Night Moves: a crime film about a bad detective

I did not know exactly what to expect from Arthur Penn’s Night Moves before I watched it, but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was not your average overdone crime film.The main character (Moseby) is not a genius detective that follows a trail throughout the film and is then rewarded by his big find at the end. Rather, he is not only flawed but actively misses clues throughout the story, culminating in an ending this is not satisfying but instead hopeless. He technically “solves” the case, but not purposefully, and fails to save anyone.

I really appreciated Moseby’s character. He is imperfect and painfully ignorant, but despite there being signs of this all around him, he still continues to try with good intentions. And yet, he gets a bad ending. It is depressing, but it is real: the story doesn’t try to glorify or glamorize this tragically human character.