Night Always Comes2025

If only Jennifer Jason Leigh had been available for a few more days of shooting, perhaps Night Always Comes could have put some flesh on the bones of its family drama, enlivening what is otherwise an overly familiar crime caper, but like an absent parent, the supporting elements of the film just can’t be counted on when you need them.

What happens when everything familiar and secure threatens to completely collapse around us? Are we then prepared to do things we would never normally do? Vanessa Kirby's performance as a woman in distress, desperately trying to save her home, is very impressive. The film works primarily because of her, as she manages to convey the protagonist's almost hopeless efforts to avert the inevitable in a compelling and authentic way. Benjamin Caron's social drama is generally well-directed from a dramaturgical perspective. What I find jarring, however, is that the story being told always seems a little unbelievable, no matter what the main character, Lynette, does. This dilutes the otherwise well-intentioned drama.

It’s beautifully constructed and executed, with a lead character who reveals new biographical and emotional layers to us with each new scene, and a backup cast stocked with small-scale underworld types.