Always Shine

Updated review 2025:

So I think of this movie often and have seen it at least 10 times since the first time several years ago. It really grew on me as I got older and started to 'get it' more. I oddly identify so much with Mackenzie Davis's character now, which isn't really a good thing and I definitely share her envy for women who know how to hold their tongue and appear more coy, even if it's not who they really are. It's a movie that makes me feel like I'm looking into a mirror a bit. That monologue she does is the beginning is really incredible, as is the scene with the guy at the fire pit at the bar. Both women are jealous of each other and don't realize it or admit it, but there are definitely a lot of themes going on in this. It's a story that needed to be told even though the ending still bothers me because it feels lazy and incomplete, though I think now I understand why it was chosen that way. I'd really like to see more movies like this that don't sugar coat female relationships.

The following review is after my initial first viewing in 2017:

The only reason I give this movie a 7 is because I was enjoying it right up until the last few minutes. I was so disappointed with the ending that I considered rating it a 4 (due to the script not being very philosophical or interesting for an indie flick with a clear agenda), but Mackenzie Davis SAVED this.

If you watch the movie knowing the ending is going to disappoint you, then you may just enjoy it that much more. I wish I had known. I felt that it ended abruptly and had no point. The dialogue wasn't great throughout, and I was disappointed in basically all of the acting, aside from Mackenzie. She was so magnetic in this, she really pulled me in. By the end, I wanted to be her. In that sense, this movie is worth seeing. However, if you like films with a beginning, middle, and a proper end, then just pass this one up and save yourself the time.

I didn't love Always Shine, but I did admire the film's chutzpah. It takes a lot of clichéd elements like the rivalry between women, especially actresses, but puts a new spin on them.

The film is about two best friends, Beth (Caitlin FitzGerald) and Anna (Mackenzie Davis). Both are actresses but Beth is experiencing a sudden surge in her career as she begins to land dumb parts in big budget successful horror movies. Anna meanwhile is the more talented of the two, but can't get a decent agent or good work. Her strong personality is also perceived as abrasive while Beth's doormat behaviour is perceived as being extremely attractive. The women head up to a cabin for a vacation but tension about their careers is high and neither can find it within themselves to be kind, graceful or supportive of the other. As tensions flare they finally learn what they really think of one another.

The acting on this is great and I did enjoy the twist. It's a bit of a psychological horror film, so while the gore isn't there, it's still pretty dynamic and a little scary.

Our two characters, Anna and Beth, are both actresses. Bashful Beth is a rising success, while bold Anna's career is struggling to take off. The two decide to take a weekend away to rekindle a neglected friendship. However the trip seems burden by an overbearing sense of tension, that slowly builds between the two over their stay, leading to an unexpected yet unavoidable confrontation.

The film is intriguing enough to hold interest until the end, mainly because of the two main characters and the actresses portraying them. The film is at it's best when centered on the two and their interactions. When the plot takes over with it's evasiveness and phantasmagoria, it seems to use the excuse of self awareness as an answer to your questions. An interesting watch nonetheless with a commentary that touches on sexism and type casting.

It's a really good slow burn and the director and one of the characters do a damn good job of pushing you into a corner and making you feel uncomfortable the entire movie. Great slow burn but what was up with the ending? Somebody please explain? Even YouTube doesn't know.

This movie was going along great until the last little bit. The end leaves you with a few questions. No one wants to constantly walk in the shadow of someone else. I would've had rated this higher if the ending had been more than what it was. Wasn't bad just didn't end right.