ECHO VALLEY

Echo Valley boasts a strong cast led by the always excellent Julianne Moore who gives a soulful centre to this complicated mother-daughter relationship in a thrilling tale of motherhood, desperation and the lengths we go to protect the ones we love from writer Brad Ingelsby.

While AppleTV+ has found great success with their original television series, with many like The Morning Show, Silo, Severance and Slow Horses, they have had more mixed results with their original films. Despite being the first streaming based studio to take home the Academy Award for Best Picture with CODA in 2022, for every critically acclaimed film they have released like Killers of the Flower Moon, Fly Me to the Moon and Tetris, there have been as many films that have been less enthusiastically received like Argylle, Napoleon and this year’s Fountain of Youth. But regardless of their film’s success, they have always attracted incredible talent both in front of and behind the camera, and that can definitely be said for their latest original film: Echo Valley. The notion of writer Brad Ingelsby, who delivered an incredible miniseries in Mare of Easttown just a few years ago, working with director Michal Pearce, who has been behind such films as Beast and Encounter that have played with unique blending of ideas and genres, and a cast of Julianne Moore, Sydney Sweeney, Domhnall Gleeson, Fiona Shaw and Kyle MacLachlan screams must watch, and for the most part it's a solid film. While juggling too many narrative ideas in the first act, Pearce and Ingelsby are eventually able to tie everything together to create a slick domestic thriller that when bolstered by the remarkable talents of Moore, creates one riveting thriller for audiences to unravel.

There is no stronger relationship than the one between a mother and her children, and the lengths that a mother will go to not only protect but to ensure that their child will have the best life imaginable. And that is the through line that writer Ingelsby constructs his latest thriller around: Echo Valley. Situating it similarly to his latest project, the critically acclaimed miniseries Mare of Easttown, with a small town setting, the film explores the relationship between mother and daughter Kate and Claire Garrettson on their small and relatively secluded farm. There are many ideas at play including Kate's grieving of the loss of her late wife, the struggling nature of her business and Kate’s dependence on her business partner and ex-husband Richard to keep the business afloat, and her challenging and volatile relationship with her daughter Claire due to her substance abuse problem. While there's a lot to introduce in the film’s first act, and frankly too much for a film with a runtime of 104 minutes to properly juggle to ensure that each is fully developed over the course of the film, the film starts off a little rocky. And while Ingelsby’s writing prevents these many ideas from coming across as  tired cliches, there is not the time for him to ensure that they are as strong as they can be.

But once Claire shows up on Kate’s doorstep covered in blood at the start of the film’s second act, the direction for the story becomes crystallized. Laying on twist after twist as the audience watches Kate go to extreme lengths to protect Claire from her own demons, Ingelsby’s many ideas piece together to inform the remainder of the film, justifying the packed first act. From this point onwards, it becomes a chilling domestic thriller where Ingelsby ensures that the audience is never remiss of the sad fact that Claire is using her mother to do her bidding to Kate’s detriment. This informs the complicated mother-daughter bond at the heart of the film, as you watch Kate be placed in an unthinkable situation that seems inescapable, ensuring that the unbreakable yet tragic bond between mother and daughter is not lost for a second on viewers. And when the film unveils that final reveal, it gives an emotional satisfying and thrilling conclusion to Kate’s story. It all comes together under the careful direction of Pearce that balances the emotion of the characters and the dangerous situation that Kate finds herself drawn into.

With Moore in the lead role of Kate, Echo Valley is in more than capable hands thanks to the ever talented actress. From the second you meet Kate in the opening scene; Moore immediately plunges the audience into Kate’s grief over the passing of her wife and the personal struggle she is facing coping with that and trying to keep her business afloat. There is a quiet heartbreak that Moore informs her entire performance with, which adds a depth to this strong woman that she brings to life as she tries to save her daughter and ultimately, her own life. Caring and unflinchingly protective in her scenes with Sweeney, determined and resourceful opposite the villainous Gleeson, and tender and vulnerable while having the screen to herself or opposite Shaw, Moore is incandescent from start to finish as she is with every performance she gives.

Equally as impressive as Moore is the film’s supporting cast, never for a second short on star power. Sweeney is a wrecking ball as Kate’s daughter Claire, bringing a whirlwind of emotion, destruction and despair into every scene she shares with Moore. One second she is creating a touching connection with Moore as she struggles with being clean, the next losing control and lashing out both physically and emotionally, building the volatile relationship at the centre of the story alongside Moore. Gleeson brings a vile uneasiness to the film as Jackie, the drug dealer that Claire finds herself intertwined with, giving the film a great villain as Gleeson chews on every line of dialogue as he torments Kate and Claire. Shaw is a stand out as Kate’s friend, bringing an unconditional compassion to the film as she tries to help her friend through the tough situation she finds herself in, never for a second questioning Kate’s decisions but instead being a steadfast friend. And while you can never go wrong with having MacLachlan in your film, the fact that he has a single scene is a waste of his talent to say the least.

While it is never the most shocking or cleverest thriller of its kind, there is no denying that Echo Valley is a solidly entertaining watch from start to finish thanks to the twisty web of deceit, crime and despair that Brad Ingelsby and Michael Pearce serve up for viewers. With numerous twists and turns that keeps both the audience and viewers on their toes, there is never a shortage of riveting and suspenseful moments for the talented cast to bring to life in Echo Valley that does everything you could want from a good thriller. Even though the first act is overstuffed with good ideas that never fully develop, once the story gets going in the second act, it’s impossible not to be enthralled by Echo Valley largely thanks to the exquisite Julianne Moore who holds the audience’s attention throughout and makes this small thriller an engaging viewing experience.