Marisha Pessl’s fully realized world of crime fiction
The Cordovas are no ordinary family. The clan at the centre of Night Film is cloaked in mystery and misery, haunted by death and shadowed by legions of fans. Stanislas is an acclaimed director turned underground cult figure, a man of mystery who lets his dark art speak for him.
Son Theo gives a searing performance in one of his father’s films, seemingly inspired by his own oncamera amputation.
Daughter Ashley is a former child prodigy, a living embodiment of the Cordova quest to constantly seek out the furthest edge, to never settle for an everyday existence.
Or she was, until she throws herself down an elevator shaft in an abandoned building in New York City.
Ashley’s suicide at the age of 24 sets off alarm bells with Scott McGrath.
Five years ago, the “disgraced journalist” was on the losing end of a lawsuit with Stanislas after going public with unsubstantiated allegations of impropriety and saying the director should be “terminated with extreme prejudice.” No one picked up on his irony, it seems.
But Ashley’s death is a new doorway to the rabbit hole, “the dark undertow toward Cordova” that McGrath now sees as his absolution. Along the way, two characters join the 40-something in his twisted journey to discover the truth: Hopper Cole, a drug dealer who was in a rehab camp with Ashley, and Nora Halliday, an aspiring actress who possesses Ashley’s coat, and a desire to learn why such a bright light extinguished her spark.
Author Marisha Pessl brings in extra threads to weave her tale. Interspersed throughout the book are screen shots of online resources — such as a story on Ashley’s death in The New York Times and a Vanity Fair piece a few weeks later — photos, transcripts of interviews, police reports, pages of typed-up notes, an entry ripped from a guest book: all part of McGrath’s research into the Cordovas.
The extra layer of resource works, too. Readers are immersed in the investigation as it unfolds, consuming the bits and pieces of info just as we would in our daily lives.
The story lives online as well. Visit YouTube for found footage of a Cor- dova sighting and a young actress auditioning, running through her life story and fears (all the better to terrify her with if she does make it on film).
Readers can use an app to scan a bird symbol scattered throughout the book to access additional digital content, such as a photo gallery of Cordova movie posters and author Pessl reading the first chapter of Ashley’s (fictional) favourite childhood book.
The sprawling 599-page “literary thriller” unspools at a breakneck pace for the first two-thirds before bogging down in switchbacks and fake outs, voodoo priestesses and parallel possibilities. The logjam takes place, oddly enough, after McGrath and his Scooby gang breach the walls of The Peak, the Cordova family estate in the wilds of the Adirondacks.
Instead of providing answers, the break-in only leads to more questions and black holes of perception. Satanism, child abuse and overriding obsession enter the mix, but the potent potion proves more muddy than magical. To say more would spoil some of the surprises, and take the fun out of it for readers.
Even with that quibble, Night Film is more than a worthwhile read. The meticulously crafted story is engrossing, as long as the reader buys into some of the more unexpected elements of the novel.
Pessl exploded on the literary scene with Special Topics in Calamity Physics, which landed on many a Best Books of 2006 list. After reading Night Film, you can see why we’ve had to wait seven years for her sophomore effort. Pessl has created a fully realized world, brimming with backstory and detail to the point where she’s reportedly copyrighted storylines from Cordova’s fictional films.
The family might not be the one you’d want living next door, but they sure are fascinating.