“…a soft-spoken but well-acted dark, dramatic thriller that unfortunately doesn’t manage to come across as all that thrilling.”

So what’s your favorite movie about radical environmentalism? It sure is difficult to find one that isn’t a documentary. The recent Disney film Tomorrowland heavily preached about the need to change our ways in order to save our environment. Some films like Avatar and Ferngully: The Last Rainforest try to protect the sacred lands before they can be destroyed. It can be hard to think about genuinely good movies about protecting the environment, because there just isn’t anything too thrilling about going green. There are, however, plenty of post-apocalyptic films to choose from (The Road, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Book of Eli). Surviving in a barren wasteland and being pitted against our fellow man in an only-the-strong-survive situation…now that’s entertainment. Night Moves (directed by Kelly Reichardt, 2013) is a soft-spoken but well-acted dark, dramatic thriller that unfortunately doesn’t manage to come across as all that thrilling.

In the beginning, Josh (played by Jesse Eisenberg) and Dena (played by Dakota Fanning) seem to know exactly what the world needs in order to be woken up from its sense of toxic denial. Environmentalists can’t just sit around saying there is a problem with our oceans or our forests, but instead, they need to take action. So the two pair up with a shady but skilled man named Harmon (played by Peter Sarsgaard) who helps them put their plan into action. Armed with fake IDs, a boat, and hundreds of pounds of ammonium fertilizer, they create a makeshift bomb they will used to blow up a hydroelectric dam that is killing salmon in order to generate electricity. With this being such a huge act of protest, they carefully plan out every detail so as not to get caught. This is to be a victimless crime that will allow them to go back to work the next day, blending back into their particular lives as if nothing ever happened. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go without a hitch, and the three find themselves struggling through a black hole of guilt and paranoia.

The acting in this film by all three leads was absolutely fantastic. Jesse Eisenberg has become an absolute force to be reckoned with since his performances in Now You See Me, American Ultra, The Social Network, and Zombieland. In every role he takes on, he absolutely becomes the character. Here, we have Josh, an extremely quiet yet brooding young man. With his heart full of good intention, there is also an air about him that makes you uncomfortable yet you aren’t quite sure why. Teamed up the strong yet melancholy character played by Dakota Fanning, watching them interact with one another and seeing their relationships with one another ride out the storm their actions cause becomes a fascinating character study. Unfortunately, for a thriller, it just wasn’t particularly anything I want to sit through for almost two hours.

I went into this film not knowing exactly what to expect or even what it was about in the first place. The first half or so of the film is pretty slow, building steadily to the moment when they finally do the task and attempt to get away undetected. After that built up tension from preparing and finally acting out the deed is over, the film simply lost my interest. The only thing that did manage to take hold of what interest I did have left was Jesse Eisenberg’s character. He absolutely steals the spot light with his modest yet foreboding emotional performance. While I understand the film itself isn’t supposed to be some big, action-packed thriller and is instead supposed to be centered on the characters themselves, I still found myself pretty bored throughout most of it. Despite some well-delivered, thought-provoking messages, this just isn’t a film that I would talk to a friend about and say “Yes, you definitely need to see that one!” Night Moves gets a 5/10 from me. Sure, it was different and actually quite fascinating and simultaneously disturbing at times, it simply didn’t manage to make much of a lasting impression. I’m even not sure if a love for Jesse Eisenberg alone could make you a raving fan for this one. It was just…okay.