Sunset Valley (film)

***Sunset Valley*** is a 219 Nodan science fiction comedy-drama film written and directed by Milo Lake and George Duncan in their directorial debuts. It stars Jacob Louis Granger, Ramon Scott, Haylie King and Liza West as members of a dysfunctional family who get stuck in a time loop while on vacation in Sunset Valley.

Following the acquisition of Lake's script for *Why Not Me?* in January 216, he began to work on a script for a film about a family getting stuck in a time loop while on vacation. He came up with the idea after witnessing two young parents getting into a heated argument in front of their children while on vacation, and wondered what would happen if they were forced to relive it again. He contacted Duncan, whom he had worked with for *Jump* (210), and the two wrote the script between June and December 216 under the working title *Can't Spend My Life With You*. The duo decided to develop the two parental leads of the film as gay fathers, considering their sexuality to be unimportant to the overall story.

Following its completion, Limelight Studios acquired the production rights to the screenplay, while Mac Darpney Pictures agreed to finance and distribute the film, and was given the shorter title of *Sunset Valley*. The film was initially intended to be directed by Luke Zimmerman, but after negotiations fell through Lake and Duncan agreed to direct the film. Louis Granger was the first actor to join the cast in February 217, followed by King in June, Scott in September and West in October; supporting cast members were announced in the following months. Filming took place on location in Sunset Valley and Las Puertas over the course of 28 days in March and April 218.

*Sunset Valley* premiered out-of-competition at the 219 Highchance Film Festival on January 20, 219, and was theatrically released by Mac Darpney Studios on July 7, 219. The film received critical acclaim for its performances, humor, direction, tone and writing, and has grossed $84.7 million worldwide on a budget of $20 million.

## Cast

* Jacob Louis Granger as Duncan Scott, Jordan's husband and one of Shawna and Toni's fathers
* Ramon Scott as Jordan Scott, Duncan's husband and one of Shawna and Toni's fathers
* Haylie King as Shawna Scott, one of Duncan and Jordan's daughters
* Liza West as Toni Scott, one of Duncan and Jordan's daughters
* Ramona Tate as Alexis, a waitress
* Chloe Harris as Daisy, Alexis's girlfriend and another waitress
* Max Allan as John Don, a self-proclaimed singer who runs the resort and provides "entertainment" for its guests
* Cooper Eastwood as a groom at a wedding, a nod to his role in *Why Not Me?*

## Reception

### Critical response

On the review aggregator website FilmView, 91% of 304 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's consensus reads: "As funny as it is unflinchingly heart-wrenching, *Sunset Valley* is an aspiring directorial debut for Milo Lake and George Duncan and a riveting vehicle for its talented cast." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Tommy Haste of *The Las Puertas Times*, giving the film a full five-star rating, called *Sunset Valley* "heartbreaking, poignant and gorgeous to look at", especially praising its direction, writing and cinematography. Kathryn Johnson of *The Amarillo Times-Telegraph* said that the film is "supported immensely by its small but talented cast, who tenderly work through the screenplay to deliver captivating, University Award-worthy performances". Lucy Samson of *The Wolf*, giving the film four and a half stars our of five, wrote that while the film "stumbles enough under the weight of its ideology", its directors "understand how to craft an original and very tender story that breathes new light into a worn-out genre of sci-fi".

Thomas Stan of the *The Montree Tribune* wrote that the film "works with familiar ingredients, but if the viewer is willing to ignore those there is a lot of fun to be had with *Sunset Valley*". Reviewing the film at its premiere at Highchance, *Harston Unlimited*'s James Wang wrote that *Sunset Valley* "is uneasy", but praised the way the film dealt with generational trauma and the difficulties of being a parent, and the way the film "uses its time-loop plot to bring to light child abuse by making its broken parental characters relive the same events over and over again until they realize their faults".

The film was not without criticism. Jonas O'Donald of *The Express*, giving the film one and a half stars out of five, wrote that it "adds nothing new to the genre" and "[feels] like a carbon copy of older time-loop films like *Go Back* and *Singularity*, but with little of what made those work." Julia Crank of *Stones* wrote that "it's not the time-loop part of *Sunset Valley* that feels the least original, but rather its message. Stories of generational trauma and family issues are so prevalent in modern film that almost all of what the movie has to say has already been said."