Eat the Night is a new dramatic thriller heading to a theater near you. It follows two siblings who share an obsession with the online video game Darknoon. When the developers announce they will shut down the game soon, the siblings’ unbreakable bond is tested. Apolline (Lila Gueneau) becomes more attached to the game, attempting to spend as much time as possible in this world before it is gone forever. Meanwhile, Pablo (Théo Cholbi) abandons his sister as he falls for Night (Erwan Kepoa Falé) and gets in over his head with rival drug dealers.
Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel have directed a very nice drama with a queer romance at its center. While that’s not what most of us came to this thriller expecting, it does not make it an awful movie. The sooner you realize this is a drama with a few moments of violence, the sooner you adjust to the world. Eat the Night is very much a story about three young people who are adrift desperately looking for connection.
Apo’s world is the video game (that I wish we had gotten more time with), and she has difficulty communicating via any other means. This is why she is initially standoffish with her brother’s new boyfriend. Pablo is a small-time drug dealer who seems to be in love for the first time. He does not understand how much the end of Darknoon means to his sister because he does not need it as much as she does. His disappearing into his new relationship while growing his drug business is part of the reason she cannot let the game go. She knows they have little in common in the real world, and the game keeps them bonded to each other. Eat the Night is very much about two siblings growing apart after spending countless hours forging a bond.
The script, penned by Poggi, Vinel, and Guillaume Bréaud, is reminiscent of 1990s after-school specials. They add quite a few sex scenes, but it still feels very safe and predictable. The movie is not Earth-shattering or remarkable. However, a few moments reminded me of bonding with some of my siblings over random video games we made it our mission to beat. Eat the Night made me want to text some of them to see if they remembered cheat codes or if they know what happened to our old Nintendo systems. This is not what most of us come to the genre for, but it proves the film was effective in one regard.
Eat the Night’s “thrilling” moments feel akin to most doomed lover narratives. We know Pablo is pissing the wrong people off. We know his boyfriend, Night, will get caught up in the crossfire. Smart audience members will also surmise that Pablo will get revenge for what was done to his boyfriend. However, we keep waiting for this to connect with Apo and the game. I wish I could tell you these threads connect in a way that blows your mind. Sadly, it culminates in the siblings realizing they will miss their time in Darknoon and with each other—yet another obvious conclusion to round out a rather obvious film.
The biggest problem with Eat the Night is that it tries to shove a few different movies into one film. This results in none of the ideas, characters, or relationships getting fully fleshed out. It also makes it noncommital toward any of the genres it flirts with. It denies the audience a payoff for whatever thread they were rooting for because the ending further squanders any potential. The film instead goes for an emotional moment and misses before cutting to the credits. While I have no doubt this movie will find a few fans, possibly people who miss 90s after-school specials, I cannot say it is a great use of time. However, we have all seen so much worse that I cannot be too mad at this.
Eat the Night will be available in select theaters starting January 10. Check the website for more details.
