It’s always a shock how quickly things can go from completely normal to totally f*cked up. In Michiel Blanchart’s Night Call (La Nuit se Traîne), a college student moonlighting as a locksmith gets pulled into an organized crime conspiracy after he opens a door into the Belgian underworld. What should have been a routine night of studying in between service calls suddenly becomes a fight for survival after he’s tricked into helping a stranger rob some very, very dangerous people. It’s a tight thriller with dynamite performances top-to-bottom, and some really clever camerawork that punches up a “one bad night” tale into a crisp, action-packed adventure through the seedy underbelly of downtown Brussels.
Set against the backdrop of a Black Lives Matter protest, which Michiel Blanchart weaves into his story in a really interesting way, our hero is left with no one to turn to and nowhere to run while the city erupts around him. Mady, played by Jonathan Feltre (shockingly, in only his second feature film) is in over his head after making one small and irreversible concession for a charming stranger. In as much time as it takes to pick a lock, he’s thrown headfirst into a situation beyond his control, and forced to work for a sadistic crime boss lest he become just another body found in the streets after a violent clash with police.
“Fans of Edgar Wright will especially dig Blanchart’s use of music and camera tricks”
As a performer, Feltre is tasked with being a fish-out-of-water, an amateur gangster/secret agent, and an unlikely hero all in one night. He pulls it off brilliantly and takes you along with the character for a journey that feels as unwinnable as it is unavoidable. His character is smart and cunning, and he carries the heart of the story on his face alone.
Opposite Feltre is Romain Duris as the suave but brutal Yannick, whose preferred form of murdered is wrapping people heads in duct tape until they suffocate while screaming for help. He’s a real charmer. Genre fans will no doubt recognize Duris from his roles in Michel Gondry’s Mood Indigo (L’écume des Jours) or the pre-pandemic deadly fog thriller A Breath Away (Dans la Brume), but where those roles had heart and passion, Yannick has only the unsympathetic desire to crush everyone that crosses him. As far as bad guys go, he’s très magnifique.
“A tried-and-true crime thriller cranked up a couple notches with brilliant characters and clever tweaks to the formula”
Night Call is written and directed by Michiel Blanchart’s, whose 2021 short film You’re Dead Hélène (T’es Morte Hélène) I HIGHLY encourage you to seek out. Fans of Edgar Wright will especially dig Blanchart’s use of music and camera tricks, always searching for the most interesting and energetic way to frame a fist fight or cobble stone foot chase. Night Call is a tried-and-true crime thriller cranked up a couple notches with brilliant choices, clever tweaks to the formula and a cast of characters that create a mosaic of night life that is engrossing, ensnaring, and bloody entertaining.
Michiel Blanchart’s Night Call, from Magnet Releasing, hit theatres January 17. Let us know what you thought of this Belgian crime thriller, and all about your favorite one-bad-night adventures through the underground world, over in the official Nightmare on Film Street Discord! It’s better than X, easier than Instagram, and it’s where all the cool creeps are hanging out.
