Plot Summary: Lynette, a young woman struggling to survive in rapidly gentrifying Portland, has saved just enough money to buy the house she and her mother live in with her brother who has Down syndrome. When her mother suddenly backs out of the deal, Lynette embarks on a desperate 24-hour journey through the city's underbelly to get the money she needs before time runs out.
Director: Benjamin Caron
Screenplay: Sarah Conradt, Based on: The Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin
Producers: Gary Levinsohn, Billy Hines, Ryan Bartecki, Benjamin Caron, Jodie Caron Vanessa Kirby, Lauren Dark
Cinematography: DamiΓ‘n GarcΓa
Starring:
Vanessa Kirby as Lynette
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lynette's Mother
Stephan James as Cody
Zack Gottsagen as Kenny
Randall Park as Scott
***SPOILER ALERT***
A Family That Makes No Sense
Night Always Comes is a movie that makes no sense whatsoever in its storytelling and character development. We're introduced to our main character, Lynette, as a hardworking young woman who studies and takes care of her brother who has Down syndrome. Yet, through her mother's eyes, we're supposed to believe she's horrible and always making mistakes. No, the mother is a total, total, total bitch, and Jennifer Jason Leigh is very unconvincing in the role; I didn't enjoy her acting at all. The whole family dynamic feels unnatural, and the love Lynette shows for her brother feels forced. Then there's the plot... Let's just say you decide to go to extremes by starting trouble with local politicians, gangsters, and all sorts of dangerous people just to get money to buy a house in that same town. Yeah, you wouldn't feel paranoid at all living there if the plan somehow succeeded. It's just dumb.
Watch the clip below where the mother shows off her brand-new car. It makes zero sense and the dialogue is weak AF.
The Betrayal That Broke the Movie
Another huge no-no for me was the sudden character reveal of Cody, played by Stephan James. Really?! I was kind of digging his character, and then all of a sudden, he just turns evil. A character turn like that could be okay, but the writing here is the problem: he already had the chance to betray her before he found out about the car. So why would he wait? It's stupid, and the scene is what completely destroys the movie for me. It feels like the writers are trying way too hard to make our main character a helpless loner who nobody in the world can help, which, for a good-looking girl like her, just doesn't feel realistic.
The clip below is the scene that kills the film: Cody turns on her and tries to steal all her money.
Drowning in Dumb Decisions
I also didn't like the fact that our main character is a prostitute. It brings down the sympathy for her, and you can only assume she spends her money in really stupid ways, like getting tattoos. The plot tries to make a big deal of her past, how she was forced into it at 16 and her mother knew, but none of it explains her current situation, so it feels pointless. The question just keeps coming up: how is she still so poor with such high-profile clients? The writing is just so dumb. In another scene, she breaks into the house of a psychopathic drug dealer, attacks him, and he somehow just lets her leave peacefully. Was this script written with ChatGPT? Terrible. I don't have much more to add—just skip it. This is a movie that will leave you depressed, and for all the wrong reasons. I appreciate it trying to bring awareness to the housing crisis, but this is not the way to do it.
Here's the ridiculous scene where Lynette confronts a dangerous drug dealer and somehow walks away unharmed.
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