Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Always Shine

Play trailer Poster for Always Shine 2016 1h 27m Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
91% Tomatometer 53 Reviews 51% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Two women, both actresses with differing degrees of success, travel north from Los Angeles to Big Sur for a weekend vacation. Both see the trip as an opportunity to reconnect after years of competition and jealousy have driven a wedge between them. Upon arrival at their isolated forest retreat, the pair discover that their once intimate friendship has deteriorated into forced conversations, betrayals, petty jealousies, and deep-seated resentment.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Always Shine

Always Shine

What to Know

Critics Consensus

The tense and well-acted Always Shine tells an absorbing story while making a sharp, thought-provoking statement on women's roles in Hollywood.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas The Blue Lenses 08/25/2018
Always Shine is a remarkable film carried by a strong script and even stronger performances. Go to Full Review
Sheri Linden Los Angeles Times 12/01/2016
As the fog closes in, so too does the foreboding, expertly tuned to fraught dissonance by director Sophia Takal, who blends art-house flourishes with such horror conventions as the spotty cellphone reception that signals trouble. Go to Full Review
J. R. Jones Chicago Reader 12/01/2016
[Takal has] created two characters with distinctly different approaches to femininity, but these are hard to separate from the women's habitual self-regard. Go to Full Review
Dave Giannini InSession Film 02/20/2024
In Always Shine, Sophia Takal solidified herself as a young director to watch Go to Full Review
Jason Adams The Film Experience 07/02/2021
The performative commingling of these two still fresh talents is a blast Go to Full Review
Andrew Benjamin Battleship Pretension 03/16/2021
The threats grow more intense, the "stakes" constantly raised, the jump scares and music blasts louder. It becomes a more "intellectual" version of the cheap horror work it decries. The threats remain superficial. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Diana S 11/21/2024 My review contains spoilers!! Story is a bit convoluted, but the truth is, a movie about a young failing actress going to her rich family's fancy cabin in the woods to kill herself probably wouldn't hold the audience's attention, so the thriller elements falsely increase the stakes. Relevant thematically though and the actresses were both great. See more Julian S @akajulianscott 08/14/2024 You might find the deliberately ambiguous ending disappointing at first, but this gripping slow burn will stay with you long after it ends. See more Melissa L @Agent99 02/28/2024 This was just sad. Not much of a horror move. I wouldn't recommend seeing it. See more Green C 02/05/2024 The tension was palpable. But I hate blurry endings. See more Wayne M 05/24/2023 Lots of captivating subtext builds the tension between the two leads and creates an entertaining ride. See more Dennis G 12/20/2022 I would have enjoyed watching my wall more. See more Read all reviews
Always Shine

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Autumn Lights 17% 82% Autumn Lights Watchlist TRAILER for Autumn Lights The Fundamentals of Caring 80% 83% The Fundamentals of Caring Watchlist TRAILER for The Fundamentals of Caring Live Cargo 36% 76% Live Cargo Watchlist Claire in Motion 63% 29% Claire in Motion Watchlist TRAILER for Claire in Motion Priceless % 76% Priceless Watchlist TRAILER for Priceless Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Two women, both actresses with differing degrees of success, travel north from Los Angeles to Big Sur for a weekend vacation. Both see the trip as an opportunity to reconnect after years of competition and jealousy have driven a wedge between them. Upon arrival at their isolated forest retreat, the pair discover that their once intimate friendship has deteriorated into forced conversations, betrayals, petty jealousies, and deep-seated resentment.
Director
Sophia Takal
Producer
Sophia Takal, Lawrence Michael Levine, Pierce Varous
Screenwriter
Lawrence Michael Levine
Distributor
Oscilloscope Laboratories
Production Co
Salem Street Entertainment, Visit Films
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 25, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 7, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.2K
Runtime
1h 27m
Most Popular at Home Now