Starring Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, Vicky Krieps and more, Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s Hot Milk (2025) had its world premiere at the 75th Berlinale. Adapted from Deborah Levy’s 2016 novel of the same name, Hot Milk is not what it seems to be. While the film, on the outside, appears to be about a daughter learning that there’s more to life than being her mother’s caretaker, there is so much more to unearth.
In Hot Milk, audiences are introduced to the brilliant Irish actor Fiona Shaw as Rose – a woman who has been unable to walk for years and remains undiagnosed – and her daughter Sofia (Mackey) – who has spent most of her life caring for her incapacitated mother – as they travel to the town of Almeria on the Spanish seaside to consult with a doctor referred to as the shamanic. Dr. Gomez (Vincent Perez) is a physician who Rose and Sofia have come to with hopes he has the cure to Rose’s mysterious illness in her legs. But while in the sun-bleached town, the sultry atmosphere finally allows Sofia to start to shed her ambitions, after being trapped by her mother’s illness for all her life. As Rose begins to work more with Dr. Gomez, Sofia becomes more and more infatuated with Ingrid – and with Krieps portraying the character, how could you not be.
Straight off the bat, the audience is introduced to Rose and Sofia within their first few days on the Spanish seaside. All seems well. Carefully crafted cinematography is one thing, but with interior meaning like that involved in Hot Milk, the film requires much more. The island and its atmosphere are highlighted, as well as even the townsfolk living there. Lenkiewicz’s directorial debut brings the strained mother-daughter relationship to the forefront of the film. Rose and Sofia may seem together at times, but as Sofia becomes closer to Ingrid, the truth begins to be unveiled. The audience starts to realize that each character has their own personal trauma they must deal with.
Though Hot Milk is told from the perspective of the vibrant Emma Mackey’s Sofia, each character, and their trauma(s), shine through. Gaining Ingrid’s trust and unveiling her own sexual awakenings, Sofia learns a dark secret from Ingrid’s past. And while Mackey and Krieps deliver an intense dynamic, the development of Sofia and Ingrid’s relationship continues to be differed by the needs of Rose. Each encompassing moment seems to bring Sofia right back to where she started, constantly wondering if Rose will ever get out of that wheelchair – the wheelchair no one knows why she is in.
Hot Milk is set to release in UK cinemas on 30th May 2025. It is a strong directorial debut and leaves the audience in suspense for the film’s entirety. This film surely is one you would not want to miss – especially if you’re infatuated with Vicky Krieps, just as Sofia becomes in Hot Milk.
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