Netflix has just welcomed its latest original movie, "Night Always Comes," a thriller that follows one woman (Vanessa Kirby) as she embarks on a dangerous, last resort mission to save her family home.
It's an adaptation of Will Vlautin's 2021 novel, "The Night Always Comes", and sees "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" star swapping big-screen Marvel spectacle for an intense crime thriller set on the streets of Portland, Oregon.
I had the chance to stream "Night Always Comes" in advance of its release, and had a couple of major takeaways. Thankfully, I liked what I saw.
Vanessa Kirby (unsurprisingly) turns in a powerful performance, and if you're looking for a thriller prone to emotional beats, twists, and the odd outburst of violence, you'll be well-served here.
Aside from liking what "Night Always Comes" has to offer, the other thing I couldn't stop thinking about here was another movie entirely, and why I think they'd make for one hell of a double feature. Here's a little more info about the new movie and my initial reaction to "Night Always Comes", which is now streaming on Netflix.
What is 'Night Always Comes' about?
Benjamin Caron’s “Night Always Comes” is a taut thriller about Lynette (Vanessa Kirby), an occasionally reckless woman locked in a race against time to gather enough cash to save her family home as she, her mother, and brother face eviction in a city they can no longer afford.
We follow as Lynette desperately scrambles to gather together the necessary funds to secure the house across a single night that continues to spiral into ever-more-dangerous territory and watch as she confronts her own troubled past in the process.
In addition to Vanessa Kirby, “Night Always Comes” stars Jennifer Zack Gottsagen, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julia Fox, Eli Roth, Randall Park, Stephan James, Michael Kelly, and Sean Martini, among others.
'Night Always Comes' and 'Good Time' would make a killer double feature
First off, I don't want this to come across as me trying to dunk on "Night Always Comes." It's a solid thriller and certainly stands head and shoulders above many of the streamer's other original releases from the year so far.
The biggest boon is surely having Vanessa Kirby at the heart of the action. Kirby's Lynette carries the emotional weight of everything and the pressure of this changing society that's squeezing her (and others like her) out well.
The reason I'm stressing this up front is that I don't want to put people off streaming "Night Always Comes" on Netflix. If you enjoy dark crime thrillers or troubled survival stories, this is a well-realized character study that deserves a spot on your watchlist.
All I'm trying to say is this: throughout my viewing of "Night Always Comes," I couldn't stop thinking about how I wanted to pair it as a double feature with "Good Time," the Safdies' Robert Pattinson-led crime thriller.
The setup for both gritty movies aligns — Lynette’s trying to cobble together enough cash to secure her family home, while Pattinson’s small-time criminal Connie is trying to pull money together to post bail for his brother after a botched smash and grab gig. As far as the overall tone and feel? They match up, both sketched with neon harshness and a sense of jittery momentum.
It's in the characterization where these two movies differ. Lynette is a survivor, trying to escape her trauma and seek the security she both wants but doesn't necessarily think she deserves (as Caron put it to Tudum).
Connie, by turn, is a manipulative, repulsive antihero, someone who continues to push toward his downfall (and drags those in his orbit along with him). But Pattinson's performance is similar, in that it's the best part about "Good Time."
The "Night Always Comes" / "Good Time" double feature, therefore, becomes a comparison of two very different characters, and that of seeing how they both tackle their goal. It's a pairing of two gritty, absorbing movies that veer onto darker paths, and would make for gritty, thrilling viewing.
So, if you sit down and stream "Night Always Comes" on Netflix, and you're on the hunt for your next watch, "Good Time" should be next in line; you can buy/rent it digitally, or stream it with a Cinemax subscription on Prime right now.
And if you're already on the hunt for even more streaming suggestions, be sure to check out our round-up of all the best Netflix movies you can watch now for tons more recommendations worthy of a spot on your watchlist.
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