Still, one can’t help but think about her previous effort, “Sherrybaby,” the Golden Globe-nominated indie that chronicled some similar brutal realities with the social realism milieu. It’s good to have Collyer back after a seven-year absence from cinema and it’s important for someone like her to tell these stories of the undervalued and disadvantaged. Unflinchingly honest and grim, “Sunlight Jr.” is a valuable piece of work from a filmmaker who has a distinctive voice and concerns. Mascis does the score, which mostly works when less is more, but sometimes you wish indie-rockers would seek a lending hand with more complex scenes-quiet and loud aren’t nuanced enough for the emotional spectrum of character piece movies. While the picture is not completely despondent, it’s far, far from the feel-good film of the year and this may limit its options, even in the arthouse circuit. On the flip side of the coin, some even small concessions towards story could have made the drama feel less like an abject and merciless portrait of the underprivileged. And it’s honest and doesn’t feel the need to add crime or one central dramatic plot device to lift the stakes or movie-ize the narrative. On the one hand, the film and screenplay is smart enough to never explain how Richie got into a wheelchair (the worst case scenario being an expository line of dialogue that sticks out like a sore thumb). This is to the picture’s benefit and detriment. Or rather, Collyer is much less interested in narrative and three-act structure (which often give directionless pictures a little focus) than she is in her characters. Matt Dillon and Naomi Watts anchor the picture with absorbing and impressive performances, but “Sunlight Jr.” is also lacking much narrative. Few rays of hope or sunlight enter the frames of this picture and every dire situation and circumstance grows into something more oppressively dark. Though Collyer always presents her characters with respect and dignity and her “Sunlight Jr.” drama is in many respects soulful, humanistic and an authentic portrait of the distressed and exploited have-nots, the picture is also unrelentingly bleak. What is briefly a joyful occasion quickly becomes another increasingly difficult obstacle when Melissa’s store manager gives her late-night shifts and an emergency hospital visit lands them a $1,500 medical bill they don’t know how to pay. But on top of strained finances, a shitty boss and a harassing ex-boyfriend, the couple’s life takes a turn for the worse when they become pregnant. Yes, Richie can’t walk, but fortunately for them, it’s still fully functioning downstairs (and yes, since this is a Laurie Collyer film and Naomi Watts stars, there’s plenty of naked raw sex and nudity). The couple’s best reprieve, other than cigarettes and booze, is their copious, lustful lovemaking. Exacerbating their difficulties is Justin ( Norman Reedus), a greasy scumbag Oxycontin dealer and the abusive ex-boyfriend that is stalking Melissa at work. The manager is a sleazeball, the pay is pitiful, and soon she’s working dangerous graveyard hours. But her thankless minimum wage job at a convenience chain called Sunlight is little source of financial or emotional comfort. The actors are so good that you wish Collyer offered them a richer arc to play, rather than just a topic.Melissa ( Naomi Watts) on the other hand is the breadwinner of the house-or rather, the motel room they rent and the bills they suffer to pay each month. is what you would correctly guess, pegging each conflict to erupt and a decision about Melissa's pregnancy to be made. After one particularly well-photographed encounter, she's pregnant, which they literally can't afford. One thing Richie and Melissa still enjoy is sex. Mostly he drinks at Boardwalk Tavern and grumbles about Justin hanging around, acting crazy. Richie fixes anything electronic except computers, so side jobs are slim. Melissa's mother (Tess Harper) - who's a Steve Wilkos show all to herself - won't help because she lives in one of the shanties.Īt least Melissa has Richie (Dillon), and his disability checks after being waist-down paralyzed in a work accident. Melissa's latest speed bump in life is the expiration of a restraining order on Justin (Norman Reedus), an ex-boyfriend dabbling in shanty real estate and dealing prescription pills. But she can score food before it hits the Dumpster, if she's nice to the boss (Antoni Corone), who's either trying to fire or seduce her. Watts plays Melissa the movie is named for the convenience store where she tenuously holds a job she despises.
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