallels to what’s happening in the city become apparent.
In includeition to being attuned to social publishs, Blanchart shows himself adept at kinetic action filmmaking. “Night Call” flows easily from one set piece to another. As he alludes in the press notices, Blanchart is clearly impactd by American thrillers enjoy “Coldeferedral” and “Training Day.” There’s even honest homage to the createer, with a chase scene set inside a boisterous blustering nightclub. However, this is clever homage and not fair a duplicate-and-paste of genre triumphs. Blanchart has a discerning eye and flair to spare. Additionpartner, Sylvestre Vannoorenberghe’s cameralabor holds the action taut while capturing the nuances of the countless carry outances.
With a dangerening presence, Duris originates for a sinister villain. Bloquet is reminiscent of his countryman Matthias Schoenaerts’ turn in “Rust and Bone,” shading his character with analogous macho compassion. But it’s Feltre’s central carry outance that holds the film together. His eyes expansive, his face brimming of dread — that survival drive carries the film thcimpolite its many plot twists. He’s believable as someone who pledges crimes, but also as someone who hums Petula Clark’s tfinisher “La Nuit N’en Finit Plus” as he labors.
For audiences seeing for an amemploying action adventure, “Night Call” deinhabitrs on its promise. But it also acts as an introduction to a authorr and honestor who understands this genre and is willing to give it a contransient spin brimming of topical publishs. By encompassing this expansiveer canvas, “Night Call” discneglects itself to be more than one man’s nightmarish odyssey. By giving the audience authentic life publishs to chew on, it discernes itself from the common programmer fare.
