The Sunlit Night

Play trailer

2:45

The Sunlit Night

2020

1h 49m

Romance

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

31%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

An aspiring painter meets eccentric locals and a fellow New Yorker while working on a barn in Norway.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Jenny Slate remains as charming as ever, but her winsome performance isn't enough to overcome The Sunlit Night's grating tone and meandering plot.

Read Critics Reviews

Alissa Wilkinson

Vox

08/04/2020

There's enough charm and whimsy for the story to escape coming across as too predictable... The Sunlit Night is a light and occasionally messy story of discovery, and Slate's performance anchors it all.

Go to Full Review

Kristy Puchko

Crooked Marquee

07/24/2020

The Sunlit Night is a ponderous, pretentious dud

Go to Full Review

Chris Hewitt

Minneapolis Star Tribune

07/23/2020

3.5/4

I can easily imagine people who wouldn't like it, but there is something beautiful about how perfectly it locates a feeling of confusion, ambivalence and grief.

Go to Full Review

Daisy Leigh-Phippard

Screen Queens

02/21/2022

Too many threads tangle together without forming a pattern, and while there are flickers of feeling scattered through, its a shame that these lovely fragments of life never make up a whole.

Go to Full Review

Deborah Krieger

Bust Magazine

07/02/2021

It does feature an appealing lead performance from Slate, and is earnest and honest in its largely successful attempt to translate creative thinking onto the screen in equally creative ways.

Go to Full Review

Susan Kamyab

This Chix Flix

06/24/2021

F

Slate does a fantastic job with the material she is given and the scenery is beautiful, but the "The Sunlit Night" fails to shine. It's a dim, dull tale.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Michael B

@RT01133297 Aug 15

I can’t believe how poorly this was rated. I watched in mid 2025. It is a sweet, somewhat formulaic film, but I liked it. It is a sweet message about art, and life, and family, and complexity. It has a handful of beautiful moments. It leaves a lot unanswered. I really enjoyed it.

See more

Alan R.

@Aremde Aug 13

Much better than indicated the rating. This is an excellent movie, full of life and subtlety as well as beautiful images and great acting. Just don’t expect an obvious linear plot which this movie does not have. It’s much better than that.

See more

Reagan R

@ReddRover 07/25/2025

The best way to appreciate art is to absorb it and see if it moves you. This movie moved me

See more

Barbie M

@RT30512723 03/21/2025

I was surprised to see the low rating here. It didn’t seem justified. The one critique I would give it: the nudity was a distraction from the beauty of the film, for me, it felt exploitive, then garish, then off-topic. Otherwise the film was visually compelling, uncluttered, original, curious, comical, tender, of course artful, and ultimately very satisfying. It was directly and subtly about making something glorious, why it’s worth it, and where the drive comes from—this is so hopeful—and why I watch movies, to see a little divinity inside an experience that resonates, even if the details have little to do with my own experiences, yet are woven with familiar threads, the ridiculous, the heartbreaking, the miraculous, a desire for things to be whole, to be refined, to be joyfully hopeful, to snatch us out of darkness.

See more

Erin M

@RT90498996 12/10/2024

This was a very nice surprise! Came for Jenny Slate and Jessica Hecht, stayed for the unique story, nice performance by Alex Sharp and sweet statements about family and art. I wonder about the "critics" sometimes.

See more

K B

@RT01843601 03/04/2024

I absolutely loved this movie. What a wonderful combination of life in this movie!!!!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

David Wnendt

Director

Jenny Slate

Frances

Zach Galifianakis

Haldor

Alex Sharp

Yasha

Gillian Anderson

Olyana

Dan Puck

Robert

My Donkey, My Lover & I

89%

81%

My Donkey, My Lover & I

Watchlist

TRAILER

for My Donkey, My Lover & I

Then Came You

50%

44%

Then Came You

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Then Came You

The Broken Hearts Gallery

80%

88%

The Broken Hearts Gallery

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Broken Hearts Gallery

Shortcomings

85%

85%

Shortcomings

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Shortcomings

Love Sarah

63%

59%

Love Sarah

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Love Sarah

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Sunlit Night: Trailer 1

2:45

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

An aspiring painter meets eccentric locals and a fellow New Yorker while working on a barn in Norway.

Director: David Wnendt
Producer: Michael B. Clark, Rebecca Dinerstein, Fabian Gasmia, Jenny Slate, Gabrielle Nadig, Ruben Thorkildsen, Alex Turtletaub
Screenwriter: Rebecca Dinerstein
Distributor: Quiver Distribution
Production Co: Detailfilm, Ape&Bjørn AS
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 17, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 17, 2020
Runtime: 1h 49m