Review and analysis of the short film 'Nighthawks'

1. Nighthawks short film review
Directed by Jun Bung Lee, starringAlexander Arnold, Kate Little & Leo Wringer
Short filmreview by Chris Olson
Written and directed by Jun Bung Lee, Nighthawks is a smartly interwoven taleof urban isolation thatthrows
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 lightand the shadows,deliveringa tense plot in the frame of a modern
love story.
Jack (Alexander Arnold) is a charmingyet nervous guy, for
whom connection seems to be an elusivedream. We see him
engaging with multipleendeavours in order to strikeup a
relationship with someone, even callinga sex linefroma public
phone and trying to make small talk.His anticssoon puthim on
coursewith Miranda (Kate Little), a politeand 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 bloomingromancesoon hits a hurdle when a drunken louton
a bus humiliates Jack,emasculatinghimin front of Miranda.At a diner, the two startto pick each other apart
in terms of their characters and behaviour,leavinga bitter taste on what was such a promisingstart.
A third character operates somewhat connected to Jack
and Miranda’s lovestory,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 arrestingas theshort film develops. By the
end you could be utterly cravinga second watch,
demanding a closer inspection of the intricateplot.
Moreover, the performances,in particular from Arnold
and Little, areexceptional, deliveringsceneafter scene of brilliantdialoguewith a hell of a lotof style.
The aesthetic of Nighthawks is also really impressive,capturinga delicately balanced tone between darkness
and lightthat manages to reflect the nature of the story.Lighting is used particularly well duringthediner
scene which seems to castan unwanted vibrancy on this cautionary taleof opening yourself up to new
experiences, allowingJack and Miranda’s tragicspiral into disconnection to be fully illuminated.
Most scenes areallowed to breathe with longer takes, and then mixed
up with some quicker cuts which removes any unnecessary bulk from
the film; atno point will audiences feel likethey are lingeringon a
scene. There is a degree of messiness fromthe middle section of the
movie, where the story becomes a littlemore chaotic than it can
handle,opting to confuseinstead of intrigue. That being said, Jun Bung
Lee builds his short film to a deliciously bitingclimaxthatis most
certainly worth any wait.
Nighthawks is a stylishly shadowy and poignant short film, harkingback to noirish movies but with a modern
twist, and brought to exuberant lifeby great performances.

2. ‘Nighthawks’ short film review analysis
The 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, thiscan 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 showsthat the
writer isn’t biased towardsthe film andtherefore reassuresto the reader that the writer is giving a
honest review ofthe film. Byincluding a negative it is effective as it showsthat the film isn’t perfect
and by the negative only being a minor point it couldjustbe viewed as a picky negative whichmight
not be viewed as the same by everyone else. the negative is quickly followedby a a positive selling
point ofthe film as the writer supportsthe film byturning 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.’

3. 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.