When the Streetlights Go On Review: A Coming of Age Drama With An Amazing 90s Soundtrack

Release date: April 6, 2020
Running time: 10 minute episodes
Starring:  Chosen Jacobs, Sophie Thatcher, Ben Ahlers, Mark Duplass, Kristine Froseth

The residents of a small town grapple with the ruthless killing of a young girl and a teacher.  When Chrissy (Froseth) and her teacher Mr. Carpenter (Duplass) are killed and left in the woods, the whole town grapples with this event.  People, including students, are suspected and Chrissy's sister Becky (Thatcher) is thrust from relative anonymity into the spotlight.  This brings some unwanted attention from her fellow students who deal with this in their own way.  

When the Streetlights Go Out starts off with the brutal crime itself.  It is a way to instantly draw you in and shock you, making you want to watch more.  And this works; I was intrigued to find out more about the crime, the victim, and more importantly the perpetrator.  And that is where this film really starts to shine.  After the crime, the film switches to more of a drama highlighting the interactions between the various characters in the small town.  It has shades of something like Twin Peaks, where it starts off with a horrible event and then focuses more on the people and consequences of the event.  It wasn't what I expected but When the Streetlights Go On does such a good job creating this small town feel that I didn't mind at all.  There a whole cast of interesting characters to meet and watch as they all deal with the death in their own way.  Most interesting is Becky, who has a complicated set of emotions to go through.  She was close with her sister but also seemed like there was plenty of friction between the two.  Prime suspect Casper (Sam Strike) is an interesting rebel, who is much deeper than his hard exterior lets on.  And the narrator Charlie (Jacobs) is an introspective narrator who leads us through some of the ups and downs that occurred after the brutal crime.  I really liked all the characters, though some seemed to be a little over the top, but nothing that was too distracting.  Also, some of the dialog definitely reminded me of random dumb things my friends and I said in the 90s when we were trying to grow up too fast and act more mature than we were.

And speaking of the 90s, this film is set in the 90s with a lot of amazing references.  The music definitely took me back and had a hit list of 90s songs that were instantly recognizable.  And there were a lot of throwbacks to technology and references I remember from back then.  The fashion looked perfect for the time.  And although there were a few minor hiccups (one person had a laptop before I think laptops were common at all, and they used a Mountain Dew throwback can that I think was made after the 90s referencing a can from well before the 90s), overall the film had a great sense of time and place.  And the story of this film really feels more like a teenage drama than a true crime epic, but that is fine.  The drama is mostly well done, with a few over the top scenes, but enough to keep you engaged and entertained.  And with this being a Quibi film, it is broken into 10 minute chunks with each segment ending in a cliffhanger.  Although this isn't my favorite way to watch a movie, it does make for a very exciting setup.  Each 10 minutes has a big revelation or important point, and keeps you engaged and on your toes.  But it does make some of the scenes feel overdramatic as they are building for that big finale.  

When the Streetlights Go On is an interesting and entertaining period drama with some complicated characters and small town intrigue surrounding a horrible crime.

Watch it.

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When the Streetlights Go On is available to stream on Quibi. 

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