Midnight Special

From writer/director Jeff Nichols comes this unconventional road movie that channels the spirits of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters and John Carpenter's Starman to create a top-flight, enigmatic fantasy. It also boasts Nichols's own brand of indie-edged quirkiness, previously evidenced in Mud. Michael Shannon (who appeared in that film) is on the run with his especially gifted eight-year-old son (Jaeden Lieberher) who is being hunted down by a Bible Belt cult that have hailed him as a messiah. He's also wanted by sinister federal agents for his seemingly inhuman ability to decode heavily encrypted transmissions and pull satellites out of orbit. All Shannon wants to do is get his ward to a preordained location where the boy can fulfil his true destiny. This unusually sensitive metaphor for the true meaning of parenthood is often ambiguous and elliptically told, with Nichols expecting the viewer to fill in the gaps. It builds slowly through wrenching family drama to imaginative sci-fi sustained as much by heart and emotion as thrilling special effects.