Cannes Film Festival 2025: Read All Of Deadline's Movie Reviews

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19-05-2025

The 2025 Cannes Film Festival is underway with Leave One Day by first-time French filmmaker Amelie Bonnin serving as the opening-night pic.
This year's lineup includes major Hollywood premieres including Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme starring Benicio del Toro and Michael Cera, Richard Linklater's Paris-shot Breathless homage Nouvelle Vague, Jochim Trier's Sentimental Value and Titane Palme d'Or winner Julia Ducournau's Alpha to name a few.
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They are joined by new films from stalwart auteurs including horrormeister Ari Aster's buzzy A24 feature Eddington, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi's In Simple Accident and Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has landed in Un Certain Regard with her first directorial effort, Eleanor the Great.
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Croisette regulars Kirill Serebrennikov, Raoul Peck and Sebestian Lelio will debut new works in the Cannes Premiere section.
Read all of Deadline's takes below throughout the festival, which runs through May 24 on the French Riviera. Click on the title to read the full review and keep checking back as we update the list.
Section: Special ScreeningsDirector: Andrew DominikCast: BonoDeadline's takeaway: Bono describes 'shouting' the songs U2 became known for; here, in the reimagined versions, the tone is plaintive and slower, fitting for a show that's intended to be reflective. He spellbinds with stories – not to mention songs – delivered in prose that makes him a worthy successor to Ireland's exceptional writers. — MC
Section: Un Certain RegardDirector: Kristen StewartCast: Imogen Poots, Thora Burch, Michael Epp, Earl Cave, Jim BelushiDeadline's takeaway: Kristen Stewart directing debut is simultaneously raw and intricately constructed, as precise and potentially perilous as a Jenga skyscraper. At the same time, so much technical complexity does create a sense of distance from what we are being told. We see what happened to Lidia Yuknavitch, we understand it, we appreciate Stewart's artistry. The net effect, to be honest, is a bit chilly. — SB
Section: Directors' FortnightDirector: Sean ByrneCast: Jai Courtney, Hassie Harrison, Josh Heuston, Rob Carlton, Ella Newton, Liam GreinkeDeadline's takeaway: This Australian-made sharks-'n'-serial killer thriller is not the kind of fare you expect to see in a more arty Cannes Competition, but Jai Courtney gets a juicy lead role and runs with it. The Great Barrier Reef scenery is to die for, and that seems to be what the plan is for these characters.
Section: CompetitionDirector: Lynne RamsayCast: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek, Nick NolteDeadline's takeaway: America knows very well how good Jennifer Lawrence can be, and this might prove to be a career best at the age of just 34. It also could well mean her fifth Oscar nomination, if it lands in savvy hands, and could be the film that takes Lynne Ramsay into the next stage of her career.
Section: CompetitionDirector: Dominik MollCast: Léa Drucker, Jonathan Turnbull, Sandra Colombo, Come Peronnet, Solàn Machado-Graner, Valentin CampagneDeadline's takeaway: The tremendous Léa Drucker gives vitality to every move and counter-move in this police procedural of serious purpose and sober delivery. It is purposeful filmmaking, firm in its convictions. — SB
Section: CompetitionDirector: Ari AsterCast: Joaquin Phoenix, Deirdre O'Connell, Emma Stone, Micheal Ward, Pedro Pascal, Cameron Mann, Matt Gomez Hidaka, Luke Grimes, Amèlie Hoeferle, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, Austin Butler, Landall GoolsbyDeadline's takeaway: Dressed up as a neo-noir western, this pandemic saga drips with biting, dark political humor. But though all its parts don't quite knit together, Eddington is what you might call a big swing — a film that's more serious than it first seems, seeing Covid as the Big Bang that landed us right where we are now. — DW
Section: Out of Competition (Opening-night film)Director: Amélie BonninCast: Juliette Armanet, Bastien Bouillon, Dominique Blanc, François RollinDeadline's takeaway: Leave One Day is a very particular kind of crowd-pleaser that doesn't do anything especially new, and, even then, doesn't really do it in a very distinctive way. Crucially, though, it has heart, capturing a sense of time having passed and an optimism for the time to come. — DW
Section: Critics' WeekDirector: Shih-Ching TsouCast: Janel Tsai, Shih-Yuan Ma, Nina Ye, Brando HuangDeadline's takeaway: Co-writer/producer Sean Baker's first film since his Oscar triumphs focuses on three generations of females, their quest to make it in Taipei after living in the countryside and the well-hidden secrets and lies permeating this clan. Strong performances all around hold it all together. — PH
Section: CompetitionDirector: Hafsia HerziCast: Nadia Melliti, Park Ji-min, Amina Ben Mohamed, Rita Benmannana, Melissa GuersDeadline's takeaway: The film's light, almost hangout-movie quality is likely to be divisive, but if you lean into its rhythms, it becomes deceptively seductive. Key to this is Nadia Melliti as the brittle but vulnerable Fatima: This is the kind of talent Cannes urgently needs more of; cometh the hour, cometh the star. — DW
Section: Out of CompetitionDirector: Christopher McQuarrieCast: Tom Cruise, Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Angela BassettDeadline's takeaway: The Final Reckoning, with action that even the most jaded film bore can't say they've ever really seen before, holds up as a stand-alone feature. The callbacks and in-jokes require a fair bit of knowledge, since they span the franchise's whole lifetime in unexpected ways, but it's pretty easy to pick up all the jigsaw pieces and, when it really gets going, immediately forget all about them. — DW
Section: Un Certain RegardDirector: Akinola Davies Jr.Cast: Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù , Godwin Egbo, Chibuike Marvellous EgboDeadline's takeaway: The first film from Nigeria to be selected to play at the Cannes Film Festival is as relevant as it could possibly be, and Akinola Davies Jr. has given it heart and soul. The two young boys could not be more appealing or believable. They will break your heart. So will My Father's Shadow.
Section: Cannes ClassicsDirector: Mariska HargitayWith: Mariska Hargitay, Zoltan Hargitay, Mickey Hargitay Jr., Jayne Marie Mansfield, Nelson Sardelli, Rusty StraitDeadline's takeaway: Mariska Hargitay was only 3 when her movie-star mom Jayne Mansfield died in a car crash. The longtime Law & Order: SVU star's very personal and emotional documentary pieces together parts of the life of a parent she doesn't remember. It's quite a ride, quite a life and quite an extraordinary film. — PH
Section: CompetitionDirector: Richard LinklaterCast: Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin, Adrien Rouyard, Antoine Besson, Jodie Ruth Forest, Bruno Dreyfurst, Benjamin Clery, Matthieu PenchinatDeadline's takeaway: Richard Linklater's homage to Jean-Luc Godard's Beeathless is that rare bird — a movie about movies that doesn't miss a beat. Whether you have seen that New Wave classic or not doesn't really matter. If you love film, cinema, and the dreamers who create it this one will simply take your breath away. — PH
Section: Cannes PremieresDirector: Raoul PeckDeadline's takeaway: An urgent, indispensable film for our times, Raoul Peck's vital documentary makes it startlingly clear the degree to which we are living in Orwellian times. The parallels between the nightmare of 1984 – where Big Brother dictates every facet of life – and Trump's America have not been properly acknowledged. This film does that. — MC
Section: CompetitionDirector: Wes AndersonCast: Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, Richard Ayoade, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray AbrahamDeadline's takeaway: Wes Anderson's latest Wes Anderson movie features a typically all-star cast and has some odd relation to our current reality. But it belongs lock, stock and barrel to Benicio Del Toro, who proves again to be so adept to the rhythms of auteur's dialogue and delivers flawlessly. — PH
Section: Un Certain RegardDirector: Harry LightonCast: Alexander Skarsgård, Harry MellingDeadline's takeaway: A beautifully heartbreaking love story set against a modern world of BDSM, the film navigates the chaotic push and pull of a relationship between a biker and his timid sexual submissive, as each sacrifices parts of themselves for the potential of love. — GG
Section: Un Certain RegardDirector: Charlie PolingerCast: Everett Blonck, Kenny Rasmussen, Kayo Martin, Joel Edgerton, Lucas Adler, Caden Burris, Elliott Heffernan, Nicolas, Rasovan, Lennox Espy, Kolton LeeDeadline's takeaway: Set at an all-boys water polo summer camp, The Plague is on the precipice of horror, since bullying and targeting are their own brand of horror. The film looks like it inevitably is going to fall down the rabbit hole of standard genre tropes at any moment, but it's smarter than that and always keeps it credible. — PH
Section: Directors' FortnightDirector: Hasan HadiCast: Banin Ahmad Nayef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Rahim AlhajDeadline's takeaway: The first major film from Iraq ever to play in Cannes also might earn the country's first Oscar nomination. Yes, it is that good. Young Banin Ahmad Nayef is the beating heart of this debut feature from Hasan Hadi, which is quite accomplished across the board — PH
Section: CompetitionDirector: Chie HayakawaCast: Yui Suzuki, Franky Lily, Hikari Ishida, Yuumi Kawai, Ayumu Nakajima, Ryota Bando, Hana HopeDeadline's takeaway: Chie Hayakawa's sophomore feature is driven by strong performances and her hallmark humanity. If this story of a young girl seeking connections doesn't coalesce as seamlessly as her debut 'Plan 75' does, it still has the power to touch and then to haunt us. — SB
Section: CompetitionDirector: Kleber Mendonca FilhoCast: Wagner Maura, Maria Fernanda Candido, Carlos Francesco, Alice Carvalho, Aermila Gueded, Isabel Zuaa, Udo Kier, Laura Lufesi, Rokey Villela, Italo Martins, Roberto DiogenisDeadline's takeaway: Brazil-set period film is overlong and sometimes rambling, but Kleber Mendonca Filha — in his biggest production yet — nevertheless has managed to infuse it with style and widescreen excitement. — PH
Section: CompetitionDirector: Óliver LaxeCast: Sergi Lopez, Bruno Núñez Arjona, Jade Oukid, Tonin Janvier, Richard Bellamy, Stefania GaddaDeadline's takeaway: Óliver Laxe doesn't quite land the ending, effectively a switch-and-bait that promises big beats and action then delivers some quiet time for introspection and meditation. Along the way, though, Sirât is certainly a trip, a new way of framing family and loss, with a killer soundtrack for the hardcore. — DW
Section: CompetitionDirector: Mascha SchilinskyCast: Hanna Heckt, Lea Drinda, Lena Urzendowsky, Laeni Geiseler, Zoë Baier, Luise Heyer, Susanne WuestDeadline's takeaway: Cinema is too small a word for what this sprawling yet intimate epic achieves in its ethereal, unnerving brilliance; forget Cannes, forget the Competition, forget the whole year, even — Sound of Falling is an all-timer. — DW
Section: CompetitionDirector: Sergei LoznitsaCast: Aleksandr Kuznetsov, Aleksandr Filippenko, Anatoliy BeliyDeadline's takeaway: Two Prosecutors — a very slow and very talky chamber piece that could be the most terrifying comedy that Aki Kaurismäki never made, or a Chaplin-esque horror film about the evils of bureaucracy in a world ruled by morons — is one of Sergei Loznitsa's most accessible films to date, with relevance to every country wrestling with authoritarian political parties right now. — DW
Section: Un Certain RegardDirector: Harris DickinsonCast: Frank Dillane, Megan Northam, Amr Waked, Karyna Khymchuk, Shonagh MarieDeadline's takeaway: Built around a charismatic performance from Frank Dillane, Harris Dickinson's remarkable feature debut takes the tropes of socially conscious British cinema and fashions a deceptively nuanced cautionary tale that isn't so much about the failings of that society as our own personal capacity for self-destruction.
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