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Midnight Clear (2006) More at IMDb Pro »
12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Good story, well told, 12 March 2007
Author: osborntj-1
I knew this was a remake, but I had not seem the short version. So I had no history for comparison. The script is strong. The performances are excellent, as is the direction. The primary characters are rich, but the lesser roles, particularly the plant security man are very well done. Knowing the limitations of a budget less than $1M, I was expecting to see production flaws. But I couldn't find them. The production values are extraordinary. That's true of cinematography, sound, lighting, score, sets, props, on and on. The movie gives some satisfaction, and leaves one saddened at the same time. Such is life. But it's a wonderful movie, one that everyone with family members and friends who are lonely at Christmas, should see.
8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Stephan Baldwin's Magnum Opus, 5 December 2007
Author: David Gotzh (dgotzh@law.capital.edu) from United States
Stephan Baldwin redeems himself by logging in one of the best performances of 2007; and no, no I'm not on crack.
The story is simple: Lonely people on Christmas Eve. Nothing fancy, nothing pretentious, nothing deep, and yet it's the most amazing small film I've seen in a long time.
The production values were on par with anything showing at your multiplex, the scriptwriting was very good, and Stephan Baldwin, wow. I thought the guy was a joke of an actor who had ridden on his more famous brother's coat-tails. How wrong I was, and boy oh boy do I owe him an apology. Stephan puts on a shocking performance as the helplessly pathetic Lefty; he practically runs an acting clinic during the entire film, and had this been released in theaters nationwide, I think he would have been in the running for some kind of recognition, ie Golden Globe perhaps.
Yes it's a Christian film, but only by the hair of it's chinny chin chin, which is to say it's barely existent, and only for the last couple minutes of the film. If you didn't know it was Christian, you'd probably miss it because it's basically about mankind's need for companionship and redemption. That's it. No bible thumping, no preaching, no gospel.
Is it the best film of 2007? No. Is it the best Direct to Video film of 2007, absolutely.
6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Quality Christmas character drama, 6 December 2007
Author: dandewald from United States
This movie is a great character piece with quality performances from the established actors. I saw it at Cinequest.
I recommend it to those who like character TV dramas -- "Six Feet Under," "Once & Again," "My So-Called Life" or recent films like "The Savages" or "Lars and the Real Girl." It had the ability to be moving, without being saptastic. It shows the holidays for what they can be - without the dark, Sundance festival-type cynicism.
Who knew Stephen Baldwin had this performance in him. Kae is predictably good in her aching performance of a woman on the verge.
This film should be seen beyond channels like Sundance and IFC - I'd love to see it on FX or AMC next Christmas.
But definitely worth the price of the DVD.
Dan
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Movie To Ponder Life and Holidays By, 5 December 2007
Author: Adefiguy from United States
Midnight Clear is a movie about hope from the depths of despair. The holidays are often a time where people are more depressed than any other, yet should be a time for celebration. This movie deals with five people in a world of hurt, who find themselves connecting with each other - and 'saving' each other (figuratively and literally) on the night before Christmas. Believably done, simply executed and well acted, this film is sure to tug your heartstrings.
Nice performances by Stephen Baldwin and K Callen, the movie feels very minimalistic, but it helps to keep the focus on each of the five main characters. It's not a warm and fuzzy movie, but life often dances around the cold and messy, and this deals honestly within that realm.
6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Pretty good holiday film that needs a better script, 12 June 2007
Author: Jeff Beachnau (beachna9@msu.edu) from Omena, Michigan
I saw this at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan.
This was an okay film, but I felt with a better script it could have been a lot more engaging. It takes place on Christmas Eve in a small town in Arizona. Following a lonely old woman, a jobless man, a gas station worker, a grieving mother, and a young depressed youth pastor, the film shows them crossing paths and experience the holiday evening in different ways.
The problem with the film is that some of the story lines aren't as interesting as the others and some of them aren't as developed. I personally preferred the jobless Lefty (played by Stephen Baldwin, in a well acted dramatic role) and the old woman (wonderfully played by K Callan). There wasn't enough time spent on the youth pastor thus making his story seem unfinished. And there was too much time spent on the mother and the gas station worker, it wasn't a very interesting story.
The ending was nice, in fact, a little too nice, it seemed like everything came together too perfectly. But it wasn't that bad of a film. If during the holiday season, you're looking for a film to watch, I'd recommend this film before recommending one of those studio films that get released every holiday season to make big bucks.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
When your soul needs uplifting, 10 February 2008
Author: sundance7490 from Scottsdale, Arizona
Honestly, I just rented this film on two whims. 1. I had recently co-starred in a film (Coyote County Loser) that had three principal actors from this movie as our leads and one of the crewmembers was actually our direction. 2. I absolutely love interconnecting storyline films. From Babel, Crash and Amores Perros, when I heard a Christian one (or at least Christian undertoned) was made I was more than happy. Usually interconnecting films have an extreme amount of violence, cussing, sex, etc. and their intense films for that reason but I was wondering if they could possibly get rid of that for this film.
Well, they did, and in a good way. The story follows five principal characters: Lefty, a recently jobless and homeless man in search of redemption in the wrong places; Eva, an elderly woman who feels she has nothing left to live for; Mary, a mother who is dealing with her husbands' brain damage after a car accident the year before; Kirk, a gas station owner whose past dreams were shattered, and Mitch, a youth pastor who feels his existence in to the church is nowhere near relevant.
K Callan as Eva and Mary Thornton as Mary were my favorite characters and actors, though all five did great. The women's emotions were kept well hidden throughout the film. You weren't sure how they were feeling until they let it out. Callan and Thornton's performances were stellar and completely rolled the story for the lack of development from Lefty, Kirk, and Mitch's stories. If they would've developed Kirk and Mitch a little more the movie would've been incredible, as it is, but among all audiences. I feel Eva and Mary were also the most interesting characters. Lefty had too much character, not enough was shrouded in mystery.
Considering I had a terrible Christmas myself, to see the small acts of kindness the five people in this film causing them to intersect made me think of just how much one small thing you can do for a person might actually change their life. A lot of films never make me think about them afterwards but Midnight Clear has stuck with me. I just purchased the film and am loving it. You just think about it at a certain time in your life and when you watch. I would suggest this film to anyone who just needs a little uplifting. You could now.
7 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
5 stories-1 great 2 good 2 bad., 9 March 2007
Author: ridewiththevines from United States
I just saw Midnight Clear at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose and there's a lot I like and a lot I don't. 2 of the stories are from the original short story (written by the director's father) and you can tell they have been constructed with a lot more time and love. Those two stories are of Lefty and Eva, lonely individuals contemplating suicide.The story of Eva is almost unbearably sad and acted perfectly. The Lefty story has a few campy lines, but is still passable. Another good story is that of Mitch, a leader of a youth group wondering if he holds purpose. It's probably the shortest story in the film and the one with the least satisfaction in the end. The other two stories are of a gasoline attendant and a mother, married to a brain dead man. The story of the gas attendant is fine at the start but suffers when the mother enters his story. The dialog for the mother is extremely hokey and cliché and brought the score down a good 2-1.5 stars. Overall I would say there's both great and horrible acting. The direction is the most consistent thing in the film. The script is well constructed but contains a lot of corny dialog. 6/10
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Best Christmas movie in years!!!, 31 December 2007
Author: David Rosengreen from Australia
By far the best Christmas movie I have seen in years and one of the best movies I have seen in a long time! I wish they made more movies like this!
Simply told, and beautifully understated. A wonderfully told tale about five strangers whose paths cross one Christmas Eve and impact one another's lives in sometimes simple, yet rather astounding ways.
Not your usual Hollywood-type Christmas film where everyone is smiling and a happy ending can be found around every corner. No, this film is about real people, with real problems, in the real world, where things don't always necessarily end happily ever after. And, during the course of the film, we're never quite sure just what the outcome is going to be.
Honest, sincere, real, totally believable. I could readily and easily identify with each and every character. The performances are top-notch and are played to perfection. Every performance comes across as being completely genuine.
I love the look and feel to this movie. Visually stunning, it's hard to believe this was shot on such a low budget and in something like only 18 days!
Touching and deeply moving! The movie never feels forced or manipulative. And the ending is just right! (I just loved the character of Mitch). A most rewarding viewing experience indeed! My praise and highest compliments to all involved.
I highly recommend this movie and will be looking forward to the next feature to come from Jenkins Entertainment!
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
I just rented Midnight Clear. Simple story, simply told., 24 December 2007
Author: tmixon318 from United States
Most of the comments here sound professionally done. So this comment is from the common man (woman). I really liked the movie. The reason I picked it up at the video store was because it had Jerry Jenkins name on it(I'm a fan). Even though Stephen Baldwin was the main character, I liked all the characters. I thought the actors did a fine job portraying the hurt & disappointments we all face at some time in life. I thought the storyline of the youth pastor was great. The story of how each of us as human beings touch the lives, either negatively or positively, of every human being we come in contact with(actually that was pretty much the theme of all the story lines). It's also a reminder that sometimes we just need to suck it up & do things that we don't really want to do, like go Christmas Caroling!
3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Look past the errors, 20 December 2007
Author: sanitysama from United States
Honestly, if you wanted a big budget film you'd be watching big titles at a box office. Looking much past the flaws of this film, there's a bit of power behind every scene. You can put yourself in the positions of some of these characters and really feel their emotions; what they're thinking and how they feel. I haven't had a film do this to me since I saw Crash.
It's a good-spirited film for anyone who considers themselves lost around Christmas (notice that I'm not trying to label this as a Christmas film.) Christmas doesn't have to be happy for everyone, but those who have something to be happy about should really think about it at this time of year.
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