Nightingale

"There's no escaping your own mind."

2014 1h 23m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🍅

82%

FRESH

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 54🍅82%Rotten Tomatoes★6.4IMDB · 2,088

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A dangerously unstable man addresses the unseen followers of his video log about his obsession with an old army buddy.

“There's no escaping your own mind.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

David Oyelowo
Peter Snowden
Barlow Jacobs
Robert Beasley (voice)
Heather Storm
Newscaster (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Elliott Lester
Writers: Frederick Mensch
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Elliott Lester, shot by Pieter Vermeer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mark D. Todd. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nicholas Wayman-Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

David Oyelowo and Barlow Jacobs and Heather Storm carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "There's no escaping your own mind.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3042800 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Elliott Lester directs. Pieter Vermeer behind the camera. Mark D. Todd scores. Nicholas Wayman-Harris cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 12 years ago.
3Directed by Elliott Lester, shot by Pieter Vermeer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Mark D. Todd. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Nicholas Wayman-Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6David Oyelowo and Barlow Jacobs and Heather Storm carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "There's no escaping your own mind.".
8IMDB entry: tt3042800 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 54 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Pieter Vermeer
Original score: Mark D. Todd
Editing: Nicholas Wayman-Harris
Production design: Richard Lassalle
Costume design: Bic Owen
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Nightingale (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 2,088 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. 4 wins & 12 nominations total

Also by

Elliott Lester

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2015-10-04
★ 7/10
How big deal is hosting a dinner for an old friend? Executive produced by Brad Pitt and distributed by HBO. The film partially inspired by the real event. The British actor David Oyelowo stars in this one man show. Nominated for the Emmy Awards, but he has won the Critics Choice Television Awards for his brilliant performance. That mean Critics loved it, but what movie fanatics say is yet to know. Along, the movie's fate (not commercially) will be decided by the common people who follow either critics or film fanatics or the both. So it begins when an ex soldier, Peter wanted to invite his fellow buddy, Edward from the army for a dinner. Just for one evening, but his mother and Ed's wife are the obstacle. It is a big deal for Peter and he's very obsessed with it, because they haven't met since 18 years. It looks silly, but the story progression is to tell how serious it could get. Drags until the final minute, develops the story in every possible fresh angle, but still revolves around the same theme. Not that hard to predict, but how it all ends remains our intense lookout. The presentation is very deceiving. You would see everything and believe it instantly, but you won't hear everything you see. I am talking about the phone calls that you can't hear the conversation from the other side of the line. That is where the doubts arise, because there's no confirmation of anything. You probably think there might be a hidden message or something and you want to decode it. It might confuse you what I'm babbling, but you will realise while you begin to watch it. "I see now that my whole life has pointed to this moment." So, if you have not seen it yet, my small suggestion is there are layers, especially the screenplay. They are not quite in order, but when Peter connects with other people, mostly with phone calls it also reveals his mental health condition. Excluding the beginning, when later part proceeds that discloses he trapped himself inside the house. Only the next half where the movie somewhat gives a glimpse of the surrounding exterior. It seems like Peter is blogging and revealing his present situation for millions of people online. Frankly, I never get those parts. But todays people are hooked to the internet, expects opinions from the strangers about their personal lives. When the film reaches the halfway mark, by then somewhat you come to know about the Peter and what is his motive, but mystery remains as we don't know the people he keeps in touch with. This psychological-drama was shot in a single location with the character Peter almost in every frame. Finely written screenplay by a newcomer and helmed by the 'Blitz' director. The movie was 80 minutes long, uses all the opportunities to fill the loopholes, but still few remains. Better to call it unsettled plot rather to label them as the flaws. Very original and so distinctive, one of this year's rare and special movie, but not a spectacular. And my final words, the less you learn, the more you are going to enjoy the film and you would hardly miss any important stuff. 7/10

Production companies