As many of us might sadly know all too well, the American economy is in a tough place right now. That’s not a political statement, but a truthful one found in sky-high prices, and Americans struggling with not only job loss and homelessness, but also how hard it is to afford a home even if you have one. The desperation that comes with this was captured by Willy Vlautin in his 2021 novel The Night Always Comes, and now it has been adapted into a Netflix film. Written by Sarah Conradt, and directed with precision by Benjamin Caron (Andor, Sharper), Night Always Comes stars Vanessa Kirby in every scene as a woman living that desperation as she attempts to keep her family together and save their home. With the reality of eviction closing in, her character, Lynette, is in a race against time, which will cause her to sink to new lows, all in the name of hope and love. Caron and Kirby give us a raw realism that might be hard to watch, but is necessary to experience.
What Is ‘Night Always Comes’ About?

Every single scene is focused on Lynette (Kirby), a woman at the end of her proverbial rope. She lives in a rundown Portland, Oregon home, the one she grew up in, with her mother, Doreen (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and her older brother, Kenny (Zack Gottsagen). With Doreen flaky and not dependable, and Kenny unable to take care of himself alone due to having Down Syndrome, it’s up to Lynette to be the responsible one. That’s not a good thing, because Lynette has her own issues, with a past that involved prostitution, anger issues, and her inability to keep a job. Still, despite her failures, she’s the responsible little sister who takes care of Kenny. All Lynette wants is to buy the family home, which will save the family from eviction and stop Kenny from being taken away to live in a facility. When Doreen spaces out and doesn’t come through with the $25,000 due the next morning to make it happen, a desperate Lynette has just hours to come up with the money. She will do anything to make it happen, including returning to her dark past and committing all sorts of crimes as the suffocating minutes click by. Night Always Comes takes place mostly at night, and while the plot and the scenes surrounding it are set in perpetual darkness, can Lynette succeed and find a hopeful light at the end of the tunnel?
Benjamin Caron’s Direction Sets up a Plot That Never Lets Up

Night Always Comes spells out the pain Lynette and her family are going through as a microcosm of a deeper trend. Through news reports on the TV and radio, Lynette is inundated by stories of people just like her struggling to get by and losing everything. This only strengthens her resolve not to end up just like them. The film is a character-driven drama, but in Benjamin Caron’s hands, he turns up the intensity, nearly transforming it into an action movie at times. With his sweeping shots of a lit-up Portland at night, combined with Lynette so often being in her car, driving deeper into the city, it’s easy to think of movies like Drive. Although they are vastly different, Night Always Comes finds a way to make such a depressing plot watchable by making the tension the centerpiece. There are slower moments and times of dialogue and reflection, but with the ticking clock format, Lynette doesn’t have time to slow down and doubt herself for very long. Caron gives us scene after scene of Lynette committing acts that not only humiliate her but could land her in jail. It hurts her to beg Scott (Randall Park), the rich, married man who pays for her company, for help, but she loves her brother enough to do it. When she visits her friend, Gloria (Julia Fox), at the penthouse apartment her politician boyfriend arranged for her to live in, she shouldn’t be eyeing that safe in the closet, but love forces her to do it anyway. And Lynette should leave co-worker and convicted criminal, Cody (Stephan James), alone, but her all-encompassing need to give Kenny a good life will allow her to put other people in danger. Benjamin Caron makes Portland a character in its own right. It pulsates with neon life in the night, and every single frame screams of the present. This is the now, with battered homes pushed up against encroaching condos for the wealthy. The streets, the buildings, and the people in those places resemble not just Portland, but America itself. Caron points his attention at Lynette, but there could be so many other desperate stories worth telling too, if only we chose to. Caron makes Portland look both beautiful and fake, as well as falling apart and alive. No matter where you are, danger can be around any corner.
Vanessa Kirby Creates a Character Worth Rooting for No Matter What

Lynette (Vanessa Kirby) looking up in ‘Night Always Comes’
Image via Netflix

Vanessa Kirby is in nearly every shot of Night Always Comes, but this is still an ensemble cast, and they have to be compelling enough to root for Lynette to save him. Jennifer Jason Leigh is frustratingly effective as Doreen, a woman you want to shake into action, but there is a reason for her apathy that comes out soon enough. Zack Gottsagen, who became a star in his leading role in The Peanut Butter Falcon, plays another strong character who shouldn’t be felt sorry for just because he has a disability. Yes, Lynette has a good reason to worry about him, but not only does he repeatedly tell his sister that he loves her, but he also calls her out on her crap while telling her that he’ll be there for her. Lynette not only wants to help this man because he needs it, but also because her older brother is the only person who truly loves her. In such a difficult story, their relationship makes you want to keep going when it all gets to be too much. Still, it’s Vanessa Kirby who carries the weight of such an intense plot. Night Always Comes succeeds or fails based on how she plays Lynette. The wise choice is to play her as she is, flaws and all. Desperation makes her unpredictable, dangerous, and irrational, but because Caron has spent time giving us reasons to care for Lynette, we root for her to make it out alive rather than get caught. It also forces the viewer to think about what they might be capable of doing if they were at rock bottom and everything was on the line. Night Always Comes is a story built on the ravages of the past, but it works by running forward, straight into a brutal present, and into an unknown end. As Lynette gets deeper into a world of crime and bad people, it’s hard to imagine how the movie can end with her either not dead or in jail, her goal thus not achieved. The story builds in intensity to an end that’s not what you’re expecting. Is it a happy ending? Is it a sad one? We won’t spoil that here, only to say that the finale is well-earned and speaks to the larger world around Lynette. At times, Night Always Comes can get a little unrealistic with the peril we find her in, and sitting in that darkness for nearly two hours can get a little emotionally taxing, but if you stick with it, even when it’s too much to bear, you’ll find a film that needs to be seen. It is just as chaotic, caught between peril and hope, as our reality. The ugliness and the potential of humanity are rarely this captivating. Night Always Comes premieres on Netflix on August 15.

Night Always Comes

It might be a dark story, but intense storytelling and Vanessa Kirby’s acting make it worth watching.

Release Date

August 15, 2025

Runtime

108 Minutes

Director

Benjamin Caron

Writers

Sarah Conradt

Pros & Cons

Vanessa Kirby plays Lynette as a broken but strong woman who makes you root for her, no matter what she does.
The city of Portland becomes its own character.
Caron’s direction keeps the story intense throughout the entire runtime.
Lynette and Kenny’s relationship is a ray of hope keeping the viewer attached to such a tragic story.

You have to suspend your disbelief with some of the situations Lynette gets herself in.
The dark nature of the plot can get emotionally taxing at times.