When you get a movie from Joe Swanberg, you know you’re getting some relationship drama. Over the years he’s crafted a number of these smaller dramas. They usually have a strong cast and plenty of interpersonal dynamics to explore.

His latest film, The Sun Never Sets, is no different. It’s set in Anchorage, Alaska during the middle of summer. And it follows a trio of people who are stuck in a mostly unhealthy relationship loop they are trying to escape.

As the film opens, Wendy (Dakota Fanning) is living her life trying to be happy. But her friend, Lindsay (Debby Ryan) worries she’s forgoing her dreams and settling for something easy. That something easy is a relationship with an older man, Jack (Jake Johnson), who is divorced with two kids. He doesn’t want to get married again. He doesn’t want more kids. Both those things have been desires of Wendy.

Wendy also loves nature, including hiking and camping. And she’s looking at buying a boat. None of that interests Jack or seems to fit into his life. He loves Wendy, but he’s worried they are too different. So, he suggests they take some time apart so she can think about what she really wants and needs.

Wendy resists the idea, at first. But when a former flame Chuck (Cory Michael Smith) returns, she is drawn back to him. He’s a free spirit and a pilot. But is he what Wendy really wants and needs?

We’ve seen the romantic triangle plot before, many times. It’s usually not about how the story turns out, but how invested you are in the characters and the journey. That’s true of this film, too. But it does help if, at some point, the plot that’s holding all those threads together resolves in some way.

I’ve struggled with Swanberg films in the past because they don’t resolve in a satisfying way. That’s true here, too. I like the cast and i like the focus on Fanning in this beautiful place. We understand her struggle and we understand that she needs to figure out who she really is and what she really wants.

My struggle is I don’t know if we ever really get there. It’s also somewhat confusing why she is drawn to either Jack or Chuck. They don’t seem to be right for her and though everyone is always professing love and a desire for a future, it doesn’t feel like they belong together. That’s something of a struggle in a movie of this type that is squarely aimed at exploring the dynamic of these relationships.

By the end, I’m not sure where any of these people stand, exactly. The door isn’t fully open anywhere, but it’s not fully shut, either. There is some hope that Wendy might choose herself near the end, but it likely won’t feel satisfying for many audiences. I like the performances and some of the sequences, but it just feels a little incomplete at the end.

The Sun Never Sets opened in limited release on August 28 and expands on Friday, September 4.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.