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The third movie from director Keith Gordon (The Chocolate War, A Midnight Clear). The 35-year-old director who started as an actor (Christine) has turned into one of the more assured directors working today. His films are ambitious in plot and tone. With Mother Night he works with his first major star, Nick Nolte. In 1961, the fictitious Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American by birth, shares the same deserted prison with Adolph Eichmann. As he prepares to stand trial for war crimes, the former playwright scribes his memoirs. Now this is the same Howard W. Campbell Jr. who was a notorious voice on German radio during the war, tearing into American policy and spreading Nazi propaganda. Was he a willful participant or an American spy? Campbell, who romanticizes at the drop of a hat, tells his story of indifference, morality, and love. His days of notoriety in Berlin give way to anonymity back in the States. He purrs about his true love (Sheryl Lee) and tells truths with his shrewd neighbor in New York (Alan Arkin). The movie is based on Kurt Vonnegut's 1961 novel of the same name. Gordon and screenwriter Robert E. Weide have an uncommon insight into Vonnegut's material: the mesh of fact and fiction, the sweeping themes, the tragic goofiness. The movie is perfectly suited to Nolte's gruff style with a husky voice that pierces the night. The film is a cherished companion piece to Slaughterhouse Five.SimilarProduct
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Customer reviews
The best book adaptation. 
by .. ()
So far there have been three movies made from Kurt Vonnegut works. "Slaughtehouse Five", "Mother Night", and "Harrison Burgeron." "Harrison Burgeron" was really an amalgam of numerous Vonnegut themes and ideas, but based on the very short story of the same name. "Slaughterhouse Five" required that you read the book to get a full appreciation of the story in the film. "Mother Night" followed the book by the same title with precision, clarity and intensity.
Wonderfully cast and acted, this is a dark tale of cause and effect on people's lives. To paraphrase the moral of the book "be careful what you pretend to be."
Nolte is perfect as the lead with surprising and excellent roles by Arkin, Sheryl Lee, and John Goodman. If you are a Vonnegut fan you will not be disappointed with this interpretation of his book.
Best Vonnegut on Film Yet by .. Scott Snyder (Northern California)
This is the best adaptation of a Vonnegut novel to film yet. I would even say that the movie had more of an impact on me than the book.
Howard Campbell, Jr., "The Last Free American," is an allied spy who broadcasts Nazi propaganda from Berlin during WWII, but his copy has been marked up by Allied intelligence in such a way that coughs, pauses, emphasis in his delivery are sending out intelligence to the west. The question is should he be condemned for who he is pretending to be and for the overt message of hate that he sends out on the airwave; or should he be absolved because his covert (unconscious) communication is providing vital information to the Allies and thereby freeing concentration camp prisoners and defeating the Nazis?
Campbell is a character who really doesn't know what he's saying. He spews hate and believes he is sending out useful hidden information, but he can't be sure. He doesn't believe in the propaganda -- it's a useful cover for speaking the deeper truths in a society that will only hear what it can hear. Ironies and ambiguities compound on one another until Campbell loses sight of who he is or where he belongs or where he can go. He comes to a dead stop. He has no reason to move in any direction.
Vonnegut is a moral writer -- funny, but moral. There is a small bit of humor here, e.g. an African-American Nazi! Irony taken to absurdity. And as a GE-brat myself, I can always count on Vonnegut to work GE (Schenectady in particular -- his old employer)into the storyline somewhere.
The moral of this story seems to be two: "You must be careful what you pretend to be, because in the end, you are who you pretend to be." On this basis, Campbell would be condemned. And so he is. The other bon mot of note is from Alan Arkin's character -- a painter friend of Campbell's who turns out to be a Russian spy -- who says, "Maybe art is the one thing you can't fake." But of course art is faking it -- art is making it up, telling the lie that reveals the deeper truth (Picasso). In the end Howard Campbell because the charcter of his fiction and as the creator and writer of that man's tale, is able to pass judgement on his character. The end of Campbell is of a piece with his life.
Nick Nolte, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Sheryl Lee all turn in great performances.
Its a terrific literary film. Highly recommended.
A Terrific Movie, very close to the book by .. Lynn Robinson ()
I first saw this movie while browsing through the movie channels. It is now one of my favorites. Nick Nolte, Sheryl Lee, John Goodman, and Alan Arkin all put in terrific performances. This movie, like most based on Vonnegut novels, is filled with drama, dark humor, suspense, and mystery. I highly recommend this film. It has terrific acting, an excellent plot, and its just a darn good film. I also recommend the book of the same name by Vonnegut. The film's plot stays very close to the book so if you like the movie you'll like the book or vice versa.
Sterling piece of cinema by .. ANT (Crofton, MD USA)
There is something to be said for Kurt Vonnegut's work. His novels are indescribable masterpieces that can seemingly only exist in the mind and never on screen. But, what if he helped direct the movie?
Vonnegut's role in the making of "Mother Night" was surely instrumental in its success as a piece of cinematic brilliance. Nolte and Company certainly put on exceptional performances and they cannot be overlooked, either. However, the story is where the meat of the matter lies and it is laid out beautifully in front of us.
What is more important is, having read the book, it is 99% line for line translated to the screen. I am tempted to say that if you watch the movie, you will have read the book, it's that close. Still, I highly recommend both book and movie, though the latter is what I am writing on today.
It makes one pine for Kurt to work with more Hollywood directors in making his works shine in a different medium. This is one of his few pieces, though, that is easily leant to cinema. Thank goodness it was done right. A must see!
As good as Vonnegut by .. Jared M. Thomasson (OIklahoma City, OK)
This movie captured the essence of the novel in such a way that i really believed the actors read it. This is not typical of movies based on books. I truly believe that those involved with the production of this film were concerned with the ideas and intentions of the author.