REVIEW: “Rebuilding” (2025)

December 1, 2025 by Keith Garlington

In the aftermath of a devastating forest fire, a cowboy who lost everything rediscovers what matters most in life. That’s a fitting summary of “Rebuilding”, the sophomore effort from writer-director Max Walker-Silverman. His latest film operates on the same quiet, delicate, and soulful wavelength as his debut feature, 2022’s sublime “A Love Song”. And in doing so, Walker-Silverman tells another heartfelt story that’s deeply rooted in the human experience.

I often find myself drawn to quiet, understated, and observant dramas from filmmakers with firmly human perspectives. “Rebuilding” is every bit of that. Led by a strikingly subtle Josh O’Connor lead performance, “Rebuilding” sits us down is a distinct setting and tells a rich character-centered story. But it’s the stillness, the patience, and the unvarnished honesty that sets it apart, bringing to mind the approaches of such classic auteurs as Robert Bresson and Vittorio De Sica.

Walker-Silverman sets his film in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, beginning with a sobering opening as his camera relays the aftermath of a devastating wildfire. Underneath the thick haze of smoke is a wasteland of ash with the occasional charred tree jaggedly pointing upward like a gnarled finger. It’s there that we meet Dusty Fraser (O’Connor), a cowboy who just lost his small family ranch in the blaze. Nearly all he has left are a few head of cattle which he is forced to sell at a local auction.

Through the scruffy and subdued O’Connor, we see the different sides of Dusty, both of which play a significant role in the story. Dusty is a man of dignity who takes pride in being a rancher as his dad was before him. So losing it all has a crushing impact. But he’s also a quiet, reticent man. And while we can see the defeated look in his eyes, he keeps is emotions pent up within him. It’s an impressive performance from O’Connor who speaks volumes, often without uttering a word.

In the midst of his despair, Dusty’s road to finding hope begins when he rekindles his relationship with his ex-wife Ruby (Meghann Fahy) and their daughter Callie Rose (Lily LaTorre). The movie’s title certainly speaks to survivors rebuilding after such a destructive disaster. But at its core, it’s Dusty rebuilding his relationship with Ruby and Callie Rose that forms the beating heart of the story. It’s here that Walker-Silverman’s patience pays the biggest dividends. He smartly lets their relationships breathe, allowing ample room for reconnection and healing.

Another impactful turn in Dusty’s journey comes when he relocates to a small temporary FEMA camp on a desert plain resting between the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Dusty moves into his cramped trailer and over time begins connecting with the small group of displaced survivors taking shelter at the camp. Not only does he find a new sense of community, but through them he discovers a new sense of purpose.

“Rebuilding” is full of small moments that leave big emotional impressions. Such as when Dusty and Callie Sue park outside a rural library to borrow the only free Wi-Fi in the area. Or when Dusty pays a visit to his beloved horse who is graciously being kept by a friend. Or nearly any time we see Amy Madigan as Ruby’s mom, Bess. She’s a gentle yet wise mother and grandmother who has a special affection for Dusty. Countless moments like these are woven into the very fabric of the film.

“Rebuilding” is a beautifully measured slice-of-life drama that moves with a quiet, heartfelt rhythm which is perfectly suited for the story it tells. The wildly versatile O’Connor gives one of his best performances while being surrounded by a well-tuned supporting cast. But Walker-Silverman drives it all, using a form of minimalism that relies on meditative pacing and a unique visual language. Through it he’s able to tell an affecting and resonating story of resilience and self-discovery. It’s impossible not to be moved.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Sentimental Value” (2025)

November 28, 2025 by Keith Garlington

“Sentimental Value” is the latest film from director Joachim Trier and his follow-up to 2022’s Oscar-nominated “The Worse Person in the World”. It sees him rejoining his regular writing partner Eskil Vogt to tell a resonant and layered story that uses the behind-the-scenes drama of a film shoot to explore the idea of reconciliation through art. It’s tricky ground to cover, but Trier succeeds thanks to his keen focus and tight grip on this mature and thoughtful material.

Trier also reteams with the extraordinary actress Renate Reinsve for their third collaboration. She plays a stage and television actress named Nora Borg. She and her younger sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) have their world shaken when their estranged father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård) re-enters their lives. Gustav left when the girls were still young and his reappearance brings back waves of painful feelings, especially for Nora.

Gustav has had a successful filmmaking career, but it has come at the expense of his relationships with his daughters. Yet despite his success, Gustav hasn’t released a feature film in fifteen years. But he has written a new script – one that is very close to his heart. And he uses it in as a means of reaching out to his daughters in the only way he competently knows how – through the very artistic language that pulled him away in the beginning.

In one of the film’s (and one of the year’s) very best scenes, Gustav invites Nora to a diner where they can finally have what he calls a “proper talk”. The father-daughter tension is immediate and it comes through in every word penned by Trier and Vogt. It also pours from the profoundly genuine performances of Reinsve and Skarsgård, who shrewdly convey the emotional complexities within their characters. The exchanges that follow are riveting.

Gustav tells Nora he has written what he thinks is the best script of his career. He presents her with a copy to read saying he wants her to play the lead. Galled by his nerve, a stunned Nora angrily rejects his offer. “I wrote it for you,” he declares as if expecting her to immediately reconsider. “You’re the only one who can play it.” As Nora storms out, we are naturally sympathetic to her side. But Trier doesn’t paint Gustav as a villain. Instead he leaves us with our own questions about the character. Is Gustav’s script just a tool to get back in his daughters’ good graces? Is he using Nora to get extra funding for his film? Or is there something deeper and more personal?

“Sentimental Value” is a movie about daddies and daughters. But it’s also a movie about sisters. Nora and Agnes have a thoughtfully drawn relationship that grew stronger with every family trial they endured together. Agnes seems to have the more stable life. She’s happily married and has an adorable young son. Nora’s prickly veneer hides a vulnerability that weighs on her soul. She struggles with anxiety and loneliness, trying to satisfy both with ill-advised choices that hurt more than help. But the sisters share a special connection that Trier observes through various lenses.

Another crucial character in the film happens to be the family’s ancestral home which houses several generations of memories and trauma. Gustav still owns the house – a fact his daughters learned after their mother died. Gustav was raised there, and the secrets within its walls inform why he’s reluctant to part with it. He’s still wrestling with those secrets which date back to his own childhood, and his new film is his way of reckoning with it.

The richly observed family dynamics only get more compelling with each dramatic turn. One of the biggest comes when Gustav decides to shoot his new film in the family’s house. Even more, he brings in Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning), a popular American actress, to play the lead role that Nora turned down. It’s a compelling turn of events that allows Trier to take Nora and Gustav in revealing new directions which poignantly help to define their relationship.

“Sentimental Value” sees Joachim Trier cementing himself as one of the must-see filmmakers of our time. Some may argue he had already achieved that status. But his latest film is his best to date. In it we see Trier broadening his focus yet maintaining the intimacy that has made his other films so incisive and nuanced. His considerations of fractured relationships, past family trauma, and art as a means of healing have significant weight and are delivered with such an assured sense of purpose that we can’t help but be utterly captivated by the drama that unfolds on screen.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

First Glance: “How to Make a Killing”

November 27, 2025 by Keith Garlington

Glen Powell leads an intriguing cast in A24’s upcoming black comedy thriller “How to Make a Killing”. It’s John Patton Ford’s sophomore feature that follows his impressive 2022 debut “Emily the Criminal”. His script is loosely based on a 1949 British film titled “Kind Hearts and Coronets” which starred Valerie Hobson, Dennis Price, and Alec Guinness. A24 recently dropped the first trailer for this crazy looking confection and it leaves a good first impression.

Joining the everywhere man Powell is the everywhere woman Margaret Qualley. It also stars Bill Camp, Jessica Henwick, Topher Grace, Zach Woods, and Ed Harris. Powell plays Becket Redfellow, a disowned yet ambitious black sheep who begins thinning out his family line in order to become the sole heir to their $28 billion fortune. Henwick plays Becket’s girlfriend Ruth while Qualley plays his childhood friend Julia. Just judging by the trailer, this looks to be a blast.

“How to Make A Killing” releases in February. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “The Secret Agent” (2025)

November 26, 2025 by Keith Garlington

“The Secret Agent” opens with a sequence that highlights how beautiful filming in PanaVision can be. In sun-soaked rural Brazil, Marcela (Wagner Moura) pulls his canary yellow Volkswagen Beetle into a rundown gas station to fill up. After an encounter with a crooked local policeman, Marcela hits the road, eventually making his way to the city of Recife which is where the majority of the movie unfolds.

This opening sequence is an impressive introduction to the stunning look of this fascinating thriller. Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho and cinematographer Evgenia Alexandrova shot “The Secret Agent” with PanaVision anamorphic lenses and vintage gear which not only captures the wider field of view, but it recreates the distinct visual style of the 1970s. And it’s not just some homage. The camera transports and immerses us into the story’s vibrant setting.

You could say “The Secret Agent” isn’t an overtly in-your-face political movie, but the politics of 1977 Brazil runs throughout this captivating period thriller. It’s described as “a time of great mischief” in the opening titles. But that seems gentile compared to the true Brazil of the time. The country was in the middle of a two-decade-long military dictatorship which saw the systematic persecution and silencing of those who opposed the authoritarian regime.

Once in Recife, Marcela seeks out Dona Sebastiana (a fabulous Tânia Maria) who secretly owns an apartment building that houses political refugees in hiding. We learn Marcela is one such refugee. His real name is Armando and he once was an engineering teacher and researcher. He was far from being a major threat to the regime’s stranglehold on power – a revealing point that Filho uses to emphasize the breadth of the era’s persecution.

We learn through a lengthy flashback segment that Armando was heading a university project on the verge of being shut down by a corrupt federal official named Ghirotti (Luciano Chirolli). Seeing the lucrative potential of Armando’s lithium battery studies, Ghirotti moves to shut down their department before selling their research to a private company that he owns stock in. But Armando and his wife Fatima (Alice Carvalho) resist, making them an enemy of Ghirotti.

Back in 1977, we learn that Armando’s wife died a short time ago and their son Fernando (Enzo Nunes) lives with her parents. Armando tells Fernando that his mother died from pneumonia, but we can’t help but be suspicious, especially after their run-in with Ghirotti. Speaking of Ghirotti, he gets wind that Armando is somewhere in the Recife. So he hires two hitmen from São Paulo, an ex-military thug Augusto (Roney Villela) and his step-son Bobbi (Gabriel Leone), to track down and assassinate Armando.

As you can tell, “The Secret Agent” has a lot going on and I’ve only scratched the surface. There are other key players with significant parts to play. We get some great scenes with Armando’s concerned father-in-law Alexandre (Carlos Francisco) who is a projectionist at the local cinema. The Chief of Police, Euclides Cavalcanti (Roberio Diogenes), is a corrupt lackey for the regime, doing their dirty work with the help of his two obedient sons. Even more intriguing is Elza (Maria Fernanda Cândido), the leader of a resistance network working to get Armando out of the city.

Wrangling together this many moving parts is no easy task. Yet watching Filho succeed is nothing short of fascinating. He works with an unhurried assurance, following his own set of rules at every narrative turn. At no point does he or his movie seem bound by formula or expectation. It brings a certain freedom to his filmmaking and storytelling. Yet that very freedom doesn’t always work in his film’s favor. Take his choice include a scene of a sentient severed leg attacking locals having open-air sex in a public park. In fairness, it’s based on an absurd newspaper cover-up story and it’s meant to symbolize the regime’s oppression of minority groups. But it’s such a preposterous and tonally distracting detour.

With this much story it’s not surprising that some characters and their storylines get shortchanged. Yet there is so much in Filho’s film to soak in. His richly detailed compositions transport us back to 1970s Brazil, vividly capturing every detail and never wasting an inch of the frame. From the sweltering heat to the chaos of the Carnival celebration, Filho immerses us into this turbulent period. Meanwhile Moura shines in a role that gets increasingly more complex as the story progresses. He is a terrific centerpiece to terrific movie.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “Roofman” (2025)

November 25, 2025 by Keith Garlington

“Roofman” is based on the real-life story of Jeffrey Manchester, a former U.S. Army Reserve officer turned small-time robber. Manchester committed as many as 60 robberies, mostly McDonald’s restaurants. He was finally caught in North Carolina and sentenced to 45 years in prison. But he would eventually escape, making his way to Charlotte where he secretly lived inside of a Toys “R” Us store. He hid there for months, unknown by the employees, living on baby food and candy.

Manchester’s story seems too ridiculous to be true making it prime material for a big screen adaptation. “Roofman” is directed by Derek Cianfrance who works from a script he co-wrote with Kirt Gunn. Channing Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester who we first meet as he’s successfully robbing a local McDonald’s. While in the service, Jeffrey was a unique soldier known for catching details, recognizing systems, and memorizing routines. Those particular set of skills have made him a successful robber but they haven’t helped him at home.

**Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures**

Jeffrey is crazy about his young daughter Becky (Alissa Marie Pearson). But his ex-wife Talana (Melonie Diaz) has grown tired of his flaky antics. And that only gets worse after he’s finally apprehended and sent to prison. Missing his daughter, Jeffrey uses the very same skills that made him a good thief to escape. While on the run, he finds the most peculiar hiding spot – inside of a Toys “R” Us store where he stays hid during the day and rummages during the night.

But the story’s wackiest turn comes when Jeffrey falls for Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst), a single mother who works at the store. Despite being all over the television, Jeffrey tracks Leigh to her church’s toy drive where he pretends to be new in town, brought there by his top-secret government job. He begins attending services, and even goes to a singles social where he charms the church ladies and eventually Leigh. Before long the two are going on walks in the park and hanging out with her teen daughters, the proudly geeky Dee (Kennedy Moyer) and the angsty older Lindsay (Lily Collias).

Some of the film’s silly additions make the already crazy real-life account even crazier, and not necessarily in a good way. Whether it’s lazier stuff like Tatum running around Toys “R” Us naked or the dumbing down of characters to make Jeffrey’s ruse work. Also, this is one of those predictable stories where you know everything is going to blow up in Jeffrey’s face. There’s simply no scenario where he can settle down with his old life or his potentially new one.

Still “Roofman” remains watchable thanks to a cast who all seem to be having a lot of fun. This isn’t the first time Tatum has played an endearing dunderhead so he knows what he’s doing. Peter Dinklage gets some moments playing the bully Toys “R” Us manager, Mitch. Notorious screen villain Ben Mendelsohn has a blast going against type as Leigh’s pastor. LaKeith Stanfield gets a handful of good lines as Jeffrey’s cranky friend and former squad mate. And best of the bunch is Kirsten Dunst, an actress who is infinitely better than the material she’s working with.

“Roofman” certainly has its moments of fun, and Cianfrance mines some pretty good emotion and the occasional big laugh out of a wonky story. But the movie often feels tonally confused. And the writers seem more interested in telling a sanitary good guy tale than considering Lancaster’s crimes and what drove him to continue committing them. It leaves you with the feeling that there is a much better version of this gonzo true story still waiting to be told.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Blue Moon” (2025)

November 24, 2025 by Keith Garlington

The fact that Ethan Hawke has yet to win an Academy Award is nothing short of absurd. Throughout his remarkable 40-year career, the 55-year-old Austin, Texas native has delivered countless top-tier performances. Yet he’s only received two Oscar nominations for acting (and another two for screenwriting). And some of the snubs he has received still baffles me (nothing for “First Reformed”???).

Well 2025 could be his time as Hawke delivers a fascinating performance in “Blue Moon”. Reteaming with his old friend and frequent collaborator Richard Linklater, Hawke commits every ounce of himself into portraying lyricist and Broadway songwriter Lorenz Hart. He’s terrific, and to no surprise Linklater’s direction is focused and precise. But their film as a whole does too good of a job showing why Hart was ditched by his longtime musical partner, Richard Rodgers.

**Image Courtesy Of Sony Pictures Classics**

Rodgers and Hart collaborated for over 20 years, delivering a string of musical hits including “Blue Moon”, “Isn’t It Romantic”, “The Lady is a Tramp”, and many others. But Hart’s erratic behavior due to bouts with alcoholism and depression would lead Rodgers to partner with Oscar Hammerstein II. As a result, Rodgers and Hammerstein would become one of the most successful and celebrated creative duos in the history of stage and music.

“Blue Moon”, written by Robert Kaplow, takes place on the evening of March 31, 1943. Acclaimed lyricist Lorenz Hart (Hawke) sits in the balcony with his mother Frieda (Anne Brogan) watching the opening night performance of the soon-to-be Broadway hit “Oklahoma!”. Noticeably uncomfortable, Hart slips out of the theater and makes his way to Sardi’s restaurant and bar where an after-show celebration is set to be held.

Once at Sardi’s, the crass and cynical Hart (known as Larry by those who know him) spends the next fifteen minutes ranting about “Oklahoma!” to the amused bartender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale) and the restaurant’s young piano player Morty (Jonah Lees). Deep down Larry may be hurt and even bitter, but he puts on a good show for his audience of two. From the start Hawke is fun to watch, impressively managing the dense dialogue despite some scenery chewing along the way. And Cannavale is a stabilizing force amid the verbal chaos.

Larry’s attention soon turns towards what’s really on his mind – a 20-year-old Yale student named Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley). The two have been corresponding for months and even spent an innocent weekend together. Larry is smitten with Elizabeth and has used his connections to get her an invite to the after-party where he has promised to introduce her to his former partner, Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott). But like so much in Larry’s life, their relationship is not what he believes it to be.

The rest of the film takes place over the course of the evening, never leaving Sardi’s. Larry has a lengthy and mostly one-sided conversation with author E.B. White (Patrick Kennedy). He has his reluctant face-to-faces with Richard and Oscar Hammerstein (Simon Delaney). And he meets with Elizabeth, trying to muster the strength to share how he really feels. Between each exchange Larry retreats to the bar where Eddie listens, strokes his customer’s bruised ego, and attempts to keep Larry off the sauce.

“Blue Moon” is an interesting cocktail of drama, comedy, and biography. Despite being a fictionalized account, it will have a special appeal for the historically inclined. And the theater initiated will find nuggets buried all throughout that others might not recognize. But there are still things for the rest of us to appreciate, namely the uniformly strong performances led by Hawke. He energizes this talky bio that can sometimes be as obnoxious as its central character.