The past. Guilt, tragedy, regret, what we wish we could leave behind stays with us, sometimes becoming our life’s burden.

In the new film “Time Now,” Jenny (Eleanor Lambert) returns home to Detroit years after a falling-out with her family, when her brother Victor (Sebastian Beacon) dies in a car accident.

To make sense of her brother’s life in the city, Jenny interacts with his inner circle of friends and discovers that the circumstances regarding his death may not be as clear cut as they seem.

As Jenny gets deeper into her brother’s world, her life and the mystery of her brother’s death begin to take a darker turn.

Coming home in a time of grief is when we need our family the most. Jenny’s homecoming is less than comforting. Her mother (Jeannine Thompson) still resents her and does not even try to know her grandson, Jenny’s boy.

Writer/director Spencer King has directed a film around the crippling effect of grief on family. For Jenny, there is no relief, no solace and no escape from her pain. As she gets closer to the reason for her brother’s demise, King coaxes Jenny’s woes out of muted takes and wide shots that take full advantage of the frame.

Sean Mouton’s cinematography captures the cold bleakness of Detroit. His camera snakes through the shadowy streets, neighborhoods, and back-alley nightlife, giving the film a modern Noir feel.

Once Jenny begins to unravel the mystery, King’s screenplay goes even darker, wrapping the story in danger and an unrelenting dread.

Evan Bishton’s score, one of the film’s biggest strengths, is eerie and lingering. The ambient queues carry the darkness of the film’s drama while bringing out the melancholy that blankets Jenny’s life.

The character of Jenny has an inner tension that seems fueled by regret and anger. She is far from a normal protagonist. Jenny is strange and unable to properly communicate her pain. Lambert, in a strong performance that reveals the poise and desperation in her charac captures this broken soul, allowing her performance to bring about compassion for Jenny and an understanding of her trauma.

Xxavier Polk’s Kash enters the film as Jenny’s brother’s friend who is an emerging musician. His character is important to the emotion of the piece. The actor’s performance is measured and calm and finds a dramatic symmetry with Lambert’s.

“Time Now” is a dark, dramatic, and seriously-involving thriller that bleeds internal pain. Spencer King has directed it with a sure hand and anchors his work with a striking lead performance from Eleanor Lambert.