Night Comes On

Magnificently performed against the backdrop of a broken system, where opportunity is destroyed, in this case by those closest to you, and the safety net is stuffed full of drowning fish just like you too.

This movie has a slow pace all the way through but it wasn't bad. You did feel for the girls, especially the little sister. My heart went out to her. She also reminded me of Taystee from oitnb. Not a waste of time but I probably wouldn't watch it again.

As "Night Comes On" (2018 release; 86 min.) opens, a young lady (we later learn her name is Angel) is bring released from jail, after serving time for unlawful possession of a weapon. (Why did she need a weapon in the first place?) Her first stop: a gun dealer. Afterwards she looks up some friends in Phillie, hoping to find a place to crash, if only for the night. At this point we are less than 10 min into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the feature length directing debut of actress Jordana Spiro (she also co-wrote the script). Here she brings us a look at what an 18 yr old faces upon getting released from jail. Let's just say that the odds are not in her favor to succeed. The hard-nosed Parole Officer does her no favors. And where is her family in all this? These questions play out over the movie. Spiro gets an excellent lead performance from Dominique Fishback in her feature length debut role (she would go on to "The Hate U Give" and last year's :Judas and the Black Messiah"). In the end, the film is okay, but it feels like something more profound could've been done with this. All that aside, Spiro's directing debut is quite promising, and I look forward to see where she goes from here.

"Night Comes On" premiered at the 2018 Sundance film festival. I was recently made aware of its existence by a positive read-up in the New York Times recently. The movie is now streaming on Amazon Prime, where I caught it last night. If you are in the mood for a heavy duty post-jail drama, I'd readily suggest you check it out, and draw your own conclusion.

An 18-year-old African-American young woman, recently released from the juvenile detention center, revisits her old stomping grounds to reconnect with old friends, find a place to stay, and give familial hope to her younger sister who, like the lead, is a resident of the foster system.

I love well-made independent films that retain their grittiness and imperfections--not flaws. "Night Comes On" achieves that outcome. It is a moody film, skillfully paced so that it doesn't get ahead of you, but doesn't leave you wanting, either.

The film's focus is on the teen's struggles to reintegrate into her community, her quest to find her family, and exact revenge on someone who had performed a major injustice against her. The ending is riveting, as the director expertly builds tension that leaves you guessing.

Highly recommended.

Yes it is slow at times. And your heart does go or to them both. Both let down by life. But it is gripping, well after and worth watching. Makes you think.