Come Early Morning

Ashley Judd

Joey Lauren Adams' Come Early Morning is a sleeper, an overlooked drama that had an abortive theatrical release in January of 2006. Adams penned the original screenplay and most of the film's locales are situated in her hometown of North Little Rock, Arkansas. The film has a relaxed, lived in feel and makes one regret that Ms. Adams has not directed another feature. Come Early Morning does not have the patrician glamour that haunts most Southern melodramas. The setting and dialogue are convincingly working-class in a film focused on a female contractor who is rudderless in her personal life.

Ashley Judd plays the lead and she is quite effective. Ms. Adams was initially planning to assay the role, but Ms. Judd's star power was needed to give the film financing. Though the director might have brought a little more grit to the role, Ms. Judd's Kentucky roots make her a fairly snug fit. The sight of the Weinstein Company logo gave me an involuntary shiver at the start of the film. Who can tell now if Harvey Weinstein's abuse of Ms. Judd may have culminated in this film being buried, released in a dead box office month by Roadside Attractions.

A domestic abuse subplot featuring Diane Ladd and her onscreen spouse feels a bit cliched, but Come Early Morning steers clear of well worn tropes. The film is a feast of solid supporting roles and performances by Jeffrey Donovan, Scott Wilson, Laura Prepon, Tim Blake Nelson, Stacy Keach, Wally Welch, and Ray McKinnon; the latter playing a preacher far different from the one he played in Deadwood. All in all, Come Early Morning is an overlooked little gem.