A stirring mystery that slowly unfolds scene by scene, Beyond the Night follows Ray Marrow (Zane Holtz) on his journey from soldier to single father after losing his wife to a tragic car crash.
Enveloped in grief and stress from both his wife’s death and his experiences in war, Ray has to find his footing as a single father to his son Lawrence (Azhy Robertson). His son Lawrence is a precocious little boy with a distinctive birthmark that covers the majority of the left side of his face.
Though the story follows Ray, Lawrence becomes the centerpiece of the small town’s undoing. He ignites a consequential series of events by simply saying one name, July Rain. We soon find out that the case of July Rain, a teenage girl who went missing, was a never solved. Therefore, she is never spoken of by anyone in the gritty, working class town. July Rain’s absence manages to linger over the town—a threat to their mundane, ordinary lives.
But there’s Lawrence who departs from the norm physically and metaphysically. Though Lawrence never met July Rain, he knows very intricate details about her life. This makes Ray and his sister Caroline consider it as a sign of clairvoyance or simply child make believe. Writer, Director Jason Noto plays with the idea of reincarnation in a way that mirrors real life stories like that of Shanti Devi. Shanti Devi was a child who claimed that she had a past life as a married woman from another town. Shanti visited the town and was able to recall very specific details, like Lawrence. And those intimate details that Lawrence knows about July Rain helps reopen her case.
The concept of the film in interesting, but the character development in the story could go deeper. While we get a chance to see Ray’s struggle, possibly with post-traumatic stress disorder, it never resurfaces again. There also are key scenes that show Ray’s evolving relationship and lack of patience with Lawrence. More of those glimpses into their imperfect father-son relationship would have supported that emotional connection.
We also get a look into what Lawrence knows about July Rain through his actions. The story nicely ties in minute details about July Rain that perceptive viewers will enjoy watching unfold through scenes. It would have been interesting to see the story from Lawrence’s point of view. He adds complexity to the story as a young child dealing with the loss of a parent while also grappling with this unusual connection to July Rain.
Beyond the Night seems to only scratch the surface of what ends up driving it forward—what happened to July Rain. Lawrence gives us an understanding of who she was on the surface. Yet, we never really quite get to know the girl who shook this small town with her disappearance.
The unanswered questions throughout the film leave a void, but then again it is a story that revolves around death. And death does create the feeling of emptiness. This dark mystery gives viewers a chance to consider the what-ifs of reincarnation, the impact of death, and the consequences of both. And not without surprises along the way. You can see this suspenseful film on January 11, 2019.