Written and directed by leading actor Brent Baird, a womanizing alcoholic and the son of one of his flings become unlikely friends throughout the course of one night that may change both of them forever. Also starring: Pete Comrie, Jacqueline Godbout, Myke Armstrong, Rafia Iqbal and Marissa Rasmussen.
One of the most impactful choices that a film can make is to create hidden layers, to make you believe you know what it is and then reveal something much different and unexpected. That’s what you get with A Night with Nathan, its hidden depth is a delightful, moving surprise. Beginning as something jovial, masculine and a tad sleazy but eventually finding a strongly sincere path to take it much further. Especially as it goes on to tackle a very difficult subject and does so with patience and sensitivity, it completely rewrites the film into something touching and meaningful.
While it eventually finds that touch of sweetness and genuine emotion, it does take a rather long time to get there. The opening isn’t very strong and struggles to match the tone of its visual with the use of music, feeling somewhat chaotic yet slow. As the initial scenes revolve so strongly around Pete Comrie’s Stan, it struggles to get going. It’s resting the first impression of the film upon, what seems to be, an incredibly selfish, uncaring character, not giving you too much to invest in at that point. It could have been aided by a bigger comedic note, something to offset the everyday feel and pick the energy up faster. Something that would have especially suited Stan, who can be reckless and drinks far too much.
However, though A Night with Nathan is asking you to bear with it and be patient, it’s worth it, for the performances especially. Brent Baird and Pete Comrie present extremely different characters, but each find a form of evolution, they aren’t the same people by the time the night ends. It’s a journey that’s surprisingly satisfying and affecting to watch, they have a natural friendship and find a compassion between one another that they don’t always hold for others. Baird’s Nathan is charming, reliable and vulnerable, whereas Comrie’s Stan is rough around the edges and self-destructive yet is empathetic and has the gift of the gab. Although his repeated infidelity feels like it’s overly given a free pass and not really treated as the violation and betrayal that it would be in real life.
A Night with Nathan is an unexpectedly moving exploration of masculinity and intimacy. It does ask you to be a little patient but it’s worth the wait to discover its hidden depths that add priceless weight to this story. The friendship that Brent Baird and Pete Comrie build as Nathan and Stan is incredibly genuine and organic, it’s really enjoyable to see them clash while eventually pushing each other where they need to go. The directorial style is nicely simple to keep a humble focus, rather than getting carried away in the chaos. The comedy could be a little stronger and it doesn’t start out on the best footing, but it undoubtedly gets there in the end and creates a touching story.
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