Night Always Comes (2025), directed by Benjamin Caron and is an adaptation of Willy Vlautin’s 2021 novel. It stars Vanessa Kirby as Lynette, who is a hard-edged woman who has seen and done things in her life. After her mother decides to blow the family’s savings nest egg, which was earmarked to be used to secure a down payment on the family home, she sets out on a desperate mission to secure $25,000 to make sure they don’t lose their home.

Vanessa Kirby’s delivers a wonderful performance as a woman who loves her family and especially her big brother Kenny (Zack Gottsagen – The Peanut Butter Falcon), who has Down syndrome. She’s determined, desperate, and will stop at nothing to secure this money. As a desperate woman, she makes some incredible and at times frustratingly questionable decisions. From auto theft to prostitution and everything in between, she’s willing to put herself out there. She’s not just fighting for the roof over her head – she’s attempting to gain some form of control over life in a world that she feels has been working against her.

The one-night structure keeps the pacing tight. Director Benjamin Caron uses close, handheld camerawork to trap us in Lynette’s headspace, giving the sense that time is physically pressing in on her. The city itself becomes a character—cold, wet streets reflecting the emotional exhaustion that underpins every interaction. The film nails its sense of urgency. There’s always the feeling that one wrong step will bring everything crashing down. The supporting cast, while not given as much room to breathe, is really good. Jennifer Jason Leigh was fantastic as Lynette’s mother, Doreen – You really just want to strangle her and Zack Gottsagen adds heart to the journey.

Night Always Comes is a tense, street-level thriller that thrives on immediacy. It’s not here to comfort—it’s here to trap you in a night where every choice has weight, and every second counts, and not everyone will love the ending, but I found it to be satisfying and reasonable. If you’re in the mood for a story about survival that isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty, this delivers.

Kaneda