Nightjohn

A hymn to learning and determination, "Nightjohn" is also a thoughtful and moving film about slavery, perhaps the best I've seen. All the actors are superb, the script is winning, the insight into human relations cuts deep. Charles Burnett is one of our best unknown directors, and the fact that he can turn out a film like "Nightjohn" for Hallmark/Disney should indicate to those in power in Hollywood that more of his work should end up on the big screen. Great stuff!

I didn't like the movie Night john. It didn't go with the plot line of the book. They added a lot of things in the movie that weren't true for that time period. Waller wasn't nice to his slaves in the book ,but in the movie Mr Waller was. For example Sarney didn't get in trouble for looking at the book. Another example is Mr Waller cut off Johns toes in the movie and in the book it was his fingers. It seemed like the slave owners didn't want kids to see how slaves were really treated back then. I don't recommend this movie Night John if you are watching it for fun but, If you are showing your classroom then, It would be a good lesson to read the book and show the movie because the book and movie are so much different to each other.

I found NightJohn's story and characters interesting. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the film, I didn't think I was going to a Hallmark film, but I gave it an 8. I am usually attracted to tough, headstrong characters and John is definitely in that category. John, a slave, defied the master as well as convincing his fellow slaves of the importance of knowledge, in a world that relies on ignorance to survive. The little girl was also a strong, believable character, as was the rest of the cast.

Beau Bridges did a fine job as the cold-hearted plantation owner, as well as all the other actors in the film. Burnett did a great job presenting the story with a right amount of realism and sentimentality, where many films fail, making them too sappy.

I gave it an 8 out of 10. NightJohn reminded me of The Color Purple, it had a similar style and mood. I was engrossed by the film up until the conclusion where the film became a little too unbelievable. If you loved The Color Purple, I recommend NightJohn.

Many of the poor reviews were because it didn't follow the book. I haven't read the book (and am not planning to) but it stands alone as a good movie.