November 18, 2025
FILM: REBUILDING
DIRECTED BY: MAX WALKER-SILVERMAN
STARRING: JOSH O’CONNOR, LILY LATORRE, MEGHANN FAHY
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Wildfires are terrible tragedies that, not surprisingly, often make for compelling movies. The excellent recent film from Paul Greengrass, The Lost Bus, takes us right into the horror of trying to make it out of a pretty horrifying one. Max Walker-Silverman’s Rebuilding takes a quieter approach as we spend time with people who have already lost their homes and are trying to figure out what comes next. Josh O’Connor plays Dusty, a man who had a 200-acre ranch that was passed down within his family but is now totally destroyed. He is set up in a mobile home at a small FEMA camp where a handful of other displaced people are living. Dusty doesn’t possess much but he does have more than most of them. He’s got a job working for the highway department, an ex-wife, daughter, a horse, and a few boxed mementos. He has a chance to work on a cousin’s farm in Montana but whether he goes or not is one of the choices he can consider as an option. Like the others, he is at a crossroads in his life and the film does a nice job exploring such a moment without unnecessary emotional, dramatic scenes. Viewing this film is like watching life slowly unfold. Its patience is one of its great selling points.
Walker-Silverman knows how to capture life in a semi-deserted, rural, setting. His last film was the equally effective and contemplative, A Love Song (2022), starring Dale Dickey as a lonely woman potentially rekindling an old flame in the peaceful west of the U.S. Rebuilding is set in Colorado where things are dry but the landscapes and distant mountain are beautiful to observe. One can see why people would have built there. Unfortunately, it’s a ticking bomb, just waiting for another dry summer, winds, and fire to destroy it once again. As such, it’s easy to see why these people aren’t in a hurry to leave. Much like the characters in Chloe Zhao’s Oscar-winning Nomadland, while their lives might be uncertain, they have managed to find some small sparks of joy and hope at this crucial time.
In the case of Dusty, he finds friends among his new neighbors. People help each other out. There are communal dinners and some singing to keep them occupied as they figure out their next steps. Dusty takes his daughter Callie-Rose (Lily LaTorre) to the outside of a local library where they, along with others who are likely also victims of fires, sit in their vehicles logging into the internet. Callie-Rose is intelligent for her young age and is dedicated to her school work and reading. She generally takes the situation in stride while mostly residing with her mother.
Generally, scenes in the film are relatively brief. Walker-Silverman spends just enough time with the characters to make slight advances to the simply constructed plot. There is not a lot of heavy drama, rather scenes are delicately handled with Rusty patiently reflecting on his current situation. This might sound dull but I didn’t find it that way at all. Because there is so much beauty on screen and scenes do not overstay their welcome, it gives us time to feel connected to Dusty.
Josh O’Connor is an interesting actor for the role in that what he does can appear to be effortless. As Rusty, he creates a very thoughtful and calm character. He takes quiet pauses which also reflect the slower lifestyle and setting in which Rusty finds himself. For an Englishman, O’Connor actually seems right at home in the role.
There are some nice moments too which reflect on the choices people like Rusty have made to save certain possessions over others when the fires began. Rusty’s own mementos reveal a deeper, sensitive, side to him.
In addition to great cinematography and editing, the quiet, acoustic music score is also very effective at capturing the tone of the film which balances between the tender, melancholic, and hopeful moments of the story.
Kudos to Max Walker-Silverman who again accomplishes something sweet and sincere without overindulging.
Rebuilding is currently playing only in New York but opens this Friday in Chicago and Los Angeles. Additional cities to follow.
FILM: REBUILDING
DIRECTED BY: MAX WALKER-SILVERMAN
STARRING: JOSH O’CONNOR, LILY LATORRE, MEGHANN FAHY
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Wildfires are terrible tragedies that, not surprisingly, often make for compelling movies. The excellent recent film from Paul Greengrass, The Lost Bus, takes us right into the horror of trying to make it out of a pretty horrifying one. Max Walker-Silverman’s Rebuilding takes a quieter approach as we spend time with people who have already lost their homes and are trying to figure out what comes next. Josh O’Connor plays Dusty, a man who had a 200-acre ranch that was passed down within his family but is now totally destroyed. He is set up in a mobile home at a small FEMA camp where a handful of other displaced people are living. Dusty doesn’t possess much but he does have more than most of them. He’s got a job working for the highway department, an ex-wife, daughter, a horse, and a few boxed mementos. He has a chance to work on a cousin’s farm in Montana but whether he goes or not is one of the choices he can consider as an option. Like the others, he is at a crossroads in his life and the film does a nice job exploring such a moment without unnecessary emotional, dramatic scenes. Viewing this film is like watching life slowly unfold. Its patience is one of its great selling points.
Walker-Silverman knows how to capture life in a semi-deserted, rural, setting. His last film was the equally effective and contemplative, A Love Song (2022), starring Dale Dickey as a lonely woman potentially rekindling an old flame in the peaceful west of the U.S. Rebuilding is set in Colorado where things are dry but the landscapes and distant mountain are beautiful to observe. One can see why people would have built there. Unfortunately, it’s a ticking bomb, just waiting for another dry summer, winds, and fire to destroy it once again. As such, it’s easy to see why these people aren’t in a hurry to leave. Much like the characters in Chloe Zhao’s Oscar-winning Nomadland, while their lives might be uncertain, they have managed to find some small sparks of joy and hope at this crucial time.
In the case of Dusty, he finds friends among his new neighbors. People help each other out. There are communal dinners and some singing to keep them occupied as they figure out their next steps. Dusty takes his daughter Callie-Rose (Lily LaTorre) to the outside of a local library where they, along with others who are likely also victims of fires, sit in their vehicles logging into the internet. Callie-Rose is intelligent for her young age and is dedicated to her school work and reading. She generally takes the situation in stride while mostly residing with her mother.
Generally, scenes in the film are relatively brief. Walker-Silverman spends just enough time with the characters to make slight advances to the simply constructed plot. There is not a lot of heavy drama, rather scenes are delicately handled with Rusty patiently reflecting on his current situation. This might sound dull but I didn’t find it that way at all. Because there is so much beauty on screen and scenes do not overstay their welcome, it gives us time to feel connected to Dusty.
Josh O’Connor is an interesting actor for the role in that what he does can appear to be effortless. As Rusty, he creates a very thoughtful and calm character. He takes quiet pauses which also reflect the slower lifestyle and setting in which Rusty finds himself. For an Englishman, O’Connor actually seems right at home in the role.
There are some nice moments too which reflect on the choices people like Rusty have made to save certain possessions over others when the fires began. Rusty’s own mementos reveal a deeper, sensitive, side to him.
In addition to great cinematography and editing, the quiet, acoustic music score is also very effective at capturing the tone of the film which balances between the tender, melancholic, and hopeful moments of the story.
Kudos to Max Walker-Silverman who again accomplishes something sweet and sincere without overindulging.
Rebuilding is currently playing only in New York but opens this Friday in Chicago and Los Angeles. Additional cities to follow.