No, I’m not saying Nocturne is as good, as messed up, as cult-driven, or as disturbing as Midsommar. But the vibe, visual brilliances, and flow of Nocturne absolutely made me think of it!
Nocturne, directed and written by Zu Quirke, is the second of the “Welcome to the Blumhouse” October Prime Video releases that I’ve watched and reviewed. So far, I’m enjoying these features quite a bit, but there are six more to go, as I understand it.
Nocturne is the classic case of ‘careful what you wish for, you might not like what you get’. Juliet, the protagonist of this movie, who is receiving what she desires in return for some eminent dark fate, doesn’t even seem to enjoy the ride!
The storyline follows Juliet, who is a high school attendee at an elite musician’s school. She is envious of her sister’s achievements. Vivian, the sister, has the lead piano seat in a Senior's final performance concerto, which is a big thing for the future of musicianship for that person. She has the stellar boyfriend, the great looks and smile, and everyone seems to prefer her over the languid, depressive, darker sister who seems to always lurk in Vivian’s shadow.
Juliet happens upon a notebook that contains weird drawings, backward writing, and written music. Turns out, this book belonged to a lead star violin schoolmate who had everything going her way, until she threw herself from the top of a building. As Juliet studies the book and plays the music within, things start to change in her favor. The enigmatic notebook turns out to be somewhat of a soothsaying item showing Juliet events to come, or that have already happened.
Does she stop here to think that something dark and sinister may be behind the driving forces providing her the sudden good fortunes?
Nah! She’s liking the newfound attention. Why would she stop, or, even consider what happened to the previous owner of the book? She wouldn't, because this is a horror movie! I love it!
Things continue to go in favor of Juliet to the point where she’s starting to overcome her sister’s greatness and wins her the lead role in the concerto her sister was supposed to have. The limelight is too great for Juliet to turn her on. As her rise to potential fame continues upward, conversely, bad events worsen.
The movie itself is a slow burn. Which is partly why I likened it to Midsommar. The gradual climb through the story was done with finesse and deliberate efficiency. Perhaps they were portraying the pace of a classical music piece in the form of a movie where the tension ramps up to the strenuous boiling point conclusion.
Nocturne is more of a Psychological Thriller but it's not without supernatural/horror aspects thrown into the mix. Juliet, in essence, has struck a Faustian accord to get everything she wants. Fame, the boy, to surpass her sister’s existence over her own. There was a lot of color visually, but not much color as far as the overall tone of the movie. Depressed and cold, like the main character, the story is not very bright, which was deliberate. That is, until the aberration driving her good fortunes appears to her.
In several Bloody Reel podcast episodes, we’ve discussed Velvet Buzzsaw, and how we get a fantastical glimpse into the high-priced elite art selling business through the lens of a horror story. Nocturne focuses on the stresses high schoolers are put through to succeed as a musician in the world as they seek musical perfection. The lengths to which Juliet, and others in the movie, would go for that success surpasses the care of friends and family members. And, how it becomes their ‘life’ in all their practicing and performing.
I’m curious how this movie lands with those who have not played an instrument in high school bands, in battles for first chair, or those who don’t really care for classical music. Would it be viewed as boring, someone just clanging away on a piano? Would they like this movie? Personally, I feel like the music in Nocturne was beautiful and brilliant. Whomever owns the hands playing the piano for those scenes is really freaking talented!
Another positive of Nocturne was the acting. Sydney Sweeney played the role of Juliet, the depressed understudy full of envy of her sister, just perfectly. She definitely steals the show. Madison Iseman, Vivan the sister, did a great job as well.
And the ending. There’s already differing opinions on the ending. I feel like it was pretty clear to me what happened, but others are confused by the close out. And some are even upset that horror movies lately have been leaving people hanging with little to no explanation. (See my last review post on “Hosts” ha!) You would just have to see for yourself and make your own decision on that!
Overall, I really liked Nocturne. Not sure I’d watch it again, but I suggest at least one watch through if what I’ve described above seems interesting to you!
Now…on to the next Blumhouse releases….
Nocturne
Released: 2020
Rating: Not Rated
Director: Zu Quirke
Writers: Zu Quirke
IMDB Rating: 5.6 out of 10
Metascore: 56 out of 100
Rotten Tomatoes: 60%
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
Free Streaming as of this Blog: Prime Video
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