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Ashley Judd gives a remarkable performance in this film but there are lots of other reasons to see it. Indeed, the music is very good, and there is a CD soundtrack (I checked Amazon as soon as I came home).

There are many painful moments as an extended and frayed family tries to talk to each other, or avoid it. It's about being stuck in old patterns and being clueless about making changes, no matter how old the people are.

I know one reason the film got local buzz is because it was filmed here, but as someone who hasn't lived in AR long, I was just an average movie goer looking to see Judd in something that was not a highly charged thriller. Ruby in Paradise (1993) was the first time I ever saw her, and that film about how to survive when no matter what you do doesn't seem enough, showed her talent. Come Early Morning evoked the same feelings.

The whole project seems a labor of love, love of real people living ordinary lives and doing the best they can.

Joey Lauren Admans "Come Early Morning" seems almost like a continuation of the film that made its star, Ashley Judd, famous, Victor Nunez' "Ruby in Paradise." Both pictures are about girls trying to make a life for themselves in small southern towns, but Lucy, the protagonist of "Early Morning" is at least a decade older than Ruby. That is why it seems almost to be the next chapter in Ruby's story.

The decade has not treated the protagonist well. Where as Ruby was a sort of wide eyed innocent, Lucy is now a woman whose journey through life is encumbered by a lot of baggage.

She has problems relating to men on a romantic level, seeing them as either cold and unresponsive like her father or just mean and domineering like some of the other men in her family and the slugs she picks up in local bars.

So, somewhat predictably, when she meets a nice guy, she rejects him enough times that he eventually moves on.

Ashley Judd is such a fine, appealing actress that she keeps you glued to the screen, despite the somewhat predictable plot twists. But there is something about the screenplay which fails, for I never had much faith in her character, who in many ways seemed as emotionally bottled up as her father.

And that's the film's failure. "Ruby" ended on a hopeful note, if for no other reason than that the central character was smart, resourceful and had her whole life ahead of her. "Come Early Morning's" protagonist faces a cloudy future and while the film showed guts in admitting that, it didn't leave you wanting to see more of Lucy the way the earlier film made you want more of Ruby.

Nice try by everyone involved, but it was just too dark a picture in many ways.

One final note. So many films these days have no significant subplot. Lucy had some kind of construction business, but it was so downplayed that in the end, when she takes over the business, we don't exactly know how big an achievement that is, or if it really means more to her than just taking on harder work for no real pay off.

This film could have been more effective had her career or some other aspect of her life been more fully developed so that she faced some real test there as well. Subplots are important in that they give stories and their protagonists depth. And of course, the stakes always need to be higher for the protagonist, to make us care.

The DVD box promises us "the best performance of her career," and I'd agree with that 100%. Too bad this fine movie was saddled with a deadly non-commercial title, too bad the DVD is supposedly a "Blockbuster exclusive" which limits its availability. Too bad the summary on the box is dishonest; most likely just because some good movies are hard to describe.

JUDD plays a 30-something woman who often wakes up in a stranger's bed after several-too-many beers in a country music honky tonk. The story is about how she finds her way --- after a few stumbling blocks --- after her sister tells her that getting to know a guy such as his middle name and where he's from isn't so bad.

The marvel of the movie is a screenplay that follows her everyday life in a Southern town without ever resorting to anything but on-the-level events and interactions. Never boring, always involving, this is JUDD'S movie. She's on camera 99% of the running time. This is a brilliant portrait of a woman.

Lots of country music in the background. Good stuff, with lots of heart and sorrow; not the Kenney Chesney-like trash we hear on the radio these days with no tune and nothing lyrics; just loud. Old stuff, new stuff; but good stuff. Amen!

Saw this at the Chicago Film Festival and it was a great experience. The movie is a glimpse into the life and relationships of Lucy (Ashley Judd). I went in thinking it was going to be very intense and sad (especially after seeing some of the movie stills) and was very pleasantly surprised at the descriptive intense way the complex Lucy was portrayed and the light feel of the movie despite some very unhappy circumstances. I left the movie feeling like I got to know a good person and had some hope - but didn't see Hollywood clichés or forced happily ever afters.

The writer/director Joey Lauren Adams didn't take any shortcuts and quite happily didn't try to make a movie that appealed to everyone. This is a "real" southern town with "real" people. In the after movie question and answer session with Ms. Adams, she said it would be an interesting exercise to re-shoot the entire movie, keeping the dialog, with a man in the lead role. I keep going back to that…. I'd love to hear/see/read the different reactions of critics and audiences to the male and female versions of "Lucy".

COME EARLY MORNING is not only a marvelous Joey Lauren Adams film, but is something which an audience can empathize with in watching the sun's rays fall upon Ashley Judd as she wakes up next to a man that she has long forgotten from the night before. With early morning, the film is about facing your demons and the truth about yourself and your past.

Ms. Judd nails her character to a "T" and the supporting cast is really wonderful in bringing out her past and more importantly, about what she has attempted to accomplish in her young life in a male world. The film is painful, and yet also joyous, in watching the journey which Judd has taken in gaining self worth, and happiness. The last scene is rich and memorable for a film heavy with pathos, pain and anger.

COME EARLY MORNING brings Ashley Judd front and center in her career as an important and talented actress in American cinema.