Come Early Morning

Come Early Morning
Directed by: Joey Lauren Adams
(Alliance Atlantis)
Come Early Morning is the kind of indie movie that makes people hate them---it's slow-moving with no discernible plot, all character and no action. But that's life, and most hard-drinkin', hard-kissin' small-town women wouldn't have a problem being portrayed by Ashley Judd. Before Hilary Swank got her career, Judd began in the similarly toned Ruby in Paradise (1993), following a promising launch with a succession of women-in-jeopardy roles. Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy) moved home to Arkansas and wrote this for herself to act in. But she decided to direct, giving Judd her most fully realized person to play in over a decade. Lucy is in her mid-30s, possesses daddy issues and has a blind fear of commitment. She can't remember the last time she kissed a man sober. Then she meets Cal (Jeffrey Donovan), who wants to care about her as a person and makes efforts to draw her out. That's the story. It's a straight character study, but a worthy lesson---Adams gives Judd physical and emotional confrontations, tasteful sex scenes and hungover melancholia to play the shit out of. Come Early Morning is a lovely reminder of the kind of performer she can be, when given the chance, and a hopeful indicator of the kind of filmmaker Adams could become, if given the chance.
Tara Thorne