The Night Clerk is a (2020) fresh movie on Netflix starring Tye Sheridan along with Ana de Armas, Helen Hunt, John Leguizamo, and Johnathon Schaech. All of them deliver really good performances, but this movie is mostly about Tye Sheridan’s character.

You’ll probably have guessed many plot points ahead of time, but since the movie is very character-driven, it’s still worth watching. Also, at just 90 minutes, it does have a tight story and pace.
 
Rainman at the Hotel

You may have seen people describe The Night Clerk as Rainman at a hotel. And it’s not entirely wrong. The main protagonist, Bart (Tye Sheridan), is on the spectrum. More specifically, he has Aspergers and works very hard at functioning in the world. He watches people and imitates them to get better at interactions.

Also, he works as a night clerk (hence the title) at a hotel. Actually, he also uses this job to set up cameras everywhere so that he can really study people. He honestly does not have any sinister or dirty intensions. Instead, he looks at the most mundane exchanges and tries to imitate the dialogue to use later in real-life situations.

Tye Sheridan (who I adored in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse) does a great job at this portrayal. My only real issue with the character is when they continue to speak of people with Aspergers being very violent. If that’s actually the case, then it’s definitely news to me.

Also, he isn’t violent in this movie, so we’re talking about facts being shared. Not Bart’s behavior in The Night Clerk.


Watch The Night Clerk on Netflix now

The Night Clerk is written and directed by Michael Cristofer. This is only his fifth movie as a director and the first since Original Sin from 2001. Prior to that one, he directed the biopic Gia (1998) and both starred Angelina Jolie at the beginning of her career. Before working in movies, Michael Cristofer won a Tony award for directing on Broadway.

As a writer, Michael Cristofer was behind movies such as The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990). Honestly, this new movie is nothing like any of these movies. Well, except for the fact that they’re all very character-driven.

If you decide to check out The Night Clerk, then be ready for a slow-burn drama that focuses on its interesting characters. Sure, this is a crime-mystery as well, but you’ll guess most of it ahead of time. In other words, enjoy the good acting and you should be well entertained.

The Night Clerk is out on Netflix from June 6, 2020.

Details

Director: Michael Cristofer
Writer: Michael Cristofer
Stars: Tye Sheridan, Ana de Armas, Helen Hunt, John Leguizamo, Johnathon Schaech

Plot

After a charming guest checks in, a voyeuristic hotel clerk on the autism spectrum becomes a suspect in a murder that takes place during his shift.