Los Angeles Overnight Review

A tightly wound psychological thriller that projects a dark, creepy atmosphere that reflects our protagonists mind-set.

Set in present-day Hollywood, this film examines the fine line between nurturing a dream and fueling an obsession—and what happens when you cross it.

After years of futile struggle on L.A.’s grueling audition circuit, would-be actress Priscilla Anders is bitterly contemplating a permanent return to her humdrum hometown—until one fateful morning in the diner where she waitresses.

When Priscilla overhears a conversation in the diner that hints at hidden cash, she recruits mechanic Benny (Azim Rizk) to help crack the code that could fund her Hollywood ambitions. But as the pair encounter a host of colorful-but-dangerous criminals it becomes clear the loot is hot, hefty, and blood-soaked.

Los Angeles Overnight is swamped in psycological tension and emotional projection. The movie opens to Priscilla sitting on a couch with her hypnotist played by Peter Bogdanovich. The tone of his voice and the flashbacks to the sessions throughout the movie portray a dark and ominous tone. The sessions convey the dark mentality of Arielle’s character and the measures she will extend to, to live that american dream.

Whilst the story-line is intriguing and the movie is well shot, I can’t help but feel a sense of awkwardness about watching Priscilla’s character. Her rather strange demeanour and the way she comes across is hard to describe. Her performance is almost conveying a form of pain or inner sadness that no words within a script or acting ability could portray. It’s very hard to pinpoint what it is exactly but it becomes rather over-powering and distracting to the story, almost dis-connecting in parts.

Every audition Priscilla attended before she happened across this money, she was turned down, thrown out and rejected at every turn. The money installed confidence within her and as a result her career started progressing. Quite a strong moral undertone whispered through the story there, confidence and self belief goes a long way, especially in crazy Los Angeles.

Installing a sense of menace and tension throughout Los Angeles Overnight isn’t comfortable viewing, but it’s engaging, it’s dark, it’s musical composition sounds every wince, every shudder, every atmosphere you can imagine. It’s quite a unique experience in a genre that I’m not all too familiar with. I think it’s time I watched a few more noir movies thanks to this one.