ST. LOUIS — Confession: You won't be ready for what "Sundown" serves you. That's not to say supernatural beings show up and wreak havoc on the characters and plot in this new movie, only a reminder that cinema will place traps around you if allowed. Such as the moment you see Alice and Neil enjoying a vacation with their family, the assumption is that they are a madly in love husband and wife on vacation with their kids who are about to experience a personal thunderstorm.
But that's not the whole truth, not even half of it.
Neil, Alice, Bernice, and Colin Bennett are indeed a family on vacation in Mexico when a tragedy from the homeland breaks out, cutting short their time away and sending their lives into an instant state of chaos. But the beauty in writer/director Michel Franco's film is that those are all the facts he gives you, shrouding the rest in a sea of mystery that can only be consumed if you take the plunge.
Everything that would seem normal in this sort of film-almost a drama, not exactly a thriller-vanishes after the first 15 minutes. What exists after is fascinating and raw, the kind of movie that surprises you without being overwhelming, even if you won't be able to predict what happens next. More than anything, Franco wishes to dig into the complexities of life as well as its ability to rock you at any given moment, and continue to rock your waters without notice. Much of the plot in "Sundown" just moves along like real life, as if we are merely witnessing a man's actions and decisions take center stage over his life.
After the initial setup, the film starts to belong to Neil and his journey. That's where it takes off and becomes a different kind of cinematic beast, one that marches to its own beat and doesn't feel the need to jump from point A to point B. Played with compassion and restraint by Tim Roth, we aren't quite sure why Neil lets his family return home without him, even believing him when he tells Alice (a very good Charlotte Gainsbourg) that his passport is missing. And then we watch him act erratically and spontaneously, wondering why he's doing what he is doing and why he isn't too worried about the events that are unfolding at home.
But Franco isn't interested in telling a normal story with a standard aesthetic. He lets the looseness of life's next moment be the navigator here, and he has the perfect leading man. Roth allows the audience to live vicariously through Neil, a middle-aged guy choosing the worst time to reformat his life. It's a performance that never cares to show off or detach from the movie, only pull you closer to what's really going on. Meditative is one way to put it. Relaxing is another. Like the movie, Roth's protagonist isn't in a real hurry to get anywhere, even with a film carrying a shorter-than-usual length.
Here's the thing. The mystery in "Sundown" is a strength. While we know what's going on about halfway into the movie, it still feels unconventional and wiser than what we expected (or assumed) going in. Coating the surroundings with the wayward soul grace of Mexico City enlivens the story's mystery, while the minimalist approach to a music score only heightens the intrigue. Is Neil merely taking a moment, or is he creating a new life after the sudden end of another?
In "Sundown," Franco is after the idea that we are never quite sure of our futures until we make a decision on them in the moment--and how we are prisoners of that decision and not the moment. You won't be ready for this movie and what it has to offer. Some will take refuge in its wandering plotline, while others could be put off by its realistic approach to a mid-life crisis.
For me, it was the kind of unexpectedly raw cinema that authentically depicts real life and its ability to throw hooks to the body at any given moment, without overly dramatizing any of it. The crying may be less with that formula, but the movie sticks with you longer.
