Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- morally unsettling
- discordant
- paranoid
- serious historical viewing
- literary adaptation night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Nick Nolte’s committed central performance and the adaptation’s ambition, while finding its ambiguous message and discordant tone confusing.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Howard Campbell broadcasts Nazi propaganda while secretly serving as an American informer, leaving his true role open to moral scrutiny.
Campbell’s anti-semitic radio speeches are central to his wartime influence and to the controversy surrounding his motives.
Campbell’s defense as an American spy cannot erase his visible participation in Nazi propaganda.
The critical reception specifically identifies the film’s ambiguity and discordant tone as defining features of its adaptation of Vonnegut’s novel.
Films like Mother Night, and why
The Reader
Shared World War II setting, moral ambiguity, propaganda themes, and psychologically conflicted protagonists.
The Lives of Others
Shared focus on Nazi Germany, guilt, complicity, and morally unsettling historical drama.
To Be or Not to Be
Shared wartime propaganda, ideological performance, and conflicted identity within an authoritarian regime.
Movie Details
- Director
- Keith Gordon
- Release Date
- 1996-11-01
- Runtime
- 114 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (64)
Cast
- Nick Nolte
- Sheryl Lee
- Alan Arkin
- Bernard Behrens
- Anna Berger
- Arye Gross
- Norman Rodway
- Frankie Faison
- Gerard Parkes
- Vlasta Vrana
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Mother Night about?
- A morally haunted American propagandist must confront the consequences of performing Nazism while secretly serving his own country.
- What is Mother Night like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Mother Night as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Mother Night violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Mother Night as moderate.
- What did critics think of Mother Night?
- Critics broadly praised Nick Nolte’s committed central performance and the adaptation’s ambition, while finding its ambiguous message and discordant tone confusing.
- Which films are like Mother Night?
- Films with a similar feel include The Reader, The Lives of Others, and To Be or Not to Be.
- How long is Mother Night?
- Mother Night runs 114 minutes.
- Where can I watch Mother Night?
- In United States, Mother Night is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
