Saturday Night (2024)

I won't go into detail about the extensive cast of actors and actresses involved, just mention that there are so many that practically only Gabriel LaBelle has a leading role.

They all play characters that belong more to the realm of comedy, many of whom are recognisable from the 1970s to the present day (those who are still alive, of course).

From the outset, the film has a frenetic pace, with excellent choreography that captures the hour and a half of chaos that was the live premiere of an iconic American show that revolutionised television entertainment, making it fun, especially for adults.

This show introduced elements of irreverence, sex (metaphorically speaking) and criticism of society, all wrapped up in groundbreaking humour for its time.

However, I believe that today, almost 50 years later, it would be impossible to do something like this. Society seems to be regressing, and any joke or comment that deviates from simplistic and superficial humour would be met with complaints, fines and even legal consequences.

Today's viewers must settle for scripted fights and arguments, find out who is involved with whom, and follow the fictional misadventures of people who laugh at viewers' ignorance and gullibility.

Saturday Night as a film needs for its raison d'être the accompaniment and nostalgia of only a small handful of people in the world, and its intentions show that it intends to cling to the idiosyncrasies of a Yankee culture of which it simply becomes its own consumption and no more, showing the fragility to face horizons of universality that could well have been carried out, but its decisions prevent it from doing so, and the same happens with its little ambition beyond capturing the local spotlight, which in fact, perhaps serves it and is enough to figure in some small recognition consciously flooded towards the rest of the multitudes.

Its strongest point is its beastly production design, there is an enormous work to make it look what we appreciate, from the staging, the fantastic period realisation, their costumes and hairstyles, being that they are fairly recognisable actors, they have a brilliant aesthetic design and that make them distinguished in the decorative and artistic consolidation, the camera movements are efficient understanding as it is derived its intensity and a quite pleasant soundtrack that is of the little that is made enjoyable in that environment.

All in all, it's a great film that transported me back to a time when real cinema was made, without special effects or digital tricks, but with a cast that shines in every scene and exceptional organisation, with moments meticulously studied in detail.