Midnight Clear

Review Date 3/9/2018

PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. I AVE OVER 400 REVIEWS OF "CHRISTMAS RELATED FILMS & SPECIALS" WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

The lives of an unemployed divorcee (Stephen Baldwin), his suicidal mother (K Callan) and a couple intersect during Christmastime. This is almost a nonlinear movie and the filmmakers takes some bold steps at the ending by letting the viewer draw their own conclusions.

This is not a film the entire will love. Short attention span people will be bored. Stephen Baldwin however one dimensional performance almost kills the movie!

Stephen Baldwin youngest of the acting Baldwin clan stars in this Christian based film about several people who are not having it real good on Christmas Eve. Baldwin named Lefty since childhood not because he's left handed, but because his family was so poor he played with his brother's old left handed baseball glove and was truly bad with it.

K Callan is a lonely old woman at Christmas time her kids gone off and left her and she's just alone with memories. Not even a cat for companionship and they are great companions. Mary Thornton is a mother with young Dominic Scott Key who just visited her brain damaged husband in the hospital and has to get to her family for Christmas a bit of a drive away. There's also Kirk Woller who is stuck at his gas station/ convenience store for Christmas Eve which doesn't make that much money in normal hours. There's also Mitchell Jarvis youth pastor of a church whose youth group ain't that crazy about doing Christmas carol singing on Christmas Eve. After all it's hardly a hip modern tradition so the kids feel.

All of them interconnect with the others at some point and have an up close and personal experience with the Christmas spirit. Baldwin is the most desperate of all. A degenerate alcohol abuser, has lost his wife and kids and job and he's got himself a gun. He will do harm to someone or to himself at some point it looks like.

This is a nice no frills type Christmas story and is definitely good for more than church audiences.

In the Christmas Eve, Lefty (Stephen Baldwyn) is a homeless and unemployed alcoholic loser that will lose the right to see his son. In despair, he trades a gun and is ready to heist a convenience store and commit suicide. Eva (K Callan) is a lonely old lady estranged from her family that is ready to commit suicide. Kirk (Kirk B.R. Woller) is the owner of a convenience store and gas station that feels stranded in his work. Mary (Mary Thornton) is a mother that is raising her young son alone after the accident of her husband that has brain damage. Mitch (Mitchell Jarvis) is a youngster that belongs to a Christian group of youths that does not understand the reason why they should visit lonely old people of his community in the Christmas Eve. The lonely and depressed persons have their lives affected for good by minor acts of kindness and sympathy and Mitch realizes how important his assignment was and that he has made the difference.

First of all, I need to confess that I have prejudice against Christian films since the few of them that I have watched have good stories but are manipulative with religion. Fortunately I have decided to see "Midnight Clear".

The most beautiful film of cinema history about Christmas and the importance of the acts of a human being is Frank Capra's masterpiece "It's a Wonderful Life". In Christmas, most of the people become generous, kind and sympathetic with the others and I have never understood why people do not behave this way everyday to improve lives and the society as a whole.

I am not comparing, but "Midnight Clear" is another very beautiful film about how minor acts of kindness may affect lives of depressed people in a wonderful synergy and has nothing to do with religion. This low-budget film is supported by a credible story; a simple but effective screenplay; and good performances, highlighting Ms. K Callan and Stephen Baldwyn. Unfortunately there is a couple of bad reviews probably of cold-hearted viewers. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Um Brilho na Escuridão" ("A Glow in the Darkness")

This movie is a great character piece with quality performances from the established actors. I saw it at Cinequest.

I recommend it to those who like character TV dramas -- "Six Feet Under," "Once & Again," "My So-Called Life" or recent films like "The Savages" or "Lars and the Real Girl." It had the ability to be moving, without being saptastic. It shows the holidays for what they can be - without the dark, Sundance festival-type cynicism.

Who knew Stephen Baldwin had this performance in him. Kae is predictably good in her aching performance of a woman on the verge.

This film should be seen beyond channels like Sundance and IFC - I'd love to see it on FX or AMC next Christmas.

But definitely worth the price of the DVD.

Dan

MIDNIGHT CLEAR is an easily overlooked film: the cover of the DVD is bleak, the description of the story sounds a bit corny, and the promotion of the film has been scant. But what is not expected for those viewers able to overcome the above negative aspects is a well-made little series of interlocking vignettes that poignantly address the impact of random acts of kindness in a world grown calloused. It is touching in the best sense of the word and well worth watching even beyond the Christmas season.

The unnamed town gradually opens windows to some fairly sad people: an elderly woman Eva (K Callan) talks with her doctor on the telephone about her meds and we note that she may be facing the thought of suicide in her desolate life; a sweet woman Mary (Mary Thornton) and her young son Jacob (Dominic Scott Kay) visit their brain damaged husband/father in a rest home (the man was critically injured in an auto accident one year ago); a lonely many Kirk (Kirk B.R. Woller) stands in his isolated convenience store without patrons; a longtime drunk and lonely ex-husband Lefty (Stephen Baldwin) is fired from his menial job, despite a recent promotion, because of his consistent tardiness; Mitch (Mitchell Jarvis) works with kids for a church to assuage his guilt for having survived the auto accident that devastated Mar's husband's life, reluctantly agreeing to his pastor (Richard Fancy) to take his youth group caroling to the shut-ins on Christmas Eve.

Each of these characters influences the others by a seeming random act of kindness: Kirk helps Mary and Jacob with their broken car, Eva is given a meals on wheels by a church lady (Victoria Jackson), Mitch and his carolers provide some needed money by means of a token gift that will allow Lefty and Eva to attend Christmas Eve Service, and Eva's 'meals on wheels' ends up providing midnight food for Kirk and Mary and Jacob. Writer Wes Halula and director Dallas Jenkins carve a story that, though at times suggests it may become cloying, is genuinely touching. The cast, especially Baldwin and Callan, is excellent, and each of the characters is well developed, leaving the viewer with a sense of a morality tale we sorely need. Instead of a big booming Hollywood finish, the film simply tapers off with suggestions of the importance of selfless acts that can make a difference. It is well worth watching, especially now, and especially during the Christmas season. Grady Harp