NIGHT ALWAYS COMES

Based on Willy Vlautin’s novel of the same name, this drama follows Lynette (Vanessa Kirby), a struggling woman in Portland. Living in a humble rental home with her brother Kenny (Zack Gottsagen), who has a Down syndrome, and her mother Doreen (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Lynette races against gentrification to buy the house before rising property values price her out. When Doreen impulsively and selfishly spends their savings on a new car, Lynette must raise the $25,000 deposit she needs in one night. She turns to her contacts in the city’s seedy fringe area for help, engaging in reckless activities to gather the money and forcing her to face painful memories from her past. Despite strong performances by Kirby and Leigh in portraying their dysfunctional mother / daughter relationship, the plot is frustrating and I got bored seeing Lynette make the same mistakes over and over again. The ending left too many questions unanswered. Bleak and tedious.