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the audience applauded

hyped garbage

Crappy film

A Masterpiece!

Always Shine combines elements of Persona, Single White Women, Mulholland Drive, and the trope of being in slim-populated woodlands.It does not succeed, especially in the 2nd half after a somewhat-promising first that builds up slowly after introducing us to the two main leads; a timid but rising young actress whose career is starting to trend upward, and a brash and fiery aspiring young actress whose career hasn't taken off.The timid Beth has a chance to reconnect w/ "old friend" Anna. I use quotations there due to the film's absence of showing us exactly how these two are friends when neither get along w/ the another very well. Very soon it's shown Beth has kept information from Anna which might have led to a role.This upsets Anna and she is further angered when Beth is hit on by a party-goer not far from the Big Sur home they spend time at "reconnecting," and this same chap had just backed off from the forceful Anna.Now at this point we're still not sure where exactly we're heading with all this tension and awkwardness. At one point Beth points out Anna no longer is friends with Beth, perhaps even hates her. So we assume the rapid flashbacks of violence that splash on the screen at random times will come to fruition in the form of violence.But soon the film degenerates into montages of reality blurring with fantasy; Beth races from the vacation house to be chased by Anna, following a frantic call from Beth to her boyfriend (who drives to Big Sur but disappears entirely near the end; none of the male characters here are important or shown to be competent or confident or necessary) and something bad takes places.Soon after Anna takes over Beth's looks and personality (to the point of mingling w/ Beth's new bartender friend, met at Big Sur after he gives Beth a lift back to the house; he doesn't notice the difference or perhaps this is a fantasy in Anna's head but I was too disinterested by this point to care.)Always Shine is mercifully short, not even 90 minutes. Minutes that go by rather slowly after an intriguing beginning of close-up camera shots for the female leads, establishing their personalities. The final shot comes sooner than expected, but it's rather confusing and not in a good way. As I mention the two leads are the best reason to watch this; the males are rather bland and off-putting, much like the dialogue save for scenes between Anna/Beth. Jane Adams appears briefly near the end; blink and you'll miss her.Not the best material, not very original or captivating. Davis comes off best here in a somewhat meaty role. You'd be best to catch her in Tully, instead. Much more invigorating; Shine is more like a flickering 40-watt bulb.

Two women who are aspiring actresses and lifelong friends decide to take a retreat to a beautiful house overlooking the woods and the ocean in Northern California to reconnect after time has started to move them in different directions. One is becoming more famous everyday and is close to her big break, while the other is stuck in neutral. That the woman who is close to making it is also a passive woman, with little of interest to add to any conversation and little in the way of personality, who is prone to saying yes to any man asking her any thing (whether to take her clothes off or to go to dinner with a man her friend clearly likes even though she has a boyfriend she likes) and the other is stubborn, outspoken and "feminist" with a strong personality, is the real crux of the film though. This is a movie about what it takes to make it in Hollywood, but also just as a woman in any walk of life. The prevalent constant sexism under the hood of everyday expectations of being female.There's a naturalness to both performances that works well, and the tension mounts from meaningful dialogue exchanges and the actor's faces. Then the twist happens and while it's interesting in theory, it also sort of halts the movie's progress and momentum. Outside of the clearly labeled theme there isn't enough exploration or insight.

Beth and Anna are young actresses whose careers are going in opposite directions. They grew up as friends, but have lost touch as Anna became jealous of Beth's success. To reconnect they go on a retreat to Big Sur.The movie is supposed to be a thriller, but absolutely nothing thrilling happens. The two talk and talk and talk without anything actually happening. There isn't anything overly threatening occurring. The only thought crossing the viewer's mind is how unlikable Beth is. she's a shell of a person who can't accept her own success. At least Anna feels truer, having some emotion come out of her when needed.I'm not sure anything could have made this bore of a movie any better. It got 2 out of 10 only because the production values were solid, and the actress who played Anna did a good job with the bad material she had.

The only reason I give this movie a 7 is because I was enjoying it right up until the last few minutes. I was so disappointed with the ending that I considered rating it a 4 (due to the script not being very philosophical or interesting for an indie flick with a clear agenda), but Mackenzie Davis SAVED this.If you watch the movie knowing the ending is going to disappoint you, then you may just enjoy it that much more. I wish I had known. I felt that it ended abruptly and had no point. The dialogue wasn't great throughout, and I was disappointed in basically all of the acting, aside from Mackenzie. She was so magnetic in this, she really pulled me in. By the end, I wanted to be her. In that sense, this movie is worth seeing. However, if you like films with a beginning, middle, and a proper end, then just pass this one up and save yourself the time.