Midlands Review of Night at Nelsons
midlandsmovies • November 28, 2020
Night at Nelson’s
Directed by Luke Willis
2020
A suitable 1930/40s art-deco font opens a new film written and directed by first-time filmmaker Luke Willis in Night at Nelson’s.
Filmed entirely inside Arkwright Studios in Nottingham the era-appropriate opening is followed by an old-timey news report describing a jewel heist by a bunch of thugs.
Night at Nelson’s sets up time and place excellently before we jump into the black and white film which follows a detective assigned to help solve this criminal case.
The first scene starts with a well-costumed American cop against a period automobile as we are introduced to a tale of foul play on the streets of the city. Straight away, we see that the genre staples are all present – the hard-nosed, hard-drinking detective, suitable low-key lighting and the shadows of venetian blinds.
The rear-projection car scene is also spot-on and although the American accents are a little shaky at times, the excellent mood and atmosphere continues with a well-observed take on the detective voice-over of the past.
The director’s knowledge of the visual style of film noir is clearly evident. With a dash of the modern creeping in at times too – the obvious parallel is Frank Miller’s Sin City – our detective (played by Willis himself) chases up informants in dark alleys and we see beaten men in seedy gambling dens.
As the story unfolds, the superb rat-looking mob member (Baz Keane) has the air, and similar make-up, of a Dick Tracy villain and we get a smattering of action as the detective throws a knuckle-sandwich or two towards the short’s conclusion.
The director throws everything into a packed 8-minutes with a flurry of ideas including murderous conspiracies, con games and even a sultry femme fatale (Chloe Martin). With so much in so little time, the short really does a tremendous job with its over-flowing story, which is delivered with a “lot of moxie” as they say.
And kudos to director of photography Louis Brough. His cinematic lighting capturing the stark dark/light contrasts and dramatic shadows are a joy throughout.
In the end, Night at Nelson’s is a well-executed homage to the gangster era of the past and will certainly ‘bust your chops’ with its first-rate style and atmosphere, all wrapped up in an excellent sleazy noir short.
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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