Echo Valley
2025
**
Director: Michael Pearce
Cast: Julianne Moore, Sydney Sweeney, Domhnall Gleeson, Kyle MacLachlan, Fiona Shaw, Edmund Donovan, Albert Jones, Rebecca Creskoff, Audrey Grace Marshall, Luciana VanDette
Kate has enough on her plate trying to keep her horse farm running while getting over her partner’s death, but her drug-addicted adult daughter, Claire, brings nothing but trouble. This lame thriller starts like an abrasive version of Beautiful Boy, and its second half feels like a throwback to a cheesy home invasion movie from 20-30 years ago. Brad Ingelsby's screenplay examines how far a parent will go to help and protect her child, but these lofty ideals are undermined by a poorly developed mother-daughter relationship. Kate remains an enigma, while Claire, who is barely in the picture, has no redeeming features. When a dead body enters the story, Ingelsby, who wrote the gritty and believable HBO shows Mare of Easttown and Task, abandons all credibility. Julianne Moore gives a reliably strong performance.
