Review of Sunlight Jr. (2013) by Thomas W — 24 Jan 2014

Sunlight Jr. is a good movie ... period (but not an easy one to watch). This sentence is perhaps the easiest and most concise thing one can say to others about Sunlight Jr. when trying to find people willing to give the little, independent film a chance.

While I have made it sound as if Sunlight Jr. is a carrier of the plague or something else as equally dreadful (Septic shock anyone?), that is obviously not the case although if Sunlight Jr. were about zombies it would be easier to find the film an audience as it is a bit of a downer.

Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive, King Kong) stars as Melissa, a hard-working and down-on-her-luck Florida woman so desperate for a job in today's economy that she allows herself to be misused and abused by a stingy boss who cares little about workplace safety and even less about regulations and labor laws.

It is imperative Melissa keep her job at the Sunlight Jr. as her paraplegic boyfriend Richie (Matt Dillon - To Die For, Crash) is unable to find sustainable employment and it is her downright respectable income from the quickie mart (yep!) that keeps the loving couple in their humble home - a cheap, pay-by-the-week single-bed motel room that comes with a free hot plate AND an option of a premium micro-fridge upgrade! The film has been described as "a love story set in the ruins of the American dream"! There are too many Melissa's and Richie's in the world that people chose not to see anyway so audiences won't want to tune in to a bleak movie to be reminded of a rigged system.

Something special here, though, is that the two don't give up ... perhaps because sunlight will always at least shine somewhere.