This 93%-Rated Quiet Drama Is One of Josh O'Connor's Best Movies That You Missed
If you appreciate movies in which emotions speak louder than words, this one is a must-see.
2025 can rightfully be called the year of Josh O'Connor. The actor, famous for playing Prince Charles in The Crown, is conquering Hollywood today with subtle, festival-ready dramas rather than massive blockbusters.
One quiet movie stands out among them – Rebuilding, an intimate story of loss and hope in which O'Connor delivers one of his most poignant performances.
What Is 'Rebuilding' About?
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After a devastating fire destroys his ranch, Dusty is forced to move to a temporary trailer camp for survivors. Refusing to call the camp home, he sinks into apathy, unsure of how to move on.
The only ray of light in his new reality is his daughter, Callie Rose, who visits him and tries to furnish his modest home. Through quiet evenings where she reads books aloud and simple yet profound conversations, healing slowly occurs.
Meanwhile, Dusty meets the other residents of the camp, who are just as lost as he is.
'Rebuilding' Is a Perfect Pick for Those Who Liked 'Nomadland'
An inevitable comparison to Chloé Zhao's Oscar-winning movie, Nomadland, is appropriate here. Both films are slow, contemplative poems about people on the fringes of their dreams who are forced to live in temporary shelters amid harsh yet beautiful landscapes.
However, while Nomadland was a sweeping road trip, Rebuilding is an intimate story focused on a single location and a deeply personal crisis.
Like Zhao, director Max Walker-Silverman conveys a great deal with barely a word, relying on the actors' eloquent faces and expressive cinematography.
Josh O'Connor's performance, full of quiet sadness and suppressed pain, creates a portrait of a man whose spiritual emptiness is palpable and he does so no less convincingly than Frances McDormand in Nomadland.
'Rebuilding' Is a Modest Drama About Ordinary People That Deserves More Attention
Despite its high critical acclaim, the movie risks being overshadowed by higher-profile projects, which is unfair. Rebuilding is the perfect example of a movie that reminds us of the power of simple human stories.
The director deliberately avoids grand social statements and bureaucratic details, focusing instead on a universal yet microscopic experience: finding the strength to start anew when life seems to have ended.
Based on the director's family's experience surviving a fire, the script imbues the story with a special, almost documentary-like authenticity and warmth.
What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Rebuilding'?
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Rebuilding has 93% from critics and 91% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
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On IMDb, the movie has a score of 6.9/10.
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On Letterboxd, Rebuilding scored 3.6/5.0.
Where to Watch 'Rebuilding'?
Rebuilding is available to buy or rent on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
