Let's try to figure out whether it's worth watching the film «The Night Clerk» starring Tye Sheridan and Ana de Armas.

After almost 19 years of «silence», Michael Cristofer, director of films «Seduction» and «Gia», presented to the public a new work called «The Night Clerk». The film starring Tye Sheridan and Ana de Armas was intended by the author to be a thrilling and unpredictable thriller, but did Cristofer manage to realize his vision on screen?

Atypical protagonist

At the center of the story of the film «The Night Clerk» is a young guy named Bart (Sheridan), who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, which does not prevent him from working at a hotel. Bart has problems with social communication, so secretly from everyone he monitors hotel guests using hidden cameras, in particular studying their remarks that can be applied in practice.

Bart's measured life comes to an end when a murder occurs at the hotel, and he himself becomes a suspect in the crime. To avoid stressing the boy, management transfers him to another hotel. It is here that he meets the beautiful Andrea (de Armas), who shows unexpected sympathy for him.

Using a «special» person in the plot is a clever screenwriting move, since viewers can expect anything from such a character. But if at the concept level it looks, if not fresh, then at least intriguing, the implementation of the idea in this film noticeably falters.

We learn literally everything about Bart himself in the first few minutes of the film, and no further development is provided for the character. Yes, we are shown a number of interesting emotional scenes with the hero, but they do not reveal his personality from a new side. Sheridan does a pretty good job in these moments, although, to be honest, Freddie Highmore in the role of an autistic person from «The Good Doctor» looks much more convincing.

Weak detective component

As a detective, the film «The Night Clerk» does not work at all. There is no intrigue in it, because the killer is shown to us in passing at the very beginning, and then a character who could be that same criminal is clumsily introduced. Despite the attempts of the detective played by noticeably aged John Leguizamo to frame Bart with evidence, it is impossible to believe in them; they look too forced. So it turns out that the viewer just has to wait for the ending, which they initially imagine.

To somehow add excitement to the story, Michael Cristofer decided to introduce a femme fatale and a «plot twist» that will involuntarily make you want to facepalm while watching. Ana de Armas squeezes the maximum out of her extremely flat character, and their chemistry with Sheridan in several scenes is the best thing in the film.

Is it worth watching the film «The Night Clerk»?

Cristofer's past achievements did not help him make a truly interesting and engaging movie. If it weren't for the talented actors in the lead roles (we haven't even mentioned Helen Hunt as Bart's mother), then «The Night Clerk» would have become an unattractive B-movie, which it essentially is.

Trailer: