The Sun Never Sets

Grade: A-

Though I imagine they existed long before, my hard “cold open” introduction to the dialogue-driven slice-of-life genre was with You Can Count on Me in late 2000. A few of the better examples since then include the likes of The Kids Are All Right, Manchester by the Sea, and The Threesome. These movies unpack so much drama over the course of their runtimes that you might feel exhausted by the end, or feel like you sat through two or three movies. The trick is to not overdo it, and The Sun Never Sets finds a perfect balance.

A major reason it works so well is Dakota Fanning’s lead performance. I remember her as an adorable child actress, and now she has grown into a woman who is so cute, it should be against the law. I wouldn’t call this movie a screwball romcom, but in the few moments where it does visit that territory, Fanning effectively leans into that mode with her doe-like, almost-clear-blue eyes, wide smile, and giggle.

It’s set in Alaska. A character uses the phrase “the sun never goes down” once, but otherwise, the film trusts us to get the meaning of the title. Fanning plays 31-year-old Wendy. For two years, she has been in a relationship with Jack (Jake Johnson), who is significantly older than Wendy. His two children love her. Even Jack’s ex-wife, with whom he is friendly, loves Wendy. No problems there.

One evening, Jack sits Wendy down and decides to “set her free” temporarily. I’m paraphrasing, but the gist of what he says is: “I don’t want you to hastily marry me and then realize years down the road that I robbed you of living your young life. Let’s take a break for a few months. Go out there. Date. Play the field. Whatever happens happens. If you connect with someone closer to your age and it goes the distance, great. I’ll be happy for you. Otherwise, if you still want to come back to me, your seat will be open. I’m not going anywhere. I won’t date during that time. I’ll wait for you if you want to return.”

He insists, despite her protests that she’s in love with him, ready to marry him, and doesn’t care that he doesn’t want more kids. It’s interesting that he is so resolute with this plan, and writer/director Joe Swanberg never provides us with a clean-cut reason why. That didn’t bother me. Swanberg is inviting us in to navigate and process it together. While Wendy is out doing what Jack told her to do, she reconnects with her last serious boyfriend before Jack. Chuck (Cory Michael Smith, who played Chevy Chase in Saturday Night) is back in town.

Jack’s plan was well-intentioned, but he begins to wish he could unsay what he said to her that night. Their situation was working out just fine. Jealousy and after-the-fact conditions to his original proposal come into play. “I’m just doing what you said,” she says. “Yes, but not HIM,” he says.

I loved that there was no clear-cut villain or hero. Nobody in the movie is wrong all the time, or perfect all the time. Throughout the arguments (and there are many), I found myself on different people’s sides. The fight scenes are more verbal, never devolving into a full-on physical altercation. Some of them take place at diners or bars, and I appreciated that Swanberg resisted employing the cliche where everything in the restaurant goes silent and all the extras start listening, accompanied by the music stopping (maybe with a record needle scratch). The characters are mostly honest with each other. When they do lie, the truth comes out quickly, rather than being saved for a cheap reveal later on.

A couple of tiny quibbles dock the grade but don’t sink the movie. Characters change their minds so much that it’s maddening when nobody feels the same way at the same time. They might just miss being on the same emotional wavelength by 5 minutes. Also, Swanberg’s screenplay seems to think that Wendy needs to be coupled up by the end. How cool and courageous would it have been if she was single after all that had happened? But no. By the end credits, she is assigned someone.

But those are the sorts of complaints that feel almost beside the point when the rest of the movie works this well. This is a film with a refreshingly interesting take on relationships and the human condition. It lives, breathes, and is carried through its dialogue and situations. Not only that, but it conjures participation from the viewer. Swanberg has established characters with strong points of view, and you’ll have them too. I found myself nodding, shaking my head, or muttering asides like “Don’t say that” or “Just go. Leave it there. Quit while you’re ahead.” I wish they made more movies like The Sun Never Sets.

Grade: A-