Student journalist Charlie Chambers (Chosen Jacobs) always past the same woods heading home. But one night he stumbles upon two dead bodies he's familiar with. His neighbor, Chrissy Monroe (Kristine Froseth), and his teacher, Mr. Carpenter (Mark Duplass). The picture of them soaked in their blood haunted Charlie. That is when he decided to write what happened on that unfortunate night. Simultaneously, two suspects are being investigated by the police. Brad Kirchoff (Ben Ahler), Chrissy's on-and-off boyfriend, who's unaware of his girlfriend cheating. And Casper Tatum (Sam Strike), a delinquent youth. Things got complicated when Becky Monroe (Sophie Thatcher) gets acquainted with both characters."When The Streetlights Go On" shows the aftermath of a murder and the changes it causes in the life of teenagers. Directed by Rebecca Tomas this coming-of-age mystery movie is poignant and intriguing. It's also one of the pioneer movies featured on the new streaming platform, Quibi.
Quibi is a mobile application that's devoted to showing short-form programming. The entirety of the platform's catalog is only 8-10 minutes long. And as for someone who has a certain aversion toward TV series' length, 10 minutes per chapter works fine with me. Quibi also offers a novel and interesting way of film viewing. It breaks down a two-hour movie into chapters called "quick bites." This enables the audience to comprehend the story better.
"When the Streetlights Go On" is an 8 minute per episode movie that spans for 10 chapters. This allows Tomas to deliver an intimate movie with emphasis on story development.
A movie that resembles Rob Reiner's "Stand by Me.". "When the Streetlights Go On" is a coming-of-age and whodunit hybrid movie. It follows the narration of Charlie as he recounts the murder that happened in 1995. The kid in question here is Casper Tatum, who people believe is a no-good youth. Well, the kid is stereotypical. He plays in a rock band; he drives a loud motorcycle and he has records of delinquencies though never murder. But he's more human than what he appears to be as he developed this huge crush on Becky Monroe. Brad, who also has some affection towards Becky, did not appreciate this. He believes that Casper is a ruthless murderer. In the end, the movie leaves us a question. Do we accuse because of facts? Or because someone fits into the narrative we have in our mind?
"When the Streetlights Go On" is, no question, the must-watch film of Quibi for its target audience. And to be honest, it did had the talent on its belt to convince us. All the casts did a remarkable job of portraying their characters. Their youth and talent fit well into this mystery drama, no doubt.
But there is one actress that feels underutilized. That is Queen Latifah who plays the police in charge of the case, Detective Grasso. The Academy Award nominee sees only around 5-8 minutes of screen time with a lazy dialogue. This movie feels like a disservice to the actress as we see her character become a decoration.
The story is also overloaded with tropes. This leads to the narrative to meander and wander towards the end. With all honesty though, this movie can be shorter than what it is now. If only it didn't try so hard to be a 90's nostalgia film.
Going into Quibi, I have concerns about whether 8 minutes isn't enough to tell a story. And with this movie, my concern seems to be true. In a very ironic way, time is the platform's biggest strength and weakness. It's hard to invest in the characters when the video is only 8 minutes short unlike in a two-hour movie. Also, the focus of the story shifts as fast as it proceeds to the next chapter. The platform might make storytelling easy, but it also weakens the movie-audience connection. Though this is only one movie in a plethora of shows, the platform has. But if first-impression means anything, Quibi has some serious problem to resolve.
"When the Streetlights Go On" is as lost and curious as its characters. The performances are impressive and the concept fits well with the casts talents. Yet it didn't stick it's landing for me. Quibi is an interesting platform, but this movie might not be the right movie to start the experience.
2/5
