Rose of Nevada [NYFF 2025]
Studio: Protagonist Footage
Director: Mark Jenkin
Oct 01, 2025
The fusion of type and narrative has been on the forefront of a lot of this yr’s NYFF movies. The tales have been daring (they at all times are), however the best way administrators have been experimenting with stylistic and sonic selections has felt extra noticeable than ever. That’s actually the case with British filmmaker Mark Jenkin’s atmospheric new movie, Rose of Nevada. It takes about half-hour for the story to develop into clear, however you’re immersed within the movie’s world from its opening minute.
Set in a dying seaside city, Rose of Nevada is known as after a fishing boat that randomly seems on the city’s harbor after disappearing 30 years earlier—with its crew members nonetheless on board. The townsfolk hope the boat can herald sufficient fish to treatment their present state of affairs. Two younger males—Nick (George MacKay) and Liam (Callum Turner), each of whom want the money—exit to sea. Once they return, they’re shocked to understand they’ve traveled again in time and have assumed the identities of the sailors who have been misplaced at sea all these years in the past.
Rose of Nevada is without doubt one of the most fascinating science-fiction movies to emerge in a while, primarily as a result of it’s tired of conforming to any of the style’s conventions. Jenkin’s script couldn’t care much less about fast pacing or excessive stakes; the movie persistently calls for viewers endurance, even after the central idea has taken maintain. His cinematography, which captures every little thing in gorgeous and visceral 16mm, is totally enveloping. That mentioned, it’s straightforward to fall too far into the movie’s ahead fashion, particularly given how slowly the script unfolds. It’s not boring by any means, however the story’s dreamlike state makes it straightforward to float and, because of this, miss key particulars.
The script neatly addresses the dire financial circumstances of small rural cities. The concept of getting to journey again in time to make a dwelling feels attuned to actual issues in rural life as we speak, because the hole widens between city financial success and rural financial despair. Nick and Liam rapidly perceive that, although the lives they’re dwelling belong to totally different folks, they’re lastly earning money. It’s a bit extra refined, however Jenkin’s commentary on the shortage of alternative within the modern-day, particularly for blue-collar work, resonates and offers the story an much more distinctive spin.
The concept of future makes Rose of Nevada particularly intriguing, and the movie navigates this effortlessly. As soon as Nick and Liam journey again in time, there’s a way of obligation related to their new roles. The way in which to get again house is unclear and infrequently addressed, and even thought-about, by the characters. They slip into their new identities with ease, treating new members of the family as their very own and adopting their roles with out grievance or query. The fascinating factor is that you just technically know the way issues will finish, as a result of a lot of it’s revealed at first of the movie. Watching these characters sink into their roles turns into much more compelling, as you’re pressured to query what their obligation represents. Paired with its concepts on financial stability—maybe they assume these roles to save lots of their city—Rose of Nevada turns into a considerate expertise that leaves you with one thing actual and tangible, even when it requires your sharpest consideration to completely respect.
Writer score: 6.5/10