Brent Baird’s A Night with Nathan is a heartfelt and darkly funny exploration of masculinity, loneliness, and unlikely friendship, wrapped in the skin of a one-crazy-night buddy dramedy. With its microbudget charm and impressive performances, the film surprises with moments of emotional weight and sincere character development, even when it stumbles in pacing or polish.
The story centers on Stan (Pete Comrie), a washed-up womanizer and alcoholic who's been kicked out of his house and relegated to sleeping in his truck. After a drunken tryst with a stranger, he awakens to a hilariously awkward confrontation with her 33-year-old son Nathan (played by writer-director Baird himself). From this odd encounter blossoms an even odder friendship. When Nathan tracks Stan down to return a forgotten license, a casual beer turns into a night-long quest to get Nathan — who’s never had a girlfriend — some confidence with women.
The chemistry between Comrie and Baird carries the film, giving life to a dynamic that’s part mentorship, part buddy comedy, and eventually something deeper. While Comrie leans into the grizzled charm of Stan, Baird plays Nathan with a mix of earnestness and awkward vulnerability that makes you root for him, even when he fumbles.
As the duo bar-hop and stumble through failed romantic encounters — from a philosophical bartender to a 24-hour laundromat tryst gone wrong — the film mines genuine pathos beneath the laughs. It’s in these moments that A Night with Nathan finds its emotional core, as both men are forced to confront the emotional baggage that’s holding them back.
The supporting cast — including Diane Newling, Kristen Hendrick, Marissa Rasmussen, and Rafia Iqbal — adds dimension and color to the episodic structure, often grounding the humor with authenticity. Brent Baird, despite possibly being a bit too old for the role of Nathan, delivers an emotionally resonant performance, and as a director, he shows promise in his ability to balance humor with heartfelt storytelling.
Technically, the film is solid for a microbudget project. The audio work, thanks to sound recordist Donnie Ivey, is notably crisp, often a sore spot for indie productions. The cinematography by Darryl Ayles is straightforward but effective, although a few editing hiccups and pacing issues (including scenes that linger too long and jarring jump cuts) do occasionally break the flow. A tighter edit would have elevated the experience even more.
Still, these are forgivable missteps in a film that offers something so sincere. The film evokes the spirit of Roger Dodger and early Duplass brothers work, rough around the edges but full of heart and human insight.
In the end, A Night with Nathan is a story about two broken men finding connection in the unlikeliest of ways. It’s a funny, awkward, and touching night out that lingers longer than you expect, in a good way. Brent Baird is a filmmaker worth watching, especially if he continues to craft these kinds of offbeat, character-driven stories.
Jessie Hobson