5.6/10
3,852
26 user 49 critic

Always Shine (2016)

Trailer
1:53 | Trailer
Best friends Anna and Beth take a weekend trip to Big Sur, hopeful to re-establish a bond broken by years of competition and jealousy. Tensions mount, however, leading to an unexpected yet ... See full summary »

Director:

Sophia Takal
5 wins & 5 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mackenzie Davis ... Anna
Caitlin FitzGerald ... Beth
Lawrence Michael Levine ... Jesse
Khan Baykal ... Paul
Alexander Koch ... Matt
Michael Lowry ... Vic
Colleen Camp ... Sandra
Jane Adams ... Summer
Julian Tolentino Julian Tolentino ... Jack
Mason Foster Mason Foster ... Joplin
Stella Foster Stella Foster ... Stella
Marisa Takal Marisa Takal ... Violet
Robert Longstreet ... Producer #1
Simon Barrett ... Producer #2
Jordan Kessler Jordan Kessler ... Director
Learn more

More Like This 

Green (2011)
Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.4/10 X  

A New Yorker moves to the country with her boyfriend, where her new friendship causes a problem as her partner also takes an interest in the woman.

Director: Sophia Takal
Stars: Kate Lyn Sheil, Sophia Takal, Lawrence Michael Levine
Comedy | Drama | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.4/10 X  

A woman at rock bottom must find her way across Los Angeles in order to crash her ex-boyfriend's engagement party.

Director: Christian Papierniak
Stars: Mackenzie Davis, Dolly Wells, Alex Russell
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.5/10 X  

Three Texas teens hope to make a break for it and escape their dead-end existence in a cotton-mill town but get sucked into the seedy underbelly of organized crime when one of them steals from the wrong man.

Directors: Simon Hawkins, Zeke Hawkins
Stars: Mackenzie Davis, Logan Huffman, Jeremy Allen White
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

After rudderless 26 year old Ellie learns that her estranged, alcoholic father has died, her world is disrupted and she begins a journey that takes her to small-town Texas, where she finds ... See full summary »

Director: Anna Axster
Stars: Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, Mary McCormack
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

An ambitious painter on the verge of a big break confronts his moral decay when his idealist, hell-raising, younger sister comes to stay with him in New York City for the summer.

Director: Lawrence Michael Levine
Stars: Sophia Takal, Lawrence Michael Levine, Brooke Bloom
Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5/10 X  

For Charles, video-games are a much needed escape from reality. But when virtual vixen Sophia leads him on a mysterious quest through the lovelorn lives of six New Yorkers, they will all ... See full summary »

Director: Myles Sorensen
Stars: Carolina Bartczak, Tyrone Dancy Jr., Mackenzie Davis
Boomerang V (2018)
Short | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

A satirical look at social media addiction. Jen finds that quitting Instagram and the grip it has on her isn't as easy as it seems.

Director: Matthew Frost
Stars: Mackenzie Davis, Rebecca Dayan, Paige Elkington
Memory Box II (2016)
Short | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

A young mother working in a memory re-creation facility is pushed by a client to break the rules.

Directors: Aaron Aites, Audrey Ewell
Stars: Louis Cancelmi, Shane Carruth, Mackenzie Davis
Crime | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.1/10 X  

Six Montréal CEGEP students head out on a canoe trip to celebrate their graduation. A web of secrets and lies... a stash of coke and cash... the decaying body of a dead biker... their home ... See full summary »

Director: Guy Sprung
Stars: Monroe Black, Sarah Booth, Normand D'Amour
Certificate: 13+ Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

In the town of Dillford, humans, vampires and zombies were all living in peace - until the alien apocalypse arrived. Now three teenagers - one human, one vampire, and one zombie - have to team up to figure out how to get rid of the visitors.

Director: Robbie Pickering
Stars: Nicholas Braun, Mackenzie Davis, Josh Fadem
Moontown (2013)
Short | Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.8/10 X  

A wandering boy with nothing to offer chases a bourgeois girl he once loved.

Director: Jessica Garrison
Stars: Luke Baybak, Mackenzie Davis, Morgan Krantz
Emptied (2014)
Short | Comedy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

A female dentist is visited by a past love. Based on events reported in April of 2012.

Director: David Ferino
Stars: Beck Bennett, Mackenzie Davis, Elena Schuber
Edit

Storyline

Best friends Anna and Beth take a weekend trip to Big Sur, hopeful to re-establish a bond broken by years of competition and jealousy. Tensions mount, however, leading to an unexpected yet inevitable confrontation, changing both of their lives...forever.

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis


Certificate:

See all certifications »
Edit

Did You Know?

Crazy Credits

"It is a woman's birthright to be attractive and charming. In a sense, it is her duty... She is the bowl of flowers on the table of life." -John Robert Powers, Secrets of Poise, Personality and Model Beauty See more »

Soundtracks

RISKY BUSINESS
Written by Nicholas Morey (ASCAP)
Performed by Betamaxx
See more »

User Reviews

 
Rivalry with a twist
2 January 2017 | by ReganRebeccaSee all my reviews

I didn't love Always Shine, but I did admire the film's chutzpah. It takes a lot of clichéd elements like the rivalry between women, especially actresses, but puts a new spin on them.

The film is about two best friends, Beth (Caitlin FitzGerald) and Anna (Mackenzie Davis). Both are actresses but Beth is experiencing a sudden surge in her career as she begins to land dumb parts in big budget successful horror movies. Anna meanwhile is the more talented of the two, but can't get a decent agent or good work. Her strong personality is also perceived as abrasive while Beth's doormat behaviour is perceived as being extremely attractive. The women head up to a cabin for a vacation but tension about their careers is high and neither can find it within themselves to be kind, graceful or supportive of the other. As tensions flare they finally learn what they really think of one another.

The acting on this is great and I did enjoy the twist. It's a bit of a psychological horror film, so while the gore isn't there, it's still pretty dynamic and a little scary.


13 of 22 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 26 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Offical site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 2016 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Escapade funeste See more »

Edit

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,211, 27 November 2016

Gross USA:

$17,102

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,102
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »

Contribute to This Page



Recently Viewed