★★★
A Philadelphia police officer struggles with a lifelong obsession to track down a mysterious serial killer whose crimes defy explanation.
Classification: 15
Director Jim Mickle returns with a science fiction thriller that both excites and confounds the audience as this murder mystery is layered with political-social themes, gorgeous cinematography, and mind-bending paradoxes. With an impressive first act of high octane drama showcasing a beat cop's twisted night of investigating a sudden series of grisly deaths, the allure of the mystery dampens with every nine-year time jump. Witnessing Thomas Lockhart's descent into obsessive madness is captivating due to Boyd Holbrook's committed performance but the film suffers from the law of diminishing returns as by the time In the Shadow of the Moon reveals its secrets the audience has already deduced them. There are some late clichéd third act twists the script throws in to wrap everything in a neat causal loop but the issue is that the final answers aren't as exciting as the mystery was building them up to be. They make sense from a logical standpoint which is impressive for a film featuring these science fiction concepts but the pacing of the film causes the story reveals to drag so in its four-act structure, most of the pieces needed to solve the case are available by act three but the film overindulges in information with an unnecessary fourth act.
The film kicks off however with a pulse-pounding opening act that just ramps up the exhilaration for the audience you'll wish 1988 was the setting for the entire film. The entire film has impressive cinematography but just like the rest of the film, all of the great stuff is in the first 35 minutes. New York is dark and beautiful, steam rising from grates and neon reflected in puddles as sirens blare as a panicked manhunt unfolds before the audience as random deaths beginning occurring one after the other, pure noir action at its finest. It's here the audience is introduced to our hero Thomas Lockheart, a beat cop with aspirations to be a detective, happily married with a baby on the way, he's the all American hero. His intuitions led him to discover and essentially lead a chase against a serial killer striking victims with no discernable pattern all in one night and Mickle's direction slowly cranks up the tension with every new scene and discovery. Holbrook's chemistry with his co-stars makes the film exciting and empathetic with his partner played by Bokeem Woodbine and his brother-in-law and superior detective Holt played by Michael C. Hall, in a very short amount of time you understand their dynamic and fear what may happen to them. Mickle plays into the procedural clichés to lure the audience into a false sense of security so when he has the film give chase, the more enigmatic elements of the killer are slowly unveiled.
One of the worst ways to kill momentum in a film is a time jump and while In the Shadow of the Moon's jump from 1988 to 1997 is handled well and shows the far-reaching consequences of Lockheart's professional and personal tragedies but the repetition of this motif doesn't do the film any favours. The time jumps also allow for the film's political themes to become more clear, scenes that represent modern tension in America whether it be African American communities protesting against police brutality or growing right-wing extremist movements. The filmmaker intends to have the outlandish elements be grounded by relatable issues and to have Lockheart's obsession go beyond just wanting to catch an elusive killer but finding the sense in the seemingly senseless violence. Holbrook as Lockheart is a great protagonist, smart and capable and lends tragedy to his devolution into obsessive madness as we see the character go from hero cop to grave robbing vagrant. The character arc bears resemblance to the theme of political extremism, his Americana bravado slowly breaking away with every tragedy until he's almost recognisable, a representation to whats happening in his own country.
This doesn't make Lockheart cruel or unlikeable in fact his commitment to capture the killer and make sense of thirty years of random violence is commendable. Every encounter he has with Cleopatra Coleman's character only reaffirms his quest, knowing that there is a large plan at play and that somehow they are connected. One of the interesting elements of In the Shadow of the Moon is how Mickle tackles the morality of the homicides when it becomes clear why people are dying every nine years, Lockheart and the audience are presented with the question of if its justified. A side is chosen, a side that will likely be upset and label this film as "left-wing fantasy propaganda" or some nonsense while ignoring the fact that it is science fiction. The morality of the film is interesting because for half the film Lockheart pursues Coleman's killer for idealistic reasons, for a sense of law and order and justice because he is a cop where the latter half has it transform into a personal vendetta built by decades of grief and anger. Are his actions justified because of what occurred before? or is the killer now in the right as we uncover more about her actions? In the Shadow of the Moon creates a conundrum of ideology but doesn't spend enough time exploring the questions it wants to address.
Mickle spends more time on making sure that every piece of the mystery is thought out and explained to the film's detriment. An unnecessary subplot with Lockheart dealing with a physicist who just gives the audience relevant exposition to explain away any issues with the nine-year time jumps, how the killer uses their signature weapon and how her cause has merit. It almost feels like the filmmakers are insecure because of the science fiction elements in their mystery so they have to make sure all the I's are dotted and t's are crossed so that there are no glaring plot holes. A mystery should provide answers that re-contextualise everything that has come before it and have the audience understand the journey and motivations in a new light through unexpected reveals and In the Shadow of the Moon has these moments but the subplot of Dr Naveen Rao just feels unnecessary. It doesn't help the pacing of the film's climax, just a tacked-on conflict to extend the runtime and distracts from the main storyline between Holbrook and Coleman's characters.
In the Shadow of the Moon is ambitious in scope and storytelling and continues Jim Mickle's ability to surprise audiences by taking his films in unexpected directions. While the larger ideas of the narrative make the logical landing, too much time is spent building towards the revelations that the audience is just waiting for the end rather than anticipating the final scene. Its political connections are sure to piss someone off but it gives greater context to the film's timeline and allows the film's science fiction elements to have a greater effect in the storytelling. Mickle is showing the world we live in, through the eyes of Lockheart's obsession we see how it changes and how it could change for the better. It all feels like a bittersweet experience, a film that starts so strong only to fumble towards the end and leaves audiences not necessarily dissatisfied but underwhelmed by what the closing had to offer.
Director: #JimMickle
Release Date: September 27th 2019
Available exclusively on Netflix
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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