Kelly Reichardt's cool, composed eco-thriller “Night Moves” is pretty much the definition of a slow burner: I saw the film at its Venice premiere and was aloofly impressed, only for it to have wormed its way under my skin by the time I reviewed it a few days later. Six months on, I find my mind wandering back to its snaky ambiguities — it's one that probably should have placed on my Best of 2013 list, and certainly seals Reichardt's place in the top ranks of American independent auteurs.
Anyway, “Night Moves” is creeping back on the radar again: next month, it'll play at the Tribeca Film Festival, while indie distributor Cinedigm will release it in the US on May 30. An American trailer has yet to surface, but this French one (France, funnily enough, will be the first territory to release the film next month) does a good job of establishing the film's setup, the subtle terrors that ensue and the fine work on show by Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard and, in particular, Jesse Eisenberg.
It's all a bit more pumped-up than what Reichardt has done — this may be a genre diversion for her, but it's still very much the work of the woman behind “Meek's Cutoff” and “Wendy and Lucy” — but hey, it sells the movie. It makes me hungry to see it again, for starters.