Sundown

I saw Sundown at the London Film Festival having been impressed by the director's "New Order" last year, though both films were made roughly at the same time. Tim Roth gives a magnificent understated performance of a man whose behaviour breaks with expected norms, asking us to imagine his motives. He subtlety of the director gradually and naturally reveals circumstances that may overturn our assumptions. The film has humour, violence, drama, and asks us to imagine what we do ourselves in he same circumstances. On top of these roiling undercurrents there are contrasted the beautiful but exclusive high-end beach resort with the crowded lively (and deadly) beach that the locals inhabit. Excellent supporting performances from Charlotte Gainsbourg and the others round out a thought provoking and well-executed film.

An incredible character study masterfully played by Tim Roth. SUNDOWN is a slow burn but beautifully shot, regardless of the paradisal surroundings. Those surroundings, ironically become more and more uncomfortable, too, as that burn starts to get hot, but never scalding.

Even though the mystery of Neil increases, there is never that "aha!" moment. That Roth expected diatribe shouting out the why's and wherefores in that incredible London accent of his. Instead, SUNDOWN provides a lazy tale of maddening degeneration, domestic beer, and, just perhaps, true love.

Totally worth watching. And totally entertaining. Totally wish, though, that the resolution was equally compelling.

MOVIE REVIEW Sundown R - 4 out of 5 stars

Genre: Drama Year Released: 2021 Runtime: 1h 22m Director: Michel Franco Writer: Michel Franco Cast: Tim Roth, Iazua Larios, Charlotte Gainsbourg Where To Watch: Available to rent on all major VOD apps

I like sharing the official IMDb synopsis whenever reviewing films; I do this because it always intrigues me at the disconnect between the significance of the film itself and the given outline. I'm sure some of that is intentional to avoid spoilers which, as you know, I appreciate! In the case of this film, it may have one of the best examples of a spoiler-free synopsis I've seen. "Neil and Alice Bennett are the core of a wealthy family on vacation in Mexico until a distant emergency cuts their trip short. When one relative disrupts the family's tight-knit order, simmering tensions rise to the fore."

While only having a 6.6 rating on IMDb, I think this was a fantastic film with one of Tim Roth's ("Pulp Fiction," "Planet of the Apes") best performances in recent memory. However, Iazua Larios ("Apocalypto") stole the show. She has such a level of realism to her character on screen that I was wholly sold every time she was on screen. Her interactions with Roth were felt so legitimate that you could get lost in their performances, which made the entire film a delight.

As per my usual attempts, I hadn't seen a trailer for this; all I knew about it was the poster. I prefer it that way as much as possible. In this case, it let me experience the film from a 100% unbiased perspective. I didn't even know who was in the cast until I saw them on screen; if you've read any of my reviews in the past, you'll know that I try to avoid trailers because I've had too many films spoiled for me unintentionally. Sometimes trailers give things away that ruin some of the most impactful moments in the movie.

Clocking in at just an hour and twenty minutes, this film packs a lot into its runtime. The plot is simple, but the story is more profound in reality. It's not a love story; it's not an action film, it's not a slow burn, but yet somehow, it's all of those and more. A well-written script is a powerful tool, and this film is a shining example. While I haven't seen any of director Michel Franco's other films, I'm more than curious now; he directed this and wrote it. I know that not every movie can be nominated for an Oscar, but it bums me when great performances and fantastic direction are overlooked. This just proves why I do the Oscar Death Race each year, I love seeing all of the nominated films, but there's so much more to it. That's just where I start, then I widen my search from there and thankfully end up with so many lesser-known gems like this one.

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Sundown is a film that I find difficult to explain why I enjoyed it. It's definitely not for everyone, but I was pleasantly surprised since I expected it to be more on the pretentious art film side of the spectrum.

I didn't know anything about the main character at the beginning of the film, and slowly discovering more about him over the course of the film was really interesting. The pacing is consistent, although for some it may be a bit too slow, with entire scenes that have no dialogue. I personally thought this made it feel more authentic, as there were no forced conversations for the sake of drama.

It's very much a drama, but there was an element of mystery there. In the beginning, I didn't understand the motivations of Roth's character, I didn't understand the full scope of what they were going through. Piecing it all together as the film progressed was very rewarding, and the ending gave more closure than I was expecting (movies like this tend to end abruptly).

It's a 7.5/10 for me. I wouldn't recommend it to those that like plot heavy movies or dislike character studies, but I enjoyed it far more than I was expecting.

Excellent, 'show don't tell ' example of movie making. A metaphor. An unreliable narrator.

Tim Roth is understated brilliance personified.

Michel Franco directs with great feeling and symbolism (the pig, upmarket and local Acapulco)