David Farnor | On 21, Jun 2025

Director: Michael Pearce
Cast: Julianne Moore, Sydney Sweeney, Domnhall Gleeson
Certificate: 15

How far would you go for someone you love? That’s the question at the heart of Echo Valley, Apple TV’s gripping thriller. It’s a simple challenge, but the film’s strength in how much complexity and depth it brings – in terms of character, emotion and plot.

Written by Mare of Easttown’s Brad Ingleby (who’s also penned the upcoming Apple TV+ film Thew Lost Bus), it’s an original tale that roots itself in the relationship at the centre of its twisting moral maze. That relationship is between Kate (Julianne Moore) and her daughter, Claire (Sydney Sweeney). Kate is a horse trainer who runs a farm with a stable, but business has stagnated, as Claire’s still grieving the loss of her wife. It doesn’t help that she’s given any money she does have to Claire, who’s in the middle of a long struggle with addiction.

One night, Claire turns up on Kate’s doorstep, asking for her mum’s help – but she’s not alone. She’s brought with her Ryan (Edmund Donovan), her boyfriend who is also battling addiction. They’re both in trouble, not least because they are in debt to Jackie (Domhnall Gleeson), their dealer. In Kate’s farm, he spies an opportunity – but the sad reality is far from the straightforward plans he has.

The film begins slowly and purposefully, giving us time to settle in to the uncomfortable, painful groove of Kate and Claire’s bond. It’s one that’s been tried, tested and tested some more, and we can see the toll it’s token on them both – and that, even now, there’s still a determined loyalty that has outlasted its frayed edges. Of course, with breaking point already reached, the pair know each other well enough to understand their weaknesses as well as value their tenacious compassion, but also exactly which buttons to press to hurt and manipulate one another.

Needless to say, this wouldn’t work without two exceptional actors on either side of that impossible relationship. Sydney Sweeney is playing against type slightly as the broken Claire, a desperate young woman in last-resorts territory. Sweeney invests her with vulnerability and empathy, but never lets go of a ruthless survival streak – Claire can be crying one minute and being brutally cruel the next. It’s an intense, no-holds-barred performance, which is perfectly pitched to contrast with Julianne Moore’s stoic presence. Moore – fresh from her juicy, brilliant part in Netflix’s Sirens – is on a roll right now, and she sinks her teeth into Kate’s complicated, lonely and loving existence, digging up a gritty, stubborn survival streak of her own that makes her every bit as formidable.

The duo are blistering to watch together, as they tear emotional chunks out of each other, but equally magnetic on their own – there’s as much tension and heart in the opening act, which is quiet and thoughtful, as there is in the mechanics of the final act.

Pearce, who has previously helmed Beast and Encounter, is a master at mood and feeling, crafting an intimate, intense atmosphere that keeps us firmly invested in the stakes of each decision that unfolds – and he and Ingleby are an excellent partnership when it comes to narrative origami, carefully assembling one part of the story before transforming it into something else entirely.

Throughout, Domnhall Gleeson is having a ball as the lizardy dealer Jackie, whose cynical, power-hungry bully is instantly loathsome. But even he can’t steal the show from the sight of Moore’s mother working out how far she will go for her child. It’s a methodical but surprising ride that keeps you on the edge of your saddle.

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