Night Stage Review: Flirting with Boldness

The erotic thriller Night Stage (Ato Noturno) is held back by an underdeveloped script that lets too many of its delightfully tense moments fizzle out prematurely.

Gabriel Faryas steps into the shoes of Matias, a young, ambitious actor who exudes confidence and yearns for the spotlight. On his nocturnal ventures, Matias meets a discreet man to spend a fun night with, but it becomes increasingly apparent the man, Rafael (Cirillo Luna), has more at stake than what he lets on: he is inches away from becoming a powerful political figure in the city. Matias and Rafael discover their mutual fetish for having sex in public places and become addicted to the adrenaline of getting caught. As their careers skyrocket in the public eye, their twisted game grows more dangerous.

Matias and Rafael challenge each other and fulfill each other’s fantasies, which leads to the inevitable deepening of their relations. The sexual attraction is charged with electrifying excitement that both find irresistible as they ride the wave of their career successes and enjoy the pleasures of increasing recognition. Each next time, their surrender to the thrill threatens everything they’ve built, and that’s exactly what keeps them going. 

Night Stage envelops the screen in a queer nocturnal landscape that offers liberation from the restrictions of daytime. There’s a gorgeous gentle vibrancy to the colors of the night that isn’t over the top and highlights the relief that Matias and Rafael find in letting their desires roam free. There’s a vulnerable scene between the two, staged on the backdrop of the millions of twinkling city lights, when Rafael says, “I used to play here. […] It felt like the city was looking at me.” The childlike joy he felt then is now at the root of his desire to escape his socially restrictive world with Matias, who is also told to put on a different persona in order to get to the high places of fame. Sadly, such moments of poignant character analysis are less frequently observable the deeper the film descends into its runtime.

Night Stage carries itself as an erotic thriller that tangles with sexuality and danger, but it doesn’t let its narrative be led by its core question: how much are you really willing to sacrifice to have it all? Instead, the film bets on its aesthetic value, but its seductiveness and satisfying visuals can only take it so far before the script’s flaws emerge to the surface. The movie might be a superficially pleasurable watch when the characters are getting down and dirty, but the magic disappears when we get to the part where the writers have to get to the nitty-gritty: the third act. 

There’s no denying Night Stage pushes boundaries when it comes to exhibitionism and leaves the queer eroticism unfiltered. However, the more “thriller” elements come into the picture, the further they push what was working in favor of the film away from it… until it’s hidden completely. Then, you find yourself desperately looking for the thrill you felt in the beginning, before the film had started trying to be a thriller at all.

Night Stage keeps building its tension-filled sequences by following the same pattern, which always includes the use of a derivative and slightly melodramatic score to emphasize the “darkness” of what’s happening. Without a varied approach to each scene, the same technique doesn’t invoke the same audience reaction each time.

The rapid rise to fame that Matias and Rafael experience as the story unravels is the first beat that sets off a series of staggering dominoes leading into the underwhelming climax. Matias’ abrupt climb to the top as the leading man of a huge international series, in particular, comes off as not believable because of the way it plays out. The series’ casting director originally approaches his roommate Fabio (Henrique Barreira) for the role, since he fits exactly what they’re looking for, but the production shifts gears entirely when Rafael persuades the director to see the premiere of Matias’ theater play.

The director leaves extraordinarily impressed by Matias’ final monologue, which the film fails to sell in the same way at all. It’s not credible for the director to put such a huge production on the line and throw away everything she always imagined for their main character simply because she was impressed by Matias’ monotone performance. Night Stage desperately tries to convince us of Matias’ outstanding acting abilities, but bigger problems lie elsewhere.

Matias’s roommate Fabio serves as a catalyst for the success and potential downfall of the dangerous couple. However, when his involvement in the twisted web of sex and politics becomes personal and more interesting, his character is swept under the rug and never brought back again, leaving behind yet another missed opportunity for Night Stage to earn its “thriller” title. 

Night Stage as a whole is quite similar to its protagonist Matias in many ways: unapologetic and confident, but a bit too impulsive and not considerate enough of the challenge it has taken on. The film can’t help but lust over its own ideas instead of exploring how to elevate them or taking advantage of the exciting angles of the erotic thriller genre that are already built into the premise.

Night Stage (Ato Noturno) premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on February 14, 2025. Read our Berlin Film Festival reviews!