Sunlight Jr.

Sunlight Jr. is a 2013 American drama film directed by Laurie Collyer and starring Matt Dillon and Naomi Watts.[2] The film is a poignant vignette following a couple expecting their first child. The couple must come to grips with their dire financial situation while in the midst of an unplanned pregnancy and its subsequent challenges. The film is inspired by Barbara Ehrenreich’s non-fiction book “Nickel and Dimed” which investigates many of the difficulties low-wage workers face.[3]

Sunlight Jr.
Film poster
Directed byLaurie Collyer
Written byLaurie Collyer
StarringNaomi Watts
Matt Dillon
CinematographyIgor Martinovic
Music byJ Mascis
Release date
  • April 20, 2013 (2013-04-20) (Tribeca)[1]
  • November 15, 2013 (2013-11-15) (US)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Unmarried lovers Melissa, a convenience store clerk, and Richie, confined to a wheelchair since a motorcycle accident, try to make ends meet on her low wages and his disability check which he supplements with occasional handyman work. Their dire situation is illustrated early in the film when Richie is stranded in his car because he has run out of gas, yet he keeps spending money in bars. Soon they face eviction for non-payment of rent from the seedy motel in which they live, and an unplanned pregnancy for which they can't afford the medical bills. As a last resort they move in with Melissa’s alcoholic mother who makes money by taking foster children into her bedbug infested home.

Cast
  • Naomi Watts as Melissa Winters
  • Matt Dillon as Richie Barnes
  • Norman Reedus as Justin
  • Tess Harper as Kathleen
  • Antoni Corone as Edwin
  • Adrienne Lovette as Vivian
  • Vivian Fleming-Alvarez as Store Patron (uncredited)
  • Keith Hudson as Micky
  • Chloe Pombo as Foster Child
  • Gustavo Escobar as Jeral
  • Victoria Vodar as Pretty Woman (uncredited)
  • Rachael Thompson as Crime and Punishment Woman
  • Beth Marshall as Molly
  • Gabriel Alexander as Kyle (uncredited)

Reception

According to Rotten Tomatoes, 63% of critics have given the film positive reviews, based on 38 reviews and an average rating of 5.92/10, while the aggregate consensus is "It doesn't offer much in the way of uplift, but Sunlight Jr.'s grim storyline is offset by Laurie Collyer's empathetic screenplay and strong performances from Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon."[4] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film holds an average score of 61, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews."[5]

Awards
Awards
Award Category Recipient(s) Outcome
Tribeca Film Festival[2] Best Narrative Feature Laurie Collyer Nominated

References
  1. "Sunlight Jr.: Tribeca Review". Hollywood Reporter. April 22, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  2. "Sunlight Jr". Tribeca. April 19, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  3. Holden, Stephen (November 14, 2013). "High Price of Barely Getting By". New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  4. "Sunlight Jr". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  5. "Sunlight Jr". Metacritic.
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