Review by La Tauro, Ain't It Cool News

GARDENS OF THE NIGHT is a film about a very young girl who is kidnapped by child molesters. You probably won't believe what I'm about to say, but it's true: Tom Arnold gives one of the year's best and most nuanced performances as the man who initially befriends young Leslie. No, seriously, Arnold is brilliant, showing chops as a character actor that I hope he brings to future indie films. If you don't believe me, go see it. You'll be shocked.

The first half of the film is utterly incredible, shown with perfect restraint, all from the perspective of the young girl. The second half is very good, but it was jarring to suddenly go from a gentle film about a child surviving molesters to, well, a Gregg Araki film. I don't fault it as a big misstep the way I did when they initially made the jump, as it was clearly the intention of writer/director Damien Harris to show the resulting effects. And the film does hang together very well as a whole, even if the first half is quite superior to the second. Regardless, Harris (who appeared in person to introduce the film) is definitely one to watch, and so is this film.

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