Critic Reviews

While some might find it triggering, “Josephine” dares to confront the life-shattering intersection of sex and violence in our culture, facing the toughest of “adult situations” with clear eyes.

Facile explanations are absent from Josephine, as they should be, but what lingers is a sense that every gesture of empathy and bravery, no matter how small or imperfect, tips the scales towards good, even if trying feels like a losing fight.

Mason Reeves delivers one of the most stunning child performances in recent memory, while Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan lean into their familiar acting hallmarks but find uncomfortable new layers as a mother and father bound by their own upbringings. The result is visceral, gentle, and ultimately, shattering.

In its artful, brilliantly acted exploration of the moment one learns that the world isn't "fair" and how we keep going in the face of evil, Josephine sets a high bar for all movies to come in 2026.

De Araújo’s masterful ability to interrogate tension on every level keeps the film clipping along, each turn both a surprise and an inevitability.

It’s a tough watch, and it never presents easy answers, but there’s an undercurrent of hope that keeps it from ever being overly punishing and even a few moments of much-needed levity to balance out some of the bleakness.

The picture deftly blends genres to create an arresting snapshot of the ricocheting carnage of sexual violence.

Beth de Araújo’s sophomore feature is a harrowing chronicle of a premature maturation.

Tatum manages to ground the viewer in his abject bewilderment and pain. It’s a instantly memorable performance in a haunting movie, one that I have carried with me in the hours since I’ve seen it. Perhaps that is the best thing I can say about this remarkable feature – for its viewers, as it is for its meticulously rendered subject, the disquiet lingers.

There’s integrity to the performances even when the writing falters, or when de Araújo gets overly literal in showing how haunted Josephine is by the incident, despite mostly maintaining an inscrutable expression.