La noche siempre llega

6. Stars.

Something about this film is off. At times I found myself counting the minutes until it was over, and that's never a good sign. At other times it was riveting enough to capture my curiosity. On the other hand, it's so overdone a plot these days, same story I've seen so many times. It's about a woman who temporarily mis-places her sense of right and wrong, because her sole focus is on avoiding eviction and losing her Down Syndrome brother to the system.

This actress is iconic and her acting in this is good, but the movie is bad.

Her mom is a deadbeat, and wow is that actress soooooo good at playing a loser. I've seen the actress play the bum before, but this takes the cake. What little screen time the mother has, she really leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

So back to the story. Our protagonist is having a lot of difficulties making ends meet, we are shown her true colors in that she's a high class "working girl", balancing two other jobs, one at a bar and one in a factory; and even with her extraordinary good looks, she is still not able to make ends meet. And yet, as we watch her swindle her way through the night, and then spiral deeper and deeper into some really dangerous and highly illegal activities (we are talking hard-core prison time), you'd think it would be a fun ride...nevertheless, this film fundamentally fails to entertain.

This is a dramatic thriller that is well done but is deeply unsettling. It is the story of a troubled family, featuring Vanessa Kirby as a struggling girl that is looking to protect her developmentally disabled brother. Her Mom, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, is an even more troubled and the family stands to lose their home. This leads to the series of dramatic and thrilling events that place the life and safety of the characters in danger. The film is well acted and well filmed. The strength, beside the acting, is Direction and cinematography. It is dark and foreboding. The cast is great. I didn't;t love it and it made me feel like crap but it is well done.

Strengths: Vanessa Kirby gives a raw, gripping performance that drives the story forward. The gritty city atmosphere and tense pacing keep it engaging.

Weaknesses: The plot feels shaky with some illogical turns. Side characters are thinly written, and the emotional payoff doesn't fully match the buildup.

This is one of those films. No, it's not glossy, its meant to be grim and low-budget, their lives are hard and the tone reflects that. The people complaining that her spiral is unrealistic have clearly never been truly desperate for long enough.

A few quibbles, but overall a movie that is far better than the rating suggests.

Totally watchable, even if a bit cliched. Acting is pretty good, especially Vanessa Kirby, but writing is mediocre, bordering on unbelievable. Still, the rating is too low and deserves to be higher. Cinematography is good. There are gaps in the plot, not sure why. We have a tradition of bad Friday night movies, but this was surprisingly entertaining.