Rebuilding
Bleecker Street Media | Release Date: November 14, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesLisa KennedyNov 13, 2025
One could surmise that it takes a village of women to save a stubbornly reticent man. But the lesson of Rebuilding is gentler, broader and timelier: Accepting help is a necessary step toward offering it to others in lasting ways. Read full review
90
Screen DailyAmber WilkinsonJan 29, 2025
A distant lightning storm indicates nature is a force to be reckoned with but in Walker-Silverman’s films the energy of empathetic human nature is shown to be just as powerful. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenJan 29, 2025
Something more complex and rewarding than surface tension is at play here, and it builds to a conclusion of breathtaking openheartedness. Sometimes a blip on the road is magic in disguise, the root of a dazzling new constellation. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoNov 14, 2025
Max Walker-Silverman’s “Rebuilding” is a gentle, empathetic ode to resilience—a story of a man at a crossroads he never planned to reach. Read full review
83
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodJan 29, 2025
As a filmmaker, Walker-Silverman’s talents are letting a narrative unfold without pretense or melodrama. When the events are this powerful you don’t need to ratchet up the stakes. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJan 29, 2025
Rebuilding accrues a lasting power from all of the impermanence that it collects along the way. Even the film’s most schematic moments make it feel as though Walker-Silverman is simply unearthing something that was already there. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNatalia KeoganJan 29, 2025
The importance of community for survival is a dominant theme in Rebuilding, and the bonds explored in the film feel authentically human as opposed to cloyingly optimistic. Read full review
80
The Travers TakePeter TraversNov 14, 2025
Josh O’Connor adds another triumph to his growing list of exceptional performances as a Colorado father broken by divorce and a raging wildfire. Bring handkerchiefs Read full review
80
ColliderRoss BonaimeFeb 3, 2025
Walker-Silverman's film shows that all ends lead to new beginnings, and things can grow back stronger than ever. It's an important sentiment executed exquisitely and makes Rebuilding the film we need for our current times. Read full review
80
Screen RantGraeme GuttmannJan 29, 2025
Rebuilding chooses a gentle, deliberate approach to its story, making it all the more powerful in its observations on what it means to find a home and community in places and ways you'd least expect. Read full review
80
The Daily BeastNick SchagerJan 27, 2025
A lyrical tale of combatting misfortune via community. Read full review
75
The Film StageKent M. WilhelmJan 29, 2025
O’Connor is so fragile in his performance, he looks as if he’d crumble if you looked at him the wrong way. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineMarshall ShafferJan 29, 2025
If there’s any sense of motion in the film, which is largely defined by its patient camerawork and editing, it’s in Dusty’s gradual recognition of and response to the emotions that accompany his corporal yearning to remain in place. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesTim GriersonNov 25, 2025
While Walker-Silverman couldn’t have imagined his movie’s jarring real-world parallels, Rebuilding is as much a character study as it is a warning about our increasingly fragile planet and the beloved places we call home. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyApr 17, 2026
Rebuilding, instead, is a lovely rendering of what feels like half a story. It’s not the action its title promises, but the preceding moment of retreat to lick one’s wounds. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawApr 16, 2026
It is another highly sympathetic performance from O’Connor, who converts the British reticence of his earlier roles into Dusty’s strength and quiet vulnerability. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeJan 29, 2025
Recovery is shown to be a tough, jagged process and while Rebuilding might not offer much in the way of specifics, it offers a wealth of hope which might be enough for now. Read full review
55
Paste MagazineAbby OlceseNov 13, 2025
Rebuilding is a reminder that It’s a noble thing to want to make movies about everyday people. Their stories are worth telling. However, a key part to making that endeavor work is being curious about the people you’re depicting, and letting that curiosity — rather than an assumption that you already know everything there is to know — drive the storytelling. Read full review
50
VarietyOwen GleibermanJan 29, 2025
I was touched, at moments, by O’Connor’s woeful countenance, but as written and directed by Max Walker-Silverman, Rebuilding has no motor. Read full review
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