Certificate: 15

Running Time: 110 mins

UK Distributor: Netflix

UK Release Date: 15 August 2025

WHO’S IN NIGHT ALWAYS COMES?

Vanessa Kirby, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Zack Gottsagen, Stephen James, Julia Fox, Eli Roth, Randall Park, Michael Kelly

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Benjamin Caron (director, producer), Sarah Conradt (writer), Ryan Bartecki, Jodie Caron, Lauren Dark, Billy Hines, Vanessa Kirby and Gary Levinsohn (producers), Adam Janota Bzowski (composer), Damián García (cinematographer), Yan Miles (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A woman (Kirby) threatened with eviction goes on a desperate one-night odyssey…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON NIGHT ALWAYS COMES?

“Everything’s going up, except our pay checks.” “I think Americans are trained from birth to hate poor people.” “Even poor people hate poor people.” These are just some of the extremely on-the-nose soundbites heard during the opening credits of director Benjamin Caron’s Night Always Comes, in case you hadn’t already pieced together that this film about a financially destitute person trying desperately to scrape together whatever money they can to prevent eviction would have the freefalling economy on its mind. Before Caron’s name pops up, you’re practically begging the movie to shut up and actually start, rather than keep whacking you over the head with its blatant and increasingly redundant commentary.

Luckily, it’s only this part of the movie that’s like that, with the rest of it being a fairly tight race-against-time thriller which does well to leave you stressed and uncomfortable for most of its running time, thanks largely to strong performances and capable direction that both complement the relentless sleaze around every corner.

Set over a 24-hour period, Night Always Comes follows a woman named Lynette (Vanessa Kirby) who lives with her older brother Kenny (Zack Gottsagen) and their unreliable mother Doreen (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in a rundown house that they’re on the verge of being evicted from, unless they can deliver the $25,000 that’s needed. At first, that’s no problem since they’ve managed to save enough for a new roof over their heads… only for Doreen to blow it all on a new car, forcing an infuriated Lynette to approach everyone that she can, from her co-worker Cody (Stephen James) to her escort friend Gloria (Julia Fox) to even Scott (Randall Park), the rich businessman she regularly hooks up with, for the cash. Few of them are unwilling to just hand it over, of course, so Lynette ends up committing increasingly dangerous and borderline criminal acts to get what she needs.

It’s the kind of movie you’ve seen before, specifically ones like Collateral or Good Time which similarly follow a stressed protagonist getting into all sorts of city-wide escapades over the course of a single night, but while it’s nowhere close to those heights Night Always Comes still manages to get away with some decent ticking-clock suspense. You really feel for Kirby’s Lynette as she constantly comes across people who are too selfish or cold-hearted to make her rough situation any easier, with Caron often finding ways to make characters’ actions and words sting much harder than they already do through sharp cinematography and intentionally paced editing. However, the moments where she achieves some much-needed catharsis, such as stealing someone’s car and later another person’s safe that’s filled with cash and drugs, turn out to not be the sighs of relief that are needed, as the director – working from a script by Mothers’ Instinct screenwriter Sarah Conradt – piles on the tension when such actions only end up making things worse for this character, or at the very least more difficult.

Much like Good Time or even any of the Safdie brothers’ other works (including, one presumes, their upcoming solo ventures The Smashing Machine and Marty Supreme), the film is also good at presenting a grimy underworld where even the cleanest-looking of late-night diners have a distinct trashiness to them. Beyond the derelict houses and people sleeping in tents by the road that are seen in what is, again, an all-too obvious opening sequence, this whole area seems like it’s one alleyway murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents away from becoming Gotham City, with danger lurking by every road – and sometimes, even on the roads – as well as within certain people who at first seem trustworthy before they stab others in the back or turn out to be the pimps of underage prostitutes. And that’s before you even get to the scumbags with actual wealth and power, including Eli Roth of all people as a walking-and-talking red flag of a potential financial source.

It’s well-paced by Caron who elevates Conradt’s occasionally flimsy script with those extra layers of scuzziness, as does the impressive cast that makes it all the more watchable. Vanessa Kirby is a great lead, expertly conveying her character’s inner frustrations as she encounters one roadblock after another, and in some of the quieter moments she gets to share a deeply vulnerable side that barely masks her darker instincts. It’s also great seeing Zack Gottsagen, so wonderful in the excellent 2019 flick The Peanut Butter Falcon, steal scenes as Lynette’s brother where the actor gets to be both endearing and charismatic, a clear sign of confidence and comfort with being in front of a camera. The many other character actors who round up the cast, from Jennifer Jason Leigh to Michael Kelly, all leave a good impression with much less screen time, though sometimes you get one or two (Roth, mostly) who you can tell may be a bit more self-conscious with the kind of performance they’re giving.

Overall, in this particular category of movies, I’d go for something like Collateral or Good Time over Night Always Comes, because this one is less fresh in its approach as well as far less subtle (that opening really does take you out of it). But if it’s a decent enough thriller with good acting and a nice little dollop of sleaze that you’re after, then this is a fine choice you’ll be mostly glad you came for.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Night Always Comes is a decent ticking-clock thriller that relies on its amusingly sleazy underworld and a barrage of strong performances to carry its occasionally flimsy and on-the-nose storytelling.

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