Image courtesy of IFC
THE SUN NEVER SETS— 3 STARS
Longtime mumblecore standard-bearer Joe Swanberg is no stranger to eccentric relationship dynamics in his films. While his plots have been quite varied over a 20-year-plus career, some tale of love is almost always percolating in the background, often dwelling for long stretches at the pining level. There’s a very peculiar love triangle at the center of Swanberg’s new film, The Sun Never Sets, which epitomizes this energy; only this time, the flailing from attempted grand romantic gestures is the center of the movie, not the subplot.
Dakota Fanning stars as Wendy, an excavation machine operator and sailboat enthusiast outside of Anchorage, Alaska, with a reliable friend circle and what appears to be a stable two-year relationship with Jack (Swanberg’s reliable muse Jake Johnson, recently seen in The Dink), a divorced basketball coach with two children from the previous marriage. Jack is over a decade older than Wendy, and that age gap has created divisive goals in their romantic partnership. Being in her early 30s, Wendy would like to be married and have children of her own someday, but that is a rewinding prospect that Jack is not interested in whatsoever. Hell, Jack won’t even go near a boat.
LESSON #1: DON’T OVERTHINK YOUR OWN HEART— Oddly self-aware and simultaneously self-destructive, Jack is not convinced that he or Wendy are completely comfortable with those different priorities, even though she loves him and is fine at the moment with the uncommitted status. He triggers a breakup with the urging plea that Wendy should try dating other people for six months who like what she likes. Coached up by an old buddy (Johnson’s long-time The New Girl co-star Lamorne Morris, in a completely unnecessary role) on Zoom, Jack is betting on himself that Wendy won’t find anyone better and that she’ll eventually come back after missing the good thing they had.
LESSON #2: THE CATALYTIC EFFECT FROM THE RETURN OF AN OLD FLAME— With a sprinkle of rom-com kismet amid the drama of The Sun Never Sets, Swanberg’s script grants Jack’s risky move the worst possible result. While out on a first date at a local bar with a platonic buddy from the friend group, Wendy is hit with the cinematic pause of pauses. Through the throng of patrons, she sees Chuck, a pilot ex-boyfriend she hasn’t seen in five years, played by Saturday Night’s Cory Michael Smith, and he sees her. Though cinematographer Eon Mora’s camera is indoors for this scene, you can sense the melting glaciers happening on the Cook Inlet peninsula from the rising temperatures. The allure of Smith immediately lifts this film's level of intrigue.
Ditching the dinner reservations of that other date in a heartbeat, Wendy and Chuck flirtily catch up, showing that the years away have softened some of the immature behaviors that split them up. Absent sparks are immediately rekindled, and Wendy has seemingly found the right alternative to Jack. Word of Chuck’s return and new placement in Wendy’s life rattles Jack’s dumbfounded plan. To make Wendy jealous and sow a few wild oats of his own, Jack starts to date someone new (Slutever blogger and Vogue sex columnist Karley Sciortino, showing out in a sneakily scene-stealing role) as well.
LESSON #3: DECIDING BETWEEN PROSPECTS WITH MASSIVE LIMITATIONS— This three-cornered situation presented in The Sun Never Sets is an intentional mess, created by two guys who behaviorally and verbally stop any hope of their worthiness and clear appeal with the dreadful line of “not my thing” when it comes to what Wendy wants. While virile Chuck may be the upside of pure passion versus the wishy-washy Jack representing possible stability, both have massive limitations. While watching Swanberg’s film, audiences will have a maddening time shifting their preference back and forth on who’s best for our protagonist.
LESSON #4: WHAT ABOUT WHAT I WANT— Stuck in the middle of this stormy battle are Dakota Fanning and the serene scenery of southcentral Alaska. Right when another shouting match or rash of poor decisions occurs, there’s Mora—giving us gorgeous insert and establishing shots of natural splendor that calm us down— and, likewise, Fanning’s incredible resolve to be the most engaging actor on-screen as a woman refusing to be entirely consumed by this effusive tug-of-war. Wendy acts and speaks for solitude and space, which may or may not be made better by either of the two less-than-ideal men in the picture.
Dakota Fanning, bless her heart, weathers a mansplaining script where the complications have everyone inconsistently confused. Sure, there’s the classic “it’s all happening so fast” excuse, but The Sun Never Sets nearly drags itself down to failure riding that weak hot-and-cold reasoning. Part of that negativity is that, over and over, an emphasis is placed on how no one believes Wendy when she talks, leading the defamatory “insane” label to be tossed around far too many times by those idiotic suitors. Luckily, Fanning remains strong through these scripted snares and rescues all of the frustrated indecision with sensational and intrinsic presence. Somehow, you can't help but want her to win, and that keeps you locked in until the end.
LOGO DESIGNED BY MEENTS ILLUSTRATED (#1427)
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