Review by Zach Dennis
While vacationing in Mexico with his family, Neil’s (Tim Roth) sister Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg) gets a phone call: a family member has died and they need to get back home for the funeral as soon as possible.
As the family heads to the airport, Neil says he just realized he left his passport at the hotel and for them to go on with the flight as he makes arrangements to get home after retrieving the identification. Only we don’t see him rush back to the airport; instead, he heads for the beach with a beer.
Sundown is a true slow burn film, anchored by an amazingly reserved Tim Roth in the lead role. You constantly are waiting for writer/director Michel Franco to reveal Neil’s motivations for acting the way he does, but the opaqueness makes the film even more compelling.
Why is he doing this? The answer is: why not?
Tim Roth in ‘Sundown’
It’s worth going in knowing about as much as I’ve divulged about Sundown as the twists and turns of the narrative continues to heighten your frustrations with and curiosity about Neil. It’s clear he and Alice come from a very wealthy British family as money doesn’t seem to be an object and their initial resort hotel is top of the line.
On his return from the airport, Neil makes for a cheaper accommodation in town; electing to spend each day lounging by the beach, drinking beer, telling his sister he’s doing his best to make his return to the U.K. and striking up a relationship with a local woman named Bernice (Iazua Larios).
The two spend most of their time having sex or drinking by the beach, with other locals engaging with Neil, including the taxi driver who takes him from the airport to the hotel. As the narrative ramps up and his sister becomes more despondent with her inscrutable brother, Franco challenges the audience to stick with Neil as he continues to execute the same daily activities as he’s done over the course of the film.
I’ll have to admit I get it to a degree. While never coming out explicitly that Neil wants to get away from (or has a problem with) his family, or has a job with the company that wears on him, to me, I interpret his decision as seeing a way to just escape the monotony that awaits him back at home. Would it be better to go to a job daily and work yourself to death, or would you rather enjoy your days having sex with a beautiful woman and drinking beer on a beach in Mexico?
The choice seems clear in this case, but Sundown adds moral quandaries in your path so that this decision can’t be taken as easily as one would think. Anchored by Roth’s performance, it’s a satisfying rumination on class that should be sought out if you get the chance.