DRAMA. “Night Always Comes.” / “Amongst the Wolves.” / “Manodrome.” / “The Lesson.” / “The Integrity of Joseph Chambers.” / “Pure White B*tch.”

“Night Always Comes” (2025, Netflix) crime thriller. Facing eviction in a city her family can no longer afford, a woman plunges into a desperate and increasingly dangerous all-night search to raise $25,000. 


       I do understand Lynette's predicament or desperation. It happens to many people. Plus the toxic mom-daughter “relationship.” What I don’t  get? The unbelievable craziness that Lynette had to subject herself while trying to raise the money. All in a night's time.

       If this is comedy, the whacked-ness would work for laughs. But this movie, directed by Benjamin Caron from a script by Sarah Conradt (adapted from the 2021 novel by Willy Vlautin), is supposedly dead serious. 

       But Vanessa Kirby as Lynette is all-in, game and pumped up. That's this movie's only good part. 🎥💻📽


“Amongst the Wolves” (2024, Amazon Prime) Irish crime drama. An ex-soldier who is homeless in Dublin meets a teen fleeing a drug gang. Their encounter forces them to confront their pasts while navigating the harsh realities they face.



       I don't get today's so-called critics. The Independent slapped the script as “poorly-written” etcetera. I beg to disagree. 

       I don't see any problem with the plotline's plausibility or the logic in characters’ behavior. More importantly, writer/director Mark O'Connor gave us a pro-actively paced, no dull moment, feature from a measly budget of 16,000 quid or $21,000. Plus the performance of Luke McQuillan and Daniel Fee is focused and involved. 🎥💻📽


“Manodrome” (2023, Amazon Prime) drama thriller. A deeply insecure and recently unemployed rideshare driver is struggling to provide for his pregnant girlfriend. Adrift and wrestling with repressed desires and pent-up anger, he is drawn into a secretive, hyper-masculine cult. 



       Thought-provoking, polarizing, sensitive. Aside from packing his ordinarily pale-thin physique with macho meat, Jesse Eisenberg did deliver a nuanced intensity performance. 

       Clearly, the film's premise is toxic masculinity and male power dynamics in relationships but the execution is either too extreme or too convoluted to take seriously as a thematic argument. 

       The acting ensemble though is remarkable: Mr Eisenberg, Adrien Brody, Odessa Young, Philip Ettinger. 🎥💻📽


“The Lesson” (2023, Plex) British psychological thriller. An aspiring author is hired to tutor the son of his literary idol at their rural estate. 



       The intrigue: Who is writing whose work? To what extent the second (hired) writer's editing or “intrusion” mattered? Etc etcetera. That premise moves this movie. The deft performance by Richard E. Grant, Julie Delpy, and Daryl McCormack give it intellectual substance and dramatic tension.

        Fine debut work by screenwriter Alex MacKeith and director Alice Troughton. 🎥💻📽


“The Integrity of Joseph Chambers” (2022, Amazon Prime) drama film. An insecure, suburban insurance salesman goes on an ill-advised solo deer hunting trip to prove his survivalist capabilities and traditional masculinity to his family. His lack of experience leads to a devastating moral crisis. 


       Critics praised this indie. Me, not so.much. The storyline is unimaginative and stuck in eerie immobility. What moves, albeit stretched too much, is Clayne Crawford's committed performance. 🎥💻📽


“Pure White B*tch” (2009, Amazon Prime) independent drama film that explores the dark, visceral realities of a rural Texas family grappling with extreme crystal meth addiction.


 

       If you saw all 5 seasons of “Hell On Wheels,” you'd see a totally different Anson Mount in “Pure White B*tch.” Cullen Bohannon is cool, calculated and doesn't talk a lot. A Clint Eastwood in spaghetti westerns. Bump is the exact opposite. Most importantly, it showed that Mr Mount could act or stretch his emoting abilities a bit. 

       Anyhow, this little indie movie grabs attention for its crisp pace and engaged ensemble performance. Writer/director David Pomes kept the drama up and about despite a flimsy script and sparse character development. Still a fine watch about rural American crack trash. 🎥💻📽


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