Nighthawks short film reviewDirected by Jun Bung Lee, starring Alexander Arnold, Kate Little & Leo WringerShort film review by Chris Olson

Written and directed by Jun Bung Lee, Nighthawks is a smartly interwoven tale of urban isolation that throws together three characters for whom the night brings various opportunities to connect with someone else. This is a short film which plays in both the light and the shadows, delivering a tense plot in the frame of a modern love story.

Jack (Alexander Arnold) is a charming yet nervous guy, for whom connection seems to be an elusive dream. We see him engaging with multiple endeavours in order to strike up a relationship with someone, even calling a sex line from a public phone and trying to make small talk. His antics soon put him on course with Miranda (Kate Little), a polite and attractive girl who happens to leave her wallet in a laundrette, only to be found by Jack who calls her and the two end up on a date. Full of initial spark and subtlety, Jack and Miranda’s blooming romance soon hits a hurdle when a drunken lout on a bus humiliates Jack, emasculating him in front of Miranda. At a diner, the two start to pick each other apart in terms of their characters and behaviour, leaving a bitter taste on what was such a promising start.

A third character operates somewhat connected to Jack and Miranda’s love story, Louis (Leo Wringer), a reclusive blind man who leaves tape recorders on buses in order to capture intimate dialogue.

There is a sumptuous depth to Nighthawks that becomes increasingly arresting as the short film develops. By the end you could be utterly craving a second watch, demanding a closer inspection of the intricate plot. Moreover, the performances, in particular from Arnold and Little, are exceptional, delivering scene after scene of brilliant dialogue with a hell of a lot of style.

The aesthetic of Nighthawks is also really impressive, capturing a delicately balanced tone between darkness and light that manages to reflect the nature of the story. Lighting is used particularly well during the diner scene which seems to cast an unwanted vibrancy on this cautionary tale of opening yourself up to new experiences, allowing Jack and Miranda’s tragic spiral into disconnection to be fully illuminated.

Most scenes are allowed to breathe with longer takes, and then mixed up with some quicker cuts which removes any unnecessary bulk from the film; at no point will audiences feel like they are lingering on a scene. There is a degree of messiness from the middle section of the movie, where the story becomes a little more chaotic than it can handle, opting to confuse instead of intrigue. That being said, Jun Bung Lee builds his short film to a deliciously biting climax that is most certainly worth any wait.

Nighthawks is a stylishly shadowy and poignant short film, harking back to noirish movies but with a modern twist, and brought to exuberant life by great performances.

‘Nighthawks’ short film review analysisThe film review includes three images of screenshots from the film, by including screenshots from the film it gives the reader an insight of what the film includes and aims to encourage them to watch it. The first image that is used is a medium-close up of two characters, the camera is face on to the characters which allows the audience to view their facial expressions and will allow them to create their first impression of them. It also allows the audience to make eye-contact with the audience which will make them feel involved with the characters and the film. The use of this image implies that in the view of Erving Goffman’s character theory these are the two protagonists (leading characters) of the film, and by the image being positioned by the written text explaining the plot outline, it helps in the sense that the reader will have a better understanding of what the writer is saying. The other two images don’t relate to the written text review as much as the first image, this can be seen as not very professional as it suggests that time and thought hasn’t been put into the production and creates the impression that the film was produced in the same way – unorganised, this isn’t a good selling point of the short film. All three images that are used in the review all have low key lighting, this is effective as it relates to the drama genre of the film.

The review starts with the credits of the film, this includes the director, writer and the stars in the film, this information can help determine the audience whether they are going to watch the film as if they recognise the director and can relate them to other successful films then they know the film is most likely to be successful as well. Some of the audience wouldn’t have heard of any of the actors, however the review later goes on to reassure the reader that the actors are successful as they’re described as ‘Moreover, the performances, in particular from Arnold and Little, are exceptional, delivering scene after scene of brilliant dialogue with a hell of a lot of style.’

After the credits are revealed to the reader in the review, a short description of three characters are given to the audience, this is effective as it suggest that these are the protagonists of the film, it also links back to the three screenshots which show three different characters, this instantly implies that these are the same characters. By including a short and simple description about each character and including a picture it allows for the audience to create a clearer and greater image and first impression of the characters. Within each description, two adjectives are used to describe the characters, this is successful as it doesn’t reveal too much information about each character and therefore keeps their identity hidden, and therefore this is a successful convention of the review as it will encourage the audience to watch the film to find out more. For example ‘Jack (Alexander Arnold) is a charming yet nervous guy, for whom connection seems to be an elusive dream.’

After the characters have been introduced to the reader and they have learnt a bit about each character, a short and simple plot outline is used to attract the reader to watch the film. By ensuring that the plot outline is short and clear it is effective as it means that the reader is more likely to remember it. Using a short plot outline also means that the narrative isn’t given away to the reader and therefore there aren’t any spoilers, a short outline will encourage the audience to watch the film to discover the rest of the film. The plot outline in the review hints towards what the film will include, again this is effective as the reader will be intrigued to find out more. The plot hints towards some of the dramatic events which will be in the film which reflects the drama/romance genre of the film.

The review does criticises the film towards the end of the review where the writer describes a scene of the film with ‘There is a degree of messiness from the middle section of the movie, where the story becomes a little more chaotic than it can handle, opting to confuse instead of intrigue.’ This shows that the writer isn’t biased towards the film and therefore reassures to the reader that the

writer is giving a honest review of the film. By including a negative it is effective as it shows that the film isn’t perfect and by the negative only being a minor point it could just be viewed as a picky negative which might not be viewed as the same by everyone else. the negative is quickly followed by a a positive selling point of the film as the writer supports the film by turning the negative into a positive with ‘That being said, Jun Bung Lee builds his short film to a deliciously biting climax that is most certainly worth any wait.’

The review ends with a positive and good selling point for the short film with ‘Nighthawks is a stylishly shadowy and poignant short film, harking back to noirish movies but with a modern twist, and brought to exuberant life by great performances.’ By ending the review with a positive and on a high it is effective and successful as this will be the last thing that reader will read and therefore will be the last thing to stay in the readers mind.