The Liberation, 2026.
Directed by Guy Nattiv.
Starring Carrie Coon, Tracey Letts, Lily James, Bella Ramsey, and Odessa Young.
SYNOPSIS:
Rita, a mother escaping the weight of a harrowing past, finds solace in a secluded all-women’s cult – but when her daughters arrive she must choose between the freedom she’s found and the life she left behind. Based on a true story.
Carrie Coon is a chameleonic actress who has been captivating film audiences since Gone Girl. Widows, The Nest and His Three Daughters in particular prove her versatility. In spite of this variety of films, she is perhaps not the household name she should be. That may change with The Liberation, the true life story of Rita Cooper, a Holocaust survivor who left her family to join the Harmonia commune cult. It has earned Coon some early buzz for awards season in a film anchored by her heart-wrenching performance.
Rita is a seemingly normal woman, with two teenage daughters, a loving husband and a stable job at a New Jersey bank. Lying beneath the surface, however, is a sense of dissatisfaction and deep depression after losing most of her family during the Holocaust. These feelings come to a head when the mysterious cult leader Ricki (Lily James) enters her life. Rita is drawn to Ricki, gradually eschewing her family.
The Liberation is told in a non-linear narrative as we chart Rita’s time at the cult and the efforts of her daughters Ella (Bella Ramsay) and Jo (Odessa Young) to bring her home. This intercuts with her initial interactions with Ricki and how she gradually came under her spell. This structure serves the film well, showing the gradual shifts in her life and the impact it had on those around her. The Holocaust trauma is perhaps less present in the narrative than expected but it plays a crucial role nevertheless and Guy Nattiv (grandson of Rita) weaves it into the story in heartbreaking ways.
Coon’s performance is towering and one of the main draws for the film; depicting Rita at various points almost feels like she is playing different characters. She has incredible emotional depth and her dynamic with Lily James in particular is a highlight, contrasting the mundanity of her domestic life. Bella Ramsay is one of the strongest supporting foils Ella, determined to help save her mother regardless of the cost and more central to the plot than we might expect. It is one of their most impressive performances to date. Lily James also shows a different side as Ricki, a far cry from some of her period roles. This is an outlandish, larger-than-life role that she completely owns, hypnotic.
Carrie Coon is worthy of the early awards talk but The Liberation is a moving portrait of grief and the allure of change from the daily grind. It is told in a sympathetic way that questions the power of the cult. The performances across the board are electric making it a compelling study of power and wanting to escape a haunted past.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Connor
