“I went away to see an old friend of mine/his sister came over/she was out of her mind” — Sonic Youth, “Schizophrenia“
Coming in at a crisp ninety-three minutes with not a single wasted shot or extraneous moment, Fabrice Gobert’s directorial debut “Lights Out” was a refreshing palate-cleanser late in the Cannes schedule, providing relief to the seemingly endless stream of Very Important Movies. With a score composed by Sonic Youth and a mystery that doubles as an insight to the tenuous and intangible qualities of those late sex-obsessed teenage years, “Lights Out” is a clever drama masquerading as a murder mystery.
Set in the early 1990s, though thankfully not thuddingly referred to (giveaways are a t-shirt worn by one of the characters for Sonic Youth’s 1992 album “Goo,” and another lead character using a Walkman), the film’s structure is certainly nothing new. As it opens, two kids leaving a party decide to cut through the nearby woods when they stumble upon a dead body. Cue opening credits. Afterwards, we follow the events leading up to the body in the woods with a chapter devoted to four main characters: Jeremy, Alice, Rabier and finally Simon (the victim and titular character in the original French title for the film “Simon Werner a disparu”). What emerges over the course of each of these entries is a portrait of a high school’s inner workings, social structure and the mysterious actions between students and staff.
What Gobert does so well in this picture is capture the oddities of high school life and the personas that circle it that so often randomly shape the perception any one student receives. When the film opens, Gobert plays things out almost like an Agatha Christie novel. It isn’t long before everybody is a suspect, each with their own curious reasons that may have wanted Simon dead. But as the film goes on, and Gobert peels back the onion layers of his film, the mysterious meetings, enigmatic glances and out of context moments (there are several key scenes which play a different perspective in each chapter) are logically, realistically explained. In doing so, Gobert’s depiction of high school is probably one of the most accurate put to screen: egos bruise easily, sexual desire runs unrestrained and any deviation from the norm is viewed with both suspicion and derision from the gatekeepers of the acceptable and status quo.
So who killed Simon and why? While we obviously won’t tell you here, its the ending of the film that will most likely divide audiences. Gobert’s final reveal of the killer both confirms Simon’s classmates’ uneasy feeling about his death and the subsequent disappearance. Viewers may not agree with how or who the writer/director pins these crimes on. However, we contend that his choice is actually more terrifying than anything we could’ve dreamed up. As revealed, the very nature of the crime means that even at the close of the film the terror that struck the school, and still lies in the students’ hearts, will never be locked away and is still out there in the world to strike them at any time in their lives. And yes, we know we’re being vague here but we’re doing our best to keep as much of the film’s conclusion under wraps until you see it for yourself.
We can’t really remember the last high school set debut that surprised us this thoroughly, but Rian Johnson’s “Brick” would be a good comparison point. Both films use specific genre conventions to add a new spin on the setting to an utterly compelling degree. Extra thumbs up to the eerie score by Sonic Youth that while not particularly flashy and pretty minimal, creates the mood for the film perfectly (also look out for songs by Tom Waits, The Cure and the aforementioned Sonic Youth track — used multiple times — in the film as well). Gobert arrives in a big way with “Lights Out” and we’re curious to see where he goes next. His steady eye and nuanced hand, combined with a distinct feel for editing and pacing, make him an exciting new talent to watch and “Lights Out” a film worth tracking down. [A]