Day Night Day Night

Day Night Day Night follows Luisa Williams’ unnamed protagonist as she’s meticulously armed with a bomb by faceless men and sent out onto the streets of New York City. Writer/director Julia Loktev quickly proves to have little interest in offering up a traditional narrative; with the emphasis placed on a series of seemingly mundane events involving Williams’ character, it’s not difficult to imagine most viewers checking out early. But even through the Day Night Day Night‘s less-than-eventful stretches, including the opening half hour, which essentially revolves around Williams’ efforts to kill time in a hotel room, there’s something strangely fascinating about all of this, and it’s clear that Williams’ striking, thoroughly authentic performance plays a key role in the film’s success. The actress ensures that even trivial moments (eg she eats a candied apple from start to finish) are infused with a palpable feeling of suspense, and it’s ultimately quite difficult not to sympathize with her character’s plight (even if we never learn all that much about her or the cause for which she’s willing to die). Loktev does an effective job of maintaining the tense atmosphere for virtually the entirety of Day Night Day Night, although, admittedly, the movie does start to run out of steam as it enters its third act (with this problem exacerbated by a frustratingly open-ended conclusion).

*** out of ****