Sometimes, the most rewarding stories are the quiet ones. In a year of movies like Train Dreams and The Ballad of Wallis Island, Max Walker-Silverman’s Rebuilding is yet another beautifully sincere showcase of resilience and the losses people carry with them. And it’s made even more compelling as Josh O’Connor delivers another achingly heartfelt performance.
In many ways, 2025 is O’Connor’s year. From Wake Up Dead Man to The Mastermind, The History of Sound, and now, Rebuilding, the English actor continues to prove that his talents are limitless. Inimitable, really. The full range of emotions he brings to life in every property he’s in gorgeously displays authentic human emotions in a deeply relatable manner. There’s an honesty to how O’Connor embodies Dusty’s resilience and the empathy buried deep inside of him for the job and community he once loved. The one he still loves. And it makes every beat of Rebuilding stand out as a quiet display of how the human heart keeps going after loss.
But O’Connor isn’t the only great performer. Meghann Fahy, Lily LaTorre, Kali Reis, and Amy Madigan are incredibly well cast, with each of them delivering earnest performances that stick the landing and ensure that every emotion hits.
The expectations I had going into this movie were completely different than what transpires on-screen, and the end result is so poignant that it doesn’t even matter what I thought beforehand. Every frame and narrative choice feels right and earnest. There’s also something so fitting about a movie like this releasing in an age where it feels like there are more losses than gains. It’s unfortunate when you can no longer do the thing you love most at the place you appreciate just as much, and the relatability in that makes it extra endearing. In truth, at any point in time, a message like this is relevant because the world is full of loss far more frequently than it should be, and human stability is an act that deserves tireless praise—whether that’s in the form of a simple pat on the back or sitting beside one another silently and looking ahead.
Rebuilding is quietly contemplative in all that it conveys, but it’s also stunning in how it feels like an open reflection of a story that’s happened. There’s something comforting tonally in the depiction of community and how it can often be the very saving grace people need when they’re in a lull driven by losses and uncertainties. It’s not a happy story per se, but it isn’t so heartbreaking that you won’t be able to rewatch.
In fact, there’s a light, even amid the darkness, that is incredibly hopeful. It easily could’ve been too melodramatic or slow, but the pacing works exceptionally well, and the scenic shots provide enormous depth pertaining to the devastation brought on by natural disasters. With all this, it feels vast in its simplicity, deep diving into the soul of humanity and emphasizing the significance of empathy through a character who’s easy to appreciate. The journey is short and sweet, but it’s impactful in every way.
Rebuilding is now available for digital purchase.
First Featured Image Credit: Bleecker Street