08-03-2025
SXSW 2025: All Of Deadline's Movie Reviews
The 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival kicked off Friday, March 7 in Austin with world and North American premieres of movies in 11 sections, TV shows in three sections and several short film and virtual reality programs.
This year's festival kicks off with opening-night film Another Simple Favor reteaming Paul Feig, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, with other notable world premiere titles including Chad Hartigan's The Threesome, Kate Mara's double entries The Astronaut and The Dutchman (the latter also starring André Holland), the Ben Affleck-Jon Bernthal sequel The Accountant 2, the Nicole Kidman-starring Holland and Death of a Unicorn starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega.
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Check out Deadline's reviews recaps below as films premiere at the fest, which runs through March 15, and click on the titles for the full reviews.
Section: HeadlinerDirector: Paul FeigCast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, Alex Newell, Henry Golding, Allison Janney Deadline's takeaway: While some might argue that Feig and writers Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis are too reliant on obvious nods to the original film — bringing back familiar plot devices like the mommy vlog teaser opening and an act-three twist that felt a little too recycled — the references ultimately add a playful wink to a fun and exciting film that stands on its own. — GG
Section: Narrative SpotlightDirector: Jess VarleyCast: Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Luna, Ivana Milicevic, Macy GrayDeadline's takeaway: Ultimately, The Astronaut doesn't soar quite as high as some of the better entries in this universe, notably Denis Villeneuve's Arrival, which I kept thinking about watching this unfold. Its climax just feels a bit rushed and a little incomplete for this to be more than a minor addition to an overly ripe genre. — PH
Section: Narrative SpotlightDirector: Chad HartiganCast: Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruby Cruz, Jaboukie Young-White, Josh Segarra, Robert Longstreet, Arden Myrin, Kristin Slaysman, Allan McLeod, Julia SweeneyDeadline's takeaway: The soap-opera turns The Threesome takes are in the hands of talented indie filmmakers who devise a complex tale of three young singles simply looking for love but find complications pulling them apart and keeping them together in ways they never could have imagined. — PH
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