The fascinating thing about Josh O’Connor’s rise to superstardom is that he hasn’t done with massive studio films. Sure, he’s got bigger stuff like Wake Up Dead Man and Challengers, but it’s the smaller performances that seem to be winning audiences over. O’Connor’s latest film, Rebuilding, was a standout following its world premiere at Sundance, and now the trailer for this quiet but powerful story of emerging from the ashes is here.
In Rebuilding, O’Connor plays a cowboy whose ranch is destroyed in wildfires. He ends up at a FEMA trailer camp and attempts to start anew, reconnecting with his ex-wife and estranged daughter.
The film is directed and written by Max Walker-Silverman, who showed a gentle touch in capturing the complicated lives of rural folk with the Dale Dickey/Wes Studi romance, A Love Song, reviewed here.
Joining O’Connor in the cast are Meghann Fahy, who isn’t having such a bad year herself; plus Kali Reis, Amy Madigan (Aunt Gladys!!!), and Lily LaTorre.
SYNOPSIS: A gently humanist story of the American West from Max Walker-Silverman (A Love Song), REBUILDING follows Dusty (Josh O’Connor), a reserved, divorced father whose ranch has burned down in a devastating wildfire. Now living in a trailer community on a government-run campsite, Dusty finds solace with his new neighbors who have also lost everything, quietly reassembles his life, and starts reconnecting with his ex-wife Ruby (Meghann Fahy) and young daughter Callie-Rose (Lily LaTorre). Filmed against the rapturous backdrop of southern Colorado, REBUILDING is a ruminative, moving portrait of resilience and human connection in the wake of loss.
Rebuilding opens in theaters November 14th from Bleecker Street. And yep, it’s another film playing locally at the Middleburg Film Festival this week.
