Josh O'Connor (Dusty) and Lily LaTorre (Callie-Rose) in 'Rebuilding', directed by Max Walker-Silverman. KMBO
Le Monde's verdict – Worth seeing
Ready for more Josh O'Connor? While audiences await a busy 2026 in which he will appear as an art thief in Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind, as a music student in Oliver Hermanus's Le Son des souvenirs ("The sound of memories"), and take on leading roles in the upcoming feature films from Steven Spielberg and Joel Coen – no small feat – the new Hollywood favorite already stands out this December with two major releases. He shines as a charismatic young priest in the murder mystery Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, a Rian Johnson film available on Netflix, and moves to more emotional territory with Rebuilding.
The charm of American director Max Walker-Silverman's second feature is inseparable from that of its lead actor. With a natural screen presence, O'Connor brings existential melancholy, squinting eyes, and a wistful expression – as if apologizing for being there – that make him so endearing.
In Rebuilding, O'Connor plays Dusty, a Colorado cowboy who has lost everything in a violent fire. With his ranch and acres of land reduced to ashes, he must sell off his livestock and prepare to move far north to stay with a cousin on her large property in Montana. But after an unexpected visit to his ex, Ruby (Meghann Fahy), she insists that he take responsibility for his role as a father to their daughter before he leaves. Dusty and Callie-Rose (Lily LaTorre) reconnect as he moves into a modest mobile home with other fire victims, temporarily provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
