For a seemingly formulaic low budget film, {Sister of Night} has a lot going for it. It makes good use of an interesting look, talky throwback narrative, and labyrinthine of a plot, and mostly succeeds on its own strange terms.
Much of the credit goes to Marchetti's unflinching performance as the myopic private dick, which provides a solid foundation for a circus of quirky noir archetypes to weave in and out. The hard-boiled dialogue is present but never overpowering. The violence, when it happens, is wholly realistic. The entire piece has an immediate, unsettling emotional rawness to it. There is something lyrical about it, which I picked up on and found effective. Though it was in a rough form that suffered from pacing issues and a temp score, the underlying fundamental truth shone through: a good film is a good film, no matter its current state. Its smart, sometimes too smart for its own good. At times, the intent is unclear, yet it mostly succeeds in taking us through an innovative ballet that appears familiar on the surface, but ends up rather skewed by end.
The thing I appreciated most here, there is neither a hint of pretension nor convolution.
Overall, a job well done. Hope to hear of updates soon.
Be well.
