Angel of the Night
16m
An emotionally unstable outcast attempts to make a connection with three unsuspecting college students. “Angel of the Night,” directed by Nick Verdi, is a pitch black character study (darkly funny depending on your tolerance for aggressively anti-social, antagonizing behavior) that follows a 35-year-old temp worker in college administration through a volatile day on campus. Angel stalks through the grounds looking for prey, i.e. innocent college kids to have his ear as he attacks them for being clueless and receptive to what he considers meaningless curriculum (at the moment, social media and branding). He sees himself as enlightened, everyone around him as pawns and bores. In a conversation with a co-worker, he zones out resentfully as the straight-laced man chats about recent home renovations. The vignettes are intertwined with scenes of Angel dazedly walking through the school yards or scarfing down fast food in his car while laughing maniacally at the entitlement and privilege of the student body (“beautiful white little bodies”) — we don’t know where he’s coming from or where he’s going, but he’s spiraling toward something. B.R Yeager stars as Angel, and he’s fascinating to watch, a rare unfiltered presence exhibiting a wild-eyed charisma that can turn toxic in the blink of an eye.