Night Moves – reviews of 'riveting' eco-terrorism thriller

What you need to know

American eco-terrorism thriller Night Moves is released in UK cinemas today. Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy) has co-written and directed the film starring Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) and Dakota Fanning.

It tells the story of environmentalists Josh (Eisenberg) and Dena (Fanning), who join forces with ex-Marine and adrenaline junkie Harmon (Peter Sarsgaard) in a plot to blow up a hydroelectric dam they see as a symbol of the energy-sucking consumer society they despise.

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What the critics like

Reichardt directs this slow-burning suspense thriller about eco-terrorists "with the concision and elegance of a chess master", says Dana Stevens on Slate. It's surprisingly devoid of moralising with an unexpected ending you could argue about all night.

Reichardt's thriller is "as tightly wound and gripping as a thumb-screw", says Robbie Collin in the Daily Telegraph. This is mesmerically assured film-making, with complex and plausible performances at its core, and the shin-stinging kick of a Chaucerian moral fable.

"Gripping, smart and well-tooled, this greenies-on-a-mission movie gives terrific build-up and a riveting central set-piece," says Ian Freer in Empire. Eisenberg, Fanning and Sarsgaard do well to make their cold, curt characters count, but Reichardt is careful not to lionise these eco-avengers.

What they don't like

"The final act arguably pushes the tale into more conventional, even lurid genre territory," says Xan Brooks in The Guardian. But, no matter, Reichardt is an ace with a teasing, hanging ending and here she saves the best for last.