Night Time - A Film by Tyson Stewart and Alain Lacoursière
Night Time. 2008. Written and Directed by Tyson Stewart and Alain Lacoursière
Music by Emilie LeBel.
4 stars
I’m proud to have this exclusive opportunity to show an experimental short which was co-directed by my good friend Tyson Stewart. It’s a moody and mysterious twilight journey, where a dour narrator reminisces over strange women, ghosts, truck drivers and the dreary, rural places they frequent.
While Night Time is almost completely devoid of action and characters, the calm, somnambulist narration provides vivid mental images that slowly glide across these desolate landscapes, bringing you into deep, darkened pools of memory. The somber tones and street lamp halos give these introverted reflections a distinct and unsettling atmosphere, reminding me of a David Lynch film or my own teenage, alcohol-fueled stupors.
The poetic lyricism that lines these dream-like sequences is coupled by the menacing ambient score of Emilie LeBel, who plays haunting drones and synth passages that carefully swell in the shadows. These tracks lend the film an aching gravity, enhancing the wavering and voyeuristic sensations brought on by these images. The lonely shore, the seedy bar and truck stops are shown from detached and distant perspectives, cutting and spinning with free-wheeling angularity.
While the premise and structure of Night Time is simple, low key and strictly minimalist, its images are strangely comforting and human, exploring the darting thoughts and feelings of our seemingly lost and love-lorn guide. With their nuanced sense of mood, timing and setting, this young duo freely showcases their promise and aspirations. I look froward to seeing more work from them.
(As a side note, Night Time is not only a great short, but it is one of the first outside contributions to The Rock Blogger! Thanks Tyson! This looks to be a future trend here on the blog, as I look forward to guest reviews, photos and film submissions like this one. If you are interested in getting your work shown on this site, feel free to email me at goatlemment@hotmail.com).
May 5th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Thank you for reviewing my little ditty, Damien. I’m glad you liked it.
Al and me just decided one night to make a short without characters or script about an only half-remembered story of disappearance. The scenes depict places I frequented often as a child and teen. Night Time, in part, is about a missing girl who remains missing and the consequences of such a conundrum. Lynch is an inspiration, of course, but mystery stories generally fascinate me. It just so happens that here locations and setting and sounds are the main focus, rather than action and plot. I think for a lot of these stories (especially a film like Sluizer’s The Vanishing [88]) the things around narrative, around plot can be just as unsettling. The rest stop in Vanishing freaks me out every time, for instance.
Emilie’s music is brilliant as always. I like the way her music builds so slowly and yet is always smartly restless.
Thanks again for the kind words and attention.