For a while, it seemed like every year, we were getting a new film by Joe Swanberg. As a major figure in the mumblecore movement, along with other filmmakers like Mark Duplass and Greta Gerwig, Swanberg made a name for himself with indies like LOL, Hannah Takes the Stairs, and Nights and Weekends, in the 2000s. With the 2010s, it seemed as though Swanberg’s work was getting bigger and better, working with Jake Johnson and Anna Kendrick in 2013’s Drinking Buddies and again with Kendrick and Melanie Lynskey in Happy Christmas. Swanberg seemed to find his muse in Johnson, however, who would lead his next two films, 2015’s Digging For Fire and 2017’s Win It All. Right when it felt like Swanberg might be breaking big, Swanberg moved away from directing movies. In the decade since Win It All, Swanberg has absolutely stayed busy. He wrote, directed, and edited all three seasons of Easy on Netflix, which he also created, and has continued to act and direct in smaller projects. But still, considering how consistently Swanberg was releasing movies in the 2000s and 2010s, it was hard not to miss his films and his particular style of indie filmmaking when it wasn’t around. Thankfully, nearly a decade after Win It All, Swanberg has returned to feature writing and directing with The Sun Never Sets, a film that’s right in his wheelhouse, and delightfully so. In this story of relationships and the difficulties of figuring out who you are in and out of relationships, while also trying to decide where you want your life to lead, The Sun Never Sets is a welcome return for Swanberg that shows he hasn’t missed a beat.

Dakota Fanning Finds Herself in an Unexpected Love Triangle in ‘The Sun Never Sets’

Wendy (Dakota Fanning) is a 31-year-old living in Alaska who has been in a relationship with her older boyfriend, Jack (Johnson), for a few years. Wendy’s friends are having kids and pairing up, and Wendy wants the same. She wants to get married and have kids, but Jack has already “been there, done that.” He’s already been divorced and has kids, and has made it clear that’s not something he wants to go through again. And yet, Wendy and Jack truly love each other, unsure of what the next step should be for their relationship. So Jack comes up with an idea: Wendy should take a break from their relationship, date around, and see what she wants, before, presumably, the pair gets back together. Wendy is against the idea, but Jack insists, as he wants her to find herself and answer the questions she’s clearly mulling over. Wendy goes on some dates that lead nowhere, yet she runs into her ex-boyfriend, Chuck (Cory Michael Smith), which dredges up old feelings and makes this break much more complicated than originally expected. As Wendy tries to figure out what she wants in her future, she finds herself right in the middle of an unexpected and unwanted love triangle. The Sun Never Sets is a film that largely relies on the will-they-won’t-they of this dynamic. Wendy wants someone mature, but also someone who enjoys experiencing nature and going on adventures with her. With Jack, she gets the maturity, but he never seems to want to leave the house. Meanwhile, Chuck is very interested in nature, but can’t even pretend to be into Wendy’s other interests, and it becomes clear fairly early that Chuck isn’t anywhere near as grown up as Wendy is used to.
Joe Swanberg Finds the Right Approach to This More Grounded Romance

This back-and-forth between Jack and Wendy could’ve been frustrating and a bit much to center an entire film around, but Swanberg always makes sure these relationships evolve in a way that makes them continuously intriguing. For example, Jack starts to get desperate and realizes the fault in his plan of letting Wendy go. The further the story goes, the more immature Jack becomes, breaking down that element of him that Wendy really appreciated. Meanwhile, Chuck might be fun and a person for her to go experience the world with, but when it comes to the more serious discussions, like where he’s going to live or what his future plans are, he shuts off. The way these relationships shift and how they change what Wendy wants and what she’s looking for makes these dynamics enough to carry the weight of this film. While it’s not damning by any stretch, The Sun Never Sets often shows the limitations and occasional clunkiness of the mumblecore style. When it’s clear these actors have a specific direction of where a scene needs to go, it’s no problem. However, some scenes feel almost too natural, full of pleasantries and time-wasting parts of conversations that most films would leave out. Again, it’s not terrible, and it does add some realism to the story, but it sometimes feels like one wishes these had been cut out of the edit and gotten to the point of a scene or moment of dialogue.
Fanning, Johnson, and Smith Excel in ‘The Sun Never Sets’

SXSW 2026 logoImage via SXSW

This is a solid lead performance by Dakota Fanning, who gets to play around and show how strong she can be as a lead in a story like this. Again, this is a film that could’ve been more about the back-and-forth between two potential loves, and Fanning’s Wendy makes this into more than that. In recent years, Fanning hasn’t had many lead roles that allow her to be the focus and let her try comedy, romance, and drama, and The Sun Never Sets is a perfect spotlight for what she is capable of doing. In their fourth film together, Johnson fits into Swanberg’s world like a hand in a glove. It’s also an opportunity for Johnson to show his more serious side, as well as his panicked, comedic side. Swanberg even gets Lamorne Morris to play Jack’s friend, whom he talks to on Zoom for a bit of a New Girl reunion of sorts. This kind of uncertain romantic lead is always a great arena for Johnson to play in, and he’s great here, as one would expect. While Cory Michael Smith does do an admirable job as the other potential romantic lead, The Sun Never Sets immediately sets Chuck as the problematic ex who abruptly left, and we never get as much time with this character as we do with Jack. From the beginning, Chuck seems like a bad choice with a history, while Jack slowly becomes a questionable choice. It would’ve been nice if the balance between Johnson and Smith’s characters were a bit more even to make this more of an undetermined love triangle.

The Sun Never Sets is a charming take on the love triangle and a strong return to movies for Swanberg. The mixture of Fanning, Johnson, and Smith works well, and this romance is handled quite nicely without becoming frustrating with all its relationship back-and-forths. In an era where romances in the movies can be heightened and often silly in the way they approach these love stories, The Sun Never Sets grounds this story in honesty and reality that is both relatable and well-handled. The Sun Never Sets premiered at the 2026 SXSW Festival.

Release Date

March 13, 2026

Runtime

102 minutes

Director

Joe Swanberg

Writers

Joe Swanberg

Pros & Cons

The Sun Never Sets is a welcome return of Joe Swanberg’s type of comedy.
Dakota Fanning and Jake Johnson are great in Swanberg’s latest
This story balances realism with romance quite well.

Cory Michael Smith’s Chuck doesn’t get equal time to make his story as compelling.
The mumblecore style does result in some awkward beginnings and endings to scenes.