Come Early Morning (B- or 3/4 stars)
Ashley Judd has finally found a winning leading role in 'Come Early Morning', a drama written & directed by Joey Lauren Adams (of Chasing Amy). Lucille (Judd) is a downtrodden woman, living in a small, Arkansas town. Born and raised there, Lucille drinks hard, screws hard, and leaves 'em hard. This film tells the story of her struggles, the awakening of her soul (so to speak), and the long road that lies ahead of her in the end. After viewing this small, quiet, but moving film ... I'm confident that Joey Lauren Adams will be turning out films of similar quality in the near future.
Here's Lucy's day-to-day: wakes up in a motel room (after a one-night stand); comes home & takes some meds for her throbbing hangover; heads out to work (she's a contractor); makes sure she's visiting & taking care of both of her grandmothers (her mother is dead and her father is a recluse); comes home, cracks open a beer, catches up with her friend, Kim ... and then heads off to the bar again to play some pool, shoot the breeze, get drunk, & sleep with the next oh-so-lucky slob, etc.. It is the non-existent relationship with her father that spurs Lucy's life choices. Attempts to re-connect via attending church with him have proven unfortunate. Maybe the only thing to salvage her lowly life would be the new guy in town, Cal (Jeffrey Donovan).
He's the only man in the area who is with-it enough to tell Lucy that it's ok to stick around the next morning instead of running off; she doesn't know how to love. While some low-balls are thrown at Lucy along the way, she is able to come out on-top and take her life by the reigns ... so we think. Her dedication/burden to her grandmothers shows that she has a heart, but she's so misguided by her unfortunate past that it's hard for her to break-through to anyone. This film is simple and nothing really happens; but the notion of hopelessness, despair, but eventual hope, makes this an honest character-piece.
The film is edited well. I enjoy the authentic feel of southern bars, dirt roads, & an uber-relaxed way of life. It's easy to conceptualize 'The South'; but Adams avoids many southern cliches here. By way of a miracle, I found this to be Ashley Judd's finest performance, and I really liked the film in the end (something I can almost never say about her or her films). I'd like to know what happens to Lucy next. But the beauty of the film is, we actually have no idea. And given her nature, it's very hard to predict. She seems to be going in the right direction, but Judd's ability to let us 'know' Lucy makes us think it will always be an uphill battle.
Here's Lucy's day-to-day: wakes up in a motel room (after a one-night stand); comes home & takes some meds for her throbbing hangover; heads out to work (she's a contractor); makes sure she's visiting & taking care of both of her grandmothers (her mother is dead and her father is a recluse); comes home, cracks open a beer, catches up with her friend, Kim ... and then heads off to the bar again to play some pool, shoot the breeze, get drunk, & sleep with the next oh-so-lucky slob, etc.. It is the non-existent relationship with her father that spurs Lucy's life choices. Attempts to re-connect via attending church with him have proven unfortunate. Maybe the only thing to salvage her lowly life would be the new guy in town, Cal (Jeffrey Donovan).
He's the only man in the area who is with-it enough to tell Lucy that it's ok to stick around the next morning instead of running off; she doesn't know how to love. While some low-balls are thrown at Lucy along the way, she is able to come out on-top and take her life by the reigns ... so we think. Her dedication/burden to her grandmothers shows that she has a heart, but she's so misguided by her unfortunate past that it's hard for her to break-through to anyone. This film is simple and nothing really happens; but the notion of hopelessness, despair, but eventual hope, makes this an honest character-piece.
The film is edited well. I enjoy the authentic feel of southern bars, dirt roads, & an uber-relaxed way of life. It's easy to conceptualize 'The South'; but Adams avoids many southern cliches here. By way of a miracle, I found this to be Ashley Judd's finest performance, and I really liked the film in the end (something I can almost never say about her or her films). I'd like to know what happens to Lucy next. But the beauty of the film is, we actually have no idea. And given her nature, it's very hard to predict. She seems to be going in the right direction, but Judd's ability to let us 'know' Lucy makes us think it will always be an uphill battle.