19 Nov TIO NYC: Max Walker-Silverman’s “Rebuilding”!
Lucky for us we were in New York fr homeboy Max Walker-Silverman’s national release of his sophomore film “Rebuilding.”
Josh O’Connor and Lily LaTorre appear in “Rebuilding” by Max Walker-Silverman, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jesse Hope.
His truth has become self-evident and is underlined with the release of his sophomore film. Writer/director Max Walker Silverman favors quiet, contemplative storytelling rooted in the landscapes of Colorado. (He was born and raised in Telluride).
Both his debut project, “A Love Story,” and his follow-up, Rebuilding,” are about people going through major life transitions.
In “A Love Story” two older folks try to reconnect; in “Rebuilding” a man has to reconstruct his life and relationships after a major fire burns down the family ranch, incinerating his heart. The idea of what’s left and what is to be done with the remains of the day are central.
Fair to say like Hemingway, minimalism is Max’s thing. Only he deploys understatement in very different ways.
Hemingway is blunt, hard and cold; Max is gentle and tender; his tone warmer, more humane, more forgiving. In “Rebuilding,” a story about community, loss, love, resilience and hope, Max’s emotional palette can be summed up as soft and vulnerable – yes, as it was in “A Love Story.”
When “Rebuilding” had its world premiere at Sundance in January 2025 it received standing ovations, in person and high praise in print and social media. The audience at New York’s Angelika Theatre, which constituted its national theatrical release (or first public release) clearly seconded those emotions.
“…raw and honest enough to offer real hope for recovery,…” raved Indiewire.
From the review site Next Best Picture: “It may not contain ultra-gripping on-screen drama for some viewers, but it’s all about the quiet, humane moments that make this movie shine… O’Connor’s quiet performance keeps the whole film grounded.”
In Max’s work, there are no soapy melodramas, no big speeches, no flaunting emotion. He allows silence speak volumes, trusting his audience will mine all that is left unsaid.
The magic is delivered with quiet dignity by his ensemble cast.- starting with Max’s star, Josh O’Connor as Dusty, a man trying to put himself back together, the burnt landscape reflecting his inner life. Given that Dusty’s family had inhabited the place for generations, the loss is not just economic but deeply personal and tied to the man’s identity.
Critics have singled out O’Connor’s performance for its “subtlety and emotional weight,.” Pete Travers of The Travers Take, “Rebuilding” is full of “quiet miracles.”
We might recognize O’Connor from his role as Prince Charles (now King Charles II) in The Crown. In “Rebuilding,” however, gone are the plummy vowels of “Received Pronunciation” (RP). That is the standard accent of educated speakers across the pond, often associated with the upper class, elite schools – including royals. Instead O’Connor adopts the distinct sound and laconic dialogue style associated with rural Americans of the American West.
Though there was a moment in a rehearsal Max described at the Q & A during which those vowels reemerged.
Max talked about having asked O’Connor to practice walking in the middle of a cattle drive, assuring him the cows would walk around him – but that’s not how it went down. Feeling trapped, O’Connor, in full Brit, intoned with “This does not feel comfortable Max.”
The supporting cast, a mix of pros and locals from the San Luis Valley, is equally strong.
Renowned are:
Meghann Fahy as Ruby, who embodies understated warmth and a measured steadiness.. We might remember Fahy as the glass slam Daphne Sullivan in Season 2 of “The White Lotus,” that high-visibility HBO series.
Lily LaTorre’s displays unforced authenticity as Callie-Rose. She is a “find,” a young Australian actress now based on the Gold Coast.
Max and Lily skating in Telluride before Sundance.
Kali Reis gives a grounded presence as Mali. In addition being a former professional boxer with world titles in multiple weight classes, of Afro-Indigenous descent, she is also an activist for her people. (Find more about Reis here, when she appeared in Telluride in support of the San Miguel Resource Center.)
Amy Madigan is Beth, Dusty’s former mother-in-law, which she played with lived-in compassion and quiet strength. Madigan is also Oscar-nominated for her role in “Field of Dreams.”
They and others in the cast are Dusty’s ecosystem, the place that felt lost, but where he is trying to return. Collectively they give the arc of O’Connor’s journey more heft. They strived – and succeeded – in making Dusty’s messy process of recovery believable simply by adding warmth, tension, humor, and grounded realism to his story (which Max based on a family tragedy).
When critics note things like “awe-inspiring backdrop” and “quietly formidable performance …” they are implicitly referencing not just to the acting and cinematography, but also the world built around the characters by Juliana Barreto, Barreto Max’s production designer – and brand new wife.
Ramzi Bashour (NYU classmate and editor), Max, Juliana Barreto Barreto.
When Max talked “devil in the details,” he hails Juliana for giving his actors real environments to inhabit by creating a strong contrast of the bleakness of burnt-out ranch and warm interiors now inhabited such as trailers and homes.
In sum, Juliana created a world that’s both beautiful and wounded.
We found – and praise – “Rebuilding” for its emotional clarity. restraint, truth and shushed beauty.
No Comments