October 20, 2026//
THE LIBERATION Review: Carrie Coon Enlightens Cult Drama
The Liberation is unlikely to be a cult classic. Carrie Coon is Rita, a troubled Holocaust survivor turned mother working in a banal bank job, who struggles to feel happiness or fulfillment with her current life. To get by she not only smokes, but pops the psychiatric pills that were standard issue for many a 80s housewife. Her life changes once she meets the enigmatic and affirming Ricki (Lily James), a spiritual guru who lures Rita into a sisterhood filled with other women that helps her feel mentally anew. What follows is a tale that jumps back and forth between 1982 & 1985, with Rita’s two college aged daughters in the latter timeline making a sudden visit at her group’s remote compound.
The tale is one that’s close to director Guy Nattiv’s heart as the story is about his estranged grandmother and the distress it caused his own family. Rita was a real person and taken in by the Harmonia cult, but Nattiv’s closeness to the matter are both to the film’s benefit and detriment. As the film eschews a traditional “trapped in a cult” structure and decides to focus more deeply on Rita’s own happiness & how her desire for fulfillment tears her suburban family apart. Unfortunately this leaves the “cult” part of the story feeling paint by numbers and rather undercooked.
Coon’s performance is deep and provides a compelling examination of unstated Holocaust trauma and, perhaps, sexual repression coming to the surface. On the flip side, Lily James simply does not put enough charisma or aura into making a compelling cult leader. Looking more into the real life Ricki, it’s clear simply from images that she has a personality that’s gripping which most of the film is sadly not. Much of what happens with the cult will likely feel predictable to viewers even with the film not directly stating anything about the cult’s dynamics/inner workings but dropping clues that will leave viewers wishing there was more to it.
All told, The Liberation is a competent film with most of the cast handling their roles well and a powerful ending that will leave audiences both enraptured & with more questions than answers. What could have been a more mesmerizing film is sadly bogged by its dryness at times.
3/5 stars
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