The future’s anything but bright in “Sunlight Jr.,” a topical drama about one devoted couple (Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon) struggling within the cycle of poverty.
Melissa (Watts) works as a cashier at a Florida mini-mart, where she’s bullied by her boss and stalked by a thuggish ex (Norman Reedus, who makes a great thug). Her boyfriend, the wheelchair-bound Richie (Dillon), survives on disability checks, whiskey and optimism, assuring Melissa he’ll take care of her even when it’s clear that — as she points out — he’s not doing so hot taking care of himself . . . or her, for that matter. His attempt to drive her to work is cut short when his car runs out of gas, and he can’t afford more.
But they’re really sweet to each other, so we root, against all odds, for them to have a storybook ending. Despite their hand-to-mouth existence — and no evidence indicating conditions will improve — the couple’s thrilled when Melissa gets pregnant.
Director and writer Laurie Collyer’s last movie was 2006’s “Sherrybaby,” which starred Maggie Gyllenhaal as an ex-con. She’s certainly taken her time on the follow-up, but once again shows a deep empathy for her working-class characters.
It’s slightly tough to get onboard with the regal Naomi Watts sporting badly sprayed hair and frosted lipstick; surely there are more flattering shades at the Walgreens? But both she and Dillon are terrific as three-dimensional people, trying to live meaningful lives despite crummy circumstances and childhoods, who occasionally screw up (or just get drunk and screw).
With a washed-out cinematography that echoes the couple’s bone-deep tiredness — Melissa’s night on the graveyard shift an especially stark example — Collyer paints a sobering and important picture of the way many of us live now. A study out earlier this month found 1 in 6 Americans live in poverty, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many of their stories at the movies.