Eat the Night is a film equally inspired by Grand Theft Auto and Wong Kar-Wai

The line between man and machine has never been more fragile. Most of us live our lives with our phone in our hand, a computer always at our fingertips; our social, cultural and political lives unfold online and in digital spaces. When we log onto social media or play online video games, are we still living? With their latest film, Eat the Night, directors Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel explore this hybrid reality, taking a look at the lives of Pablo and his sister Appoline’s love of an online game called Darknoon. With the announcement that the game will close down permanently, and Pablo’s new love affair with a man named Night, the comfort and familiarity of their everyday lives breaks down.

Vinel explains that he was “a gamer first, then a cinephile.” Though he had a classical film education, he and Poggi’s films, from their short projects into their first feature Jessica Forever, have always been informed by the aesthetics and narrative conventions of video games as they engage with questions of intimacy and connection in the modern world. Citing games like Grand Theft Auto, Elden Ring and Dark Souls as extremely important in the formation of their cinematic voice, the filmmakers integrate gaming directly into the fabric of their films.

For Eat the Night, it meant creating their own video game. While reality in the film is often different shades of black — the lives of Pablo, Appoline and Night often soaked in shades of darkness — Darknoon is vibrant. Electric shades of green and pink dominate the screen, and the extravagant character designs abound with movement and personality. “We wanted to create an escape for Pablo and Appoline,” says Vinel. 

Gaming, though, informs more than just the aesthetics. Poggi explains, “We wanted the characters to have quests or missions in life. In other ways, it’s a way for the characters to rebel and resist against their conditions.” The gaming scenes transcend obvious clichés of action-packed sequences, and are often as peaceful and contemplative as they are dynamic. “It’s their way of living their intimate life,” says Poggi, “at least their emotions. We see with Appoline that she lives her emotional life, her anger and her love, through Darknoon.”

In contrast, the real world seems unforgiving. Pablo and Appoline have a difficult home life. Pablo is a drug dealer and Appoline is a loner. The film is set and shot in le Havre, an industrial city in Normandy. “It’s a city that’s been destroyed and rebuilt,” explains Poggi. “It’s cold and very high, rectangular. We looked at it in relation to the thriller, so it was about finding an atmosphere and darkness to the city. We wanted to film in winter. We see chimneys in the distance and finally these flames that light up the sky. There is something almost unreal about the setting.” 

As Pablo falls for Night, the movie also gives way to tremendous tenderness. The coldness of the environment and the lightness of the game world transforms into a remarkably fresh atmosphere, with spontaneous sex scenes. “Nothing about it was improvised — it was choreographed and rehearsed. We knew exactly what we wanted and, due to their delicate nature, we spoke a lot and were very careful with our actors to ensure they agreed with what we were asking from them,” says Poggi. “I’m not sure if we approached these scenes as being in contrast with the game, but rather as a way of displacing the virtual world with a kind of hyperrealism,” adds Vinel. 

As the film progresses, the pressures of the real world seep into the game. Appoline retreats deeper into the last hours of Darknoon, as her brother Pablo falls deeper in love and deeper in trouble with the law. Citing the influence of Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai, in particular his early work, they talk about this integration of realism with artistic freedom. “There’s something very magical but still very concrete that was inspiring,” explains Vinel. “A film like Happy Together was very important to the writing process and how we understand the film’s love story.”

Embracing a new way of seeing, Eat the Night is part conventional thriller and also an experimental examination of reality itself. Brimming with youthful energy, the film reflects changing mores in terms of cinematic influences, and challenges our experience of lived reality. ■

Eat the Night opens in Montreal theatres on Friday, Feb 21.

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