As Rita Cooper (Carrie Coon) shivers outside in the cold, waiting to get picked up from a sleepover gone awry with a not-yet-cult, its leader, Ricki (Lily James), follows her out with a mug of tea. “I recognize your pain. I see what’s underneath it,” she tells her. “It’s my gift, seeing people for who they really are.”
It’s Ricki alone, Ricki suggests, who grasps exactly how alienated Rita has become from her own seemingly stable life. It’s Ricki who thinks to ask questions about how unseen she feels, Ricki who gets what Rita is running from, Ricki who sees what she’s running toward. By the time Rita’s ride arrives, she’s decided to stay. There’s nowhere better for her to go, no one else who understands or even could.
The Liberation
The Bottom Line
Heavy with powerhouse performances.
