Reviewed by Sam Unsted
Stars Doug Cooeyate, Sam Downey, Nyla McCarthy, Ray Monge,
Robert Lee Pitchlynn, Tim Streeter | Written by Walt Curtis & Gus Van Sant
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £19.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 78 minutes | Directed by Gus Van Sant
Released to coincide with his latest film, Paranoid Park, coming to DVD, Mala Noche is the film debut of director Gus Van Sant. The film concerns itself with the story of Walt, a store clerk who falls in lust with an illegal Mexican immigrant called Johnny. He tries to seduce Johnny unsuccessfully and ends up screwing his friend, Roberto, but maintains his infatuation with Johnny and continues his attempts to sleep with him. Johnny then disappears for some time, allowing Walt to form a bond with Roberto as he awaits Johnny’s return.
In the classic style of deeply indie, lo-fi moviemaking, it feels like very little occurs in Mala Noche. The film meanders along, detailing the acquaintance which arises between the characters. It’s certainly not a film that would convert anyone to the work of Van Sant. It contains many of the concerns and aesthetic motifs of his other works; extended scenes of silence, exaggerated diegetic sound and a camera which lusts after a young, pretty male subject. The protagonist is fairly pathetic and desperate, lecherous even in his fumbling pursuit of sex with Johnny, but Van Sant paints him with a fine brush, allowing the audience to live inside his world and understand the need he feels for companionship, be it sexual or social. As such, you end up feeling sorry or at least mildly empathetic for Walt’s pursuit of an unattainable object rather than uncomfortable due to his constant advances.
The acting, as you might expect, is naturalistic in the extreme with characters falling over their words and rarely managing to communicate what they’re aiming for. Johnny is near silent throughout, only really speaking when he gets drunk or hyper. Van Sant seems to prefer to have him as an almost spiritual object of lust, rarely breaking his mystique with speech. As a first film, it’s a beguiling and fascinating effort. The motifs which he would explore later all arise here so for fans of Van Sant the film is very close to essential. It’s not a perfect film but some of the photography and the composition of certain shots, especially with regard to the lighting, is spectacular for a first time filmmaker. It will win no converts but fans of Van Sant, notably his exploration of senses of isolation and a desperation for human understanding, this will prove a rewarding curio.
EXTRAS *** An interview with director Van Sant, an introduction to the film, an Anatomy of a Scene featurette and the original theatrical trailer