The title of this film, and seeing Tye Sheridan and Ana de Armas as part of the cast piqued my interest. This is a fascinating crime thriller that addresses security concerns. As someone who travels occasionally, it's an eye-opener and I'm encouraged to be more security conscious when staying in hotels. Don't fret—it's not troubling but one of the themes highlights hotel surveillance vis-a-vis personal privacy.
The Night Clerk (2020) focuses on Bart (Tye Sheridan), a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome, working as the night clerk in a hotel. It's the norm for him to hide cameras in the rooms and watch the occupants for the purpose of learning how to talk to people and socialise. Then the unexpected happens when a young woman checks into the hotel and Bart watches her engage in a violent altercation with a man. He races to the room to help just as a shot rings out.
Bart finds the woman is dead and the assailant gone. He becomes the prime suspect leading to a chain of events where he becomes infatuated with another guest, Andrea (Ana de Armas). Can the police solve the murder case without Bart's help? Why does Bart keep the video recordings a secret? What is Andrea's connection to the killer?
Review
I enjoy murder mysteries and the plot of this one is quite intriguing because of Bart's character and the acting. The storytelling is even-paced and captivating as the pieces are slowly put together. I mean, who would suspect that a person on the spectrum can identify the culprit and solve a murder? Even the culprit in this film was confident Bart, considering his disability, would take the fall for his misdeed.
Tye Sheridan embodied the role of Bart perfectly in my opinion. I may not know much about Asperger’s Syndrome but once I started to watch Sheridan's mannerism from the first scene, I knew the character was on the spectrum.
His character evokes empathy because normal activities like socialising that most people take for granted requires quite an effort on his part. I like that he's tech savvy and somehow saved the day when he could have easily been implicated in the murder case.
Like most murder mysteries, there's always a femme fatale and Ana de Armas plays this role beautifully. She often does in all her movies. She's sexy, appears vulnerable even and convincing such that Bart becomes infatuated with her. Their chemistry is sizzling and convincing. They are interesting and keep the audience's attention such that we almost missed the killer and don't immediately realise Andrea's connection in the story until later.
I enjoy how the story unfolds and particularly commend Ana de Armas’ and Sheridan's acting but I kept waiting for the film to go a little further. The promise of more thrills is there but sadly, it's cut short as the film ends with the arrest of the culprit. I didn't like that John Leguizamo didn’t do much as a police detective and the iconic Helen Hunt who plays Bart's mother is given less screen time. Their roles are solid but their skills weren't put to much use.
Overall, The Night Clerk is a fine crime thriller but it can be better. The visuals and pace are impressive. I give the plot and acting A plus. There's a bit of suspense but not enough tension and thriller to hold my attention for too long. If you love crime thrillers, you might enjoy this one.
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Other images are screenshots from the movie
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