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May 29, 2014 By Austin Trunick Web Exclusive

Two youths stand atop an Oregon dam, lamenting the hydroelectric facility’s lack of regard for the surrounding wildlife. Josh (Jesse Eisenberg) works at an organic farm; Dena (Dakota Fanning) lives at a women’s holistic health compound. The next time we see them together, they’re buying a speed boat—with cash—and driving into the remote wilderness to meet Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard), a former marine and ex-convict with a knowledge of explosives. The three plan to turn their boat into a floating bomb and blow up the dam, so to teach the world a lesson about its rampant, self-destructive consumer culture.

Centering a film on a trio of environmental terrorists creates an immediate challenge in bringing an audience on board, but director Kelly Reichardt crafts Night Moves into a gripping, suspenseful, and ultimately tragic tale. Her characters are fully realized; they’re complex, layered and—most importantly—never come off purely as nutjob radicals. The film would never have worked if its leads seemed like anything other than mostly-reasonable human beings. It’s stunning (and scary) how well Reichardt makes her audience invest in their misguided undertaking.

Eisenberg’s performance, for the most part, is as cold and closed-off as a padlocked icebox. His character, Joshua, is of an intensely private nature, focused solely on his endgame and willing to let any distraction slide off him to keep his mission from going off the rails; the chilly Eisenberg is perfect for the role. When the rare sliver of emotion can be read on his face, it speaks volumes. Most impressive, though, is Fanning. Her Dena is an amateur in the field of domestic terrorism. As the audience’s sympathetic anchor in the story, we watch her moral compass crack and eventually shatter as she fiercely commits herself to a goal that she knows will have severe consequences. (A lengthy scene in which Dena’s sent into a rural farmers’ supply store to buy a suspiciously large amount of ammonium nitrate fertilizer is excruciatingly nerve-wracking.) Fanning is Night Moves’ fallen innocent, and the sympathetic soul of this unshakeable film.

Author rating: 8.5/10