A review by deadflytrachea
Night Film by Marisha Pessl

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

First and foremost, I have to give credit to the author for the clear amount of effort she put into the book. The extra media elements found online such as Professor Beckman's Syllabus and the trailers for Cordova's films made it feel more real, more of a spectacle.
However, this effort doesn't save how obnoxious I found the main character Scott McGrath to be. He made somewhat misogynistic remarks twice early in the book that I gave pass to simply because I figured the author was deliberately making him this way because the author is a woman.
However, the completely unnecessary bout of transphobia when he was at The Oubliette nearly ruined the experience. It didn't mean anything, it was just there for genuinely no reason, except what? Make it clear Scott is an asshole? We already knew that considering how poorly he treats most people around him and how cynical he is.
The author makes several bizarre passing remarks about any characters who weren't white, cis, well-educated etc. It felt like they were caricatures only existing to further the white male character's journey. While yes he grows as a father, he doesn't grow outside of that, the "found family" of Scott, Nora, and Hopper did not feel fulfilling or warranted.

and Cordova! The entire message behind him seems to be that he is a tortured genius, that his art and the terrible things he does is justified because he is the only person "brave" enough to go into as much depth for the passion of his art. It's so uninspired and boring.
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