![]() The only real critique I have in terms of the film’s craft is in its editing. ![]() ![]() It perfectly encapsulates Juliet’s inner turmoil as her place in the school and in the world becomes unclear, reflecting the dissonance she feels as a modern woman playing old music, and as a sibling struggling to move past her sister’s shadow. The soundtrack is also well done and effective, making heavy use of classical pieces reflecting modern sensibilities: lots of minimalism and dissonance. The tracking shots also do a good job at layering, peeling away different foreground and midground visual layers to reveal a complete picture. These techniques, demonstrated in the opening shot, are mirrored throughout the film, most effectively at the end in a haunting slow zoom-out. There’s also so much to unpack in the opening shot, and Nocturne fulfills the promise of the opening shot by answering the questions it represents in a satisfying way. The color is complemented beautifully by the lighting, and it all works together to quickly set the tone for the rest of the movie. I’m a big sucker for long tracking shots, and the film opens with one that uses several excellent silhouettes and tableaus intermingling with a subdued but effective color palette. My favorite part of Nocturne has to be Carmen Cabana’s cinematography: it’s beautiful. Madison Iseman as Vi and Sydney Sweeney as Juliet in NOCTURNE (Amazon Studios) It’s well-paced with a heavy reliance on atmosphere, and led to an ambiguous ending that will make your palms sweaty. While I don’t consider Nocturne to be particularly scary, it at least is aware of its genre, effectively uses a good horror atmosphere and aesthetics, and takes the time to remind you that, yes, this is a horror movie, and it’s not afraid to admit it. For some reason, I keep seeing self-proclaimed horror movies that avoid presenting themselves as horror films until after the halfway mark. ![]() It’s odd for me to have to specify this, but it was refreshing to have a horror movie that actually establishes itself as a horror movie early on, instead of shoehorning in the horror elements in the final act. Juliet’s fortunes begin to change, however, when she discovers the mysterious notebook of a recently deceased classmate. Juliet ( Sydney Sweeney, who turns out an excellent performance) has always been in the shadow of her more accomplished sister and fellow pianist Vivian ( Madison Iseman). Nocturne is the most recent film to take a crack at the sibling rivalry trope, this time making it between two musical prodigies studying at a prestigious arts high school. With such a robust history, any new film or story to take on the trope must find a way to keep it fresh, or risk being overshadowed by all that came before it. Time and again, sibling rivalries have been a goldmine for cinematic drama for decades, as well as in literature and legends for millenia ( Thor & Loki, Kane & Abel, and Romulus & Remus all come to mind). We’ve seen everything from Jane and Blanche Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Dottie Hinson and Kit Keller in A League of Their Own, Ramses and Moses in The Prince of Egypt, Faramir and Boromir in The Lord of the Rings, Michael and Fredo Corleone in The Godfather Part II, and Scar and Mufasa in The Lion King. We’ve all seen the story of the two rival siblings, one being the favorite and the other struggling to catch up. From ancient grudge break new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. It’s a tale as old as time: two siblings, both alike in dignity, in (what I’m assuming is) fair Southern California, where we lay our scene. Though low on frights, Nocturne is a good addition to the well-traveled “sibling rivalry” trope that boasts strong direction and visuals.
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