August 27, 2026
FILM: THE SUN NEVER SETS
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: JOE SWANBERG
STARRING: DAKOTA FANNING, JAKE JOHNSON, CORY MICHAEL SMITH
RATING: 2 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I love relationship dramas. I really do. However, there needs to be some movement or arc for the characters involved. Joe Swanberg’s new film The Sun Never Sets has an appropriate title because it feels like the sun never sets for any of the characters. It’s a very frustrating and unsatisfying, while well-acted, experience.
Dakota Fanning stars as Wendy, a 31-year-old woman living in Anchorage, Alaska. She’s got a few dreams: to buy a boat, get married, and have kids. She seemingly has the latter two with her boyfriend Jack, played by Jake Johnson. They are pretty happy but his two children are from a previous marriage and he isn’t interested in having more. He tells her he thinks she should try seeing other people to find out if she can get all that she wants. Wendy doesn’t want to do this because she loves Jack but goes along with the plan any way. One night out she runs into her ex Chuck, played by Cory Michael Smith. Why they broke up isn’t clear but he definitely wants to get back with her. When Wendy tells this to Jack he’s, well, far from happy.
Therein lies the initial premise of the film. One might expect that this will lead to some kind of natural narrative evolution. But it doesn’t. Instead, the film goes scene after scene with the characters making one bad decision after another. Will Wendy end up with Jack or Chuck? Ultimately, we don’t care and apparently neither does Joe Swanberg.
First off, his script makes it difficult to like any of the members of this love triangle. Dakota Fanning is excellent as Wendy. She sparkles in many scenes and also inhabits her character’s falls into states of dissatisfaction and nervousness. There’s no doubt Fanning can handle this material. The problem is that Wendy doesn’t know what she wants and the script keeps letting her flounder around moving back and forth between these two men. She’s complex, yes, but also immature and annoying. She can’t make a decision and is constantly trying to please each guy. (I can hear audiences yelling at the screen, “dump him already!”)
Jake Johnson is fine as Jack but he comes across as the controlling older man in Wendy’s life who changes his desires on a dime. He appears to love Wendy. However, he, like Chuck doesn’t want to do the things she does. At least that is the case initially. His tune changes when he finds out about Wendy’s relationship with Chuck. Chuck makes it clear from early on that he only wants what he wants and that is Wendy. The problem is that he’s uninterested in what she wants, often saying “it’s not my thing.”
Maybe they’re all wrong for each other or maybe they need to be in a three-way open relationship… That would have at least moved the plot in some novel direction. However, Swanberg just keeps the story spinning like a soap opera. I didn’t want either guy to have Wendy because she appears nothing more than fickle. Neither of the guys have much to offer either except for maybe Jack’s sense of stability and Chuck’s boyish good looks. Ultimately, they’re all annoying.
At least I can say that the scenery is nice to look at. Alaska is a great place to be in the summer when the sun never really sets. I’ve been there and it can be breathtakingly beautiful. This film though misses the mark and wastes a great setting and some good actors.
To be fair, Joe Swanberg has made some really interesting projects such as the films Drinking Buddies and Happy Christmas as well as the Netflix series Easy. He also shoots a lot of his work in the Chicago area and knows how to explore the complex world of relationships. However, this one falls short. I’m hoping he can ground himself and his characters a bit more for his next film.
The Sun Never Sets opens in limited release, including the Music Box Theater in Chicago, this week.
FILM: THE SUN NEVER SETS
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: JOE SWANBERG
STARRING: DAKOTA FANNING, JAKE JOHNSON, CORY MICHAEL SMITH
RATING: 2 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I love relationship dramas. I really do. However, there needs to be some movement or arc for the characters involved. Joe Swanberg’s new film The Sun Never Sets has an appropriate title because it feels like the sun never sets for any of the characters. It’s a very frustrating and unsatisfying, while well-acted, experience.
Dakota Fanning stars as Wendy, a 31-year-old woman living in Anchorage, Alaska. She’s got a few dreams: to buy a boat, get married, and have kids. She seemingly has the latter two with her boyfriend Jack, played by Jake Johnson. They are pretty happy but his two children are from a previous marriage and he isn’t interested in having more. He tells her he thinks she should try seeing other people to find out if she can get all that she wants. Wendy doesn’t want to do this because she loves Jack but goes along with the plan any way. One night out she runs into her ex Chuck, played by Cory Michael Smith. Why they broke up isn’t clear but he definitely wants to get back with her. When Wendy tells this to Jack he’s, well, far from happy.
Therein lies the initial premise of the film. One might expect that this will lead to some kind of natural narrative evolution. But it doesn’t. Instead, the film goes scene after scene with the characters making one bad decision after another. Will Wendy end up with Jack or Chuck? Ultimately, we don’t care and apparently neither does Joe Swanberg.
First off, his script makes it difficult to like any of the members of this love triangle. Dakota Fanning is excellent as Wendy. She sparkles in many scenes and also inhabits her character’s falls into states of dissatisfaction and nervousness. There’s no doubt Fanning can handle this material. The problem is that Wendy doesn’t know what she wants and the script keeps letting her flounder around moving back and forth between these two men. She’s complex, yes, but also immature and annoying. She can’t make a decision and is constantly trying to please each guy. (I can hear audiences yelling at the screen, “dump him already!”)
Jake Johnson is fine as Jack but he comes across as the controlling older man in Wendy’s life who changes his desires on a dime. He appears to love Wendy. However, he, like Chuck doesn’t want to do the things she does. At least that is the case initially. His tune changes when he finds out about Wendy’s relationship with Chuck. Chuck makes it clear from early on that he only wants what he wants and that is Wendy. The problem is that he’s uninterested in what she wants, often saying “it’s not my thing.”
Maybe they’re all wrong for each other or maybe they need to be in a three-way open relationship… That would have at least moved the plot in some novel direction. However, Swanberg just keeps the story spinning like a soap opera. I didn’t want either guy to have Wendy because she appears nothing more than fickle. Neither of the guys have much to offer either except for maybe Jack’s sense of stability and Chuck’s boyish good looks. Ultimately, they’re all annoying.
At least I can say that the scenery is nice to look at. Alaska is a great place to be in the summer when the sun never really sets. I’ve been there and it can be breathtakingly beautiful. This film though misses the mark and wastes a great setting and some good actors.
To be fair, Joe Swanberg has made some really interesting projects such as the films Drinking Buddies and Happy Christmas as well as the Netflix series Easy. He also shoots a lot of his work in the Chicago area and knows how to explore the complex world of relationships. However, this one falls short. I’m hoping he can ground himself and his characters a bit more for his next film.
The Sun Never Sets opens in limited release, including the Music Box Theater in Chicago, this week.