Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
A Night Like This is about two men who are at low points in their lives meet in a bar and spend the night wandering the streets of London.
The film opens on a December night with Lukas (Jack Brett Anderson) standing on a bridge contemplating suicide. As he looks down at the water, he loses his nerve and steps back, then walks away. He goes into a pub, where he sits at the bar and orders a beer. As he’s drinking in peace, Oliver (Alexander Lincoln), walks up and tries to talk the bartender into giving him a free drink. When the bartender refuses him service, Oliver steals Lukas’s beer. Instead of getting a replacement, Lukas leaves.
Later that evening, Lukas runs into Oscar on a bus. When Oscar recognizes Lukas, he approaches him and starts telling him his troubles. Lukas begrudgingly participates in the conversation and warms up to him. Their chat continues from the bus to another bar, and with that the movie begins.
Some Thoughts:
A Night Like This is a film about self-discovery and revelations that tries so hard to be smart that it quickly becomes dull and tiresome. It centers on two characters, which means their interactions must be engaging enough to hold the viewer’s attention. Well, that’s not the case, and to make things worse, Oliver is so annoying that you’ll want to turn it off the moment he steps into frame. In fact, he’s so obnoxious that it’s hard to believe that Lukas would bother talking to him, never mind hanging out with him for a night. There is a bit of chemistry between them, but it’s not enough to suffer through this slop. Add on dialog that tries too hard to be smart and situations that feel forced, and you’ll be hard pressed to watch more than twenty minutes before reaching for the remote to turn it off.
While the cinematography is fine, it doesn’t stand out. There are a few attempts at delivering a visually striking moment, but they’re so forced and unnatural that they look like bad stock footage. The biggest offender being the scene where they go to a club where everybody is wearing headphones.
The only good things about this movie are Lincoln and Anderson, who try their best to breathe life into a crappy script. Although their portrayals are admirable, that dialog works against them. In fact, they’re the only reason I’m giving this mess two stars.
The Final Verdict:
A Night Like This is a tedious mess of a film that nobody wants to see.