THE SUN NEVER SETS
(The 2026 Oak Cliff Film Festival runs July 30 through August 2 in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, TX. Check out Don Lewis’s The Sun Never Sets movie review, it’s in theaters August 28 from the Independent Film Company. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
Men are dumb. I can say this not only because it’s true but because I am a man and also, an admitted dumbass. Before you rally the dude-posse’s, I and I’m sure most men have incredible strengths and talents but I can and will argue that at our core, we’re all still insecure 13-year old little boys.
And while Joe Swanberg’s latest film The Sun Never Sets is about more than the dumbassery of Adult Males, it’s an overlying theme here and now that I’m reflecting on it, it may be an underlying theme throughout Swanberg’s lengthy and once wildly more prolific filmmaking career. I don’t mention his somewhat slowed output as a knock, I think as we get older reflection comes into play and his filmography not only, ahem, reflects that but also shows his growth as a filmmaker. The Sun Never Sets is another milestone in his career and a high watermark at that.
Dakota Fanning stars as Wendy, a young-30s gal working construction in Anchorage, Alaska. She’s in a loving, fairly long-term relationship with Jack (Jake Johnson) who seems to really adore Wendy having connected with her after a seemingly amicable divorce where he shares custody of his two kids, Jude and Abby which, not surprisingly given the personal nature of this and all Swanberg films, are the names of his real-life children. Swanberg himself is divorced and I remain curious as to what transpires here is fact versus fiction.
Wendy is an awesome young mom but through conversation and a fairly awkward moment where the two families meet up to exchange kids and Wendy holds Jack’s ex-wife’s new baby, we start to discover that Wendy might want things that Jack knows he doesn’t. Namely, to get married again and have more kids, one’s that are hers and Jack’s alone. While it’s self-aware and shows some self-reflection was done by Jack to have a boundary in place, I would be remiss if I didn’t swing this back around to my opening sentence as Jack, in his “ultimate wisdom,” makes a very dumb proposal.
Jack thinks Wendy should really be sure she wants to be with Jack knowing his boundaries on their future and tells her she should get back out there and try dating around for a few months. Jack says he’ll also do this and, if after 6 or so months, the two decide this is forever, it was meant to be.
Writing that out and also, you reading it may immediately strike you that this is a terrible idea. But damned if Johnson’s likability and Fanning’s strong screen presence don’t honestly make this seem like a maybe, sort-of good decision when it happens. Slight spoiler: It is not a good decision.
On one half-assed date Wendy runs into old flame Chuck (Cory Michael Smith, who stole the entire show with his performance as Chevy Chase in Jason Reitman’s 2024 film Saturday Night) and the sparks are immediately rekindled. So much so that the two are basically “back on again” after a few days much to the, shall we say, consternation of Jack. While Jack indeed starts to reap what he sowed by overthinking and then overcomplicating a lovely relationship, it’s Wendy who gets caught in the middle of two dudes who are still mired in mental adolescence.
The setting of Anchorage, Alaska gives The Sun Never Sets an obvious answer to what the title might mean. However, there’s nuance to this as perhaps it’s speaking to how a neverending spotlight shines on the decisions we all make, big and small. Other nuances occur throughout the film and one, where Wendy is seen lovingly texting back and forth with someone but the camera never reveals if it’s Jack or Chuck she’s speaking with, is particularly clever. I also loved a scene of a forlorn Jack, slouching alone on his couch and stewing in his terrible decision, has a half-full (or is it half empty?) glass of scotch next to a corndog stick on a plate with some mustard. Perhaps the saddest of the sad dad dinners ever put onscreen.
Johnson is one of my favorite actors and his ability to be so damned likable under typically self-imposed crises (his previous of many team up with Swanberg, 2017’s Win It All is also a great example of this) is always a tricky feat. I also really loved Smith’s performance here as Chuck, he does a ton for a fairly non-verbal man-child and completely embodies the sort of lwandrering/confused mentality so many dudes have when life’s expectations crash headlong into reality. Fanning is also the glue holding this messy situation together and I’m going to maintain her characters name Wendy is because she’s stuck on a an island with a bunch of Lost Boys.
After a buzzed about premiere at the 2026 SXSW film fest, the film was acquired for distribution by the Independent Film Company and when Swanberg spoke after the screening at the Oak Cliff Film Festival, he mentioned a fairly wide and confident roll-out for the film in just a few weeks (August 28). I mention this because if the distributor plays this right, The Sun Never Sets could be massive hit as it not only has three outstanding performances, it’s also extremely funny and very much feels in conversation with Olivia Wilde’s feted The Invite.
Editors note: Don Lewis has been friends with Joe Swanberg for over 20 years, details here!
– Don R. Lewis (@ThatDonLewis)
