I really enjoyed this movie, it made what was old new again. The film it reminded me the most of is 'Close Encounter's of the Third Kind', and 'The Vast of Night' really does that kind of sense of awe alien movie better then any film since at least 'Contact'.
I loved the late 1950's small town New Mexico setting, this movie has a just wonderful sense of atmosphere and of place, you even get a decent sense of the relative locations of things due to the long walk sequence near the beginning, and that incredible tracking sequence around mid way through.
The 'Twilight Zone' homage sequences, I didn't hate them but I didn't love them, maybe mildly distracting with the fuzzy black and white.
When the whole screen goes dark so you can just hear the caller on the radio, so unexpected, but it works. From the expansive visuals to nothing, like an alien eye expanding and contracting.
The simple characters, how they feel true to the time an place. The social commentary is nicely subtle, it's not overly judging, it's showing you how things were. I love the way Mad Men would do that as well.
I liked the lead girl, I thought she was a fine and interesting character, the radio guy I also liked, but he was more of a generic lead type then she was.
A lot of the back story or implied backstory, that was neat.
The whole idea of everyone being at the small town basketball game, and the way that was shot, just wonderful.
How everyone know each other, that was just great.
This is a movie that has long talkie sequences of people telling you stories not showing them, it would seem to go against all cinematic storytelling conventions, especially sci-fi, yet it worked.
The ending worked for me to, completely set up, yet somehow I didn't see it coming.
***
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