Always Shine

2016년 • 86분

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Best friends Anna & Beth take a weekend trip to Big Sur, hopeful to re-establish a bond broken by years of competition & jealousy. Tensions mount, leading to an unexpected yet inevitable confrontation, changing both of their lives forever.

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The amazing acting by Davis saved this movie from being a self-indulgent indie flick and elevated it further than the plot or gimmicky filler flashbacks/forwards would've otherwise warranted. I'd have preferred an "all in" at the end rather than the predictable unraveling. Also there are a few editing issues, some quite glaring like a boom mic and a clapperboard in a few scenes. Issue is takeaway, there was none, other than modern life and pressures suck some under, imposing anything more is wishful.

Let it be known that the plot is not something new or revolutionary. Two friends go on a road trip, have to live which other, and things devolve from there. What Always Shine does differently though is let the character drama take center stage. It's a story of two actors living in the Hollywood acting realm who are each experiencing a different level of success. Again, you can already guess how this could cause animosity and conflict between them. To the films credit the director lets that relationship play out by letting the actors shine in their roles. It's a movie about acting and perception. The actors act and the camera is there to capture every bit of the emotion on display. Of course you need capable people on the screen and Mackenzie Davis and Caitlin FitzGerald do an exceptional job of portraying friends who have an issue to work out. I have no problem recommending this to fans of film.

.. I guess the moral of the story is LA blows.. like this plot.. spoiler alert.. there isn't one