Carrie Coon Anchors Holocaust Cult Drama 'The Liberation' — SkimNews
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- Carrie Coon stars as Rita Cooper in "The Liberation," a Holocaust survivor drawn into a cult led by Lily James's Ricki, in a film co-written and directed by Guy Nattiv with Noa Berman-Herzberg, inspired by Nattiv's grandmother's life.
- "The Liberation" screened at the 2026 Telluride Film Festival and the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, with Bleecker Street releasing it in limited theaters in November before a wide release in January 2027.
- Coon is paired with real-life partner Tracy Letts as husband Reuben, alongside Bella Ramsey and Odessa Young as daughters Ella and Jo; the review calls Bella Ramsey's work as Ella some of her best yet.
- Already flagged as an early Best Actress Oscar contender alongside Julianne Moore's "The Debut," Carrie Coon's "The Liberation" shares with that film a lead role centered on a woman whose family takes her for granted.
- The review praises Nattiv's braided structure cross-cutting between pre-cult Rita and her cult identity "Naia," but criticizes the film for thin exploration of Lily James's Ricki and reliance on a journalist character for exposition.
Why it matters: With Coon already pegged as an early Best Actress frontrunner and Bleecker Street planning a November limited release ahead of a January 2027 wide rollout, the festival-to-theater timeline gives distributors and awards strategists months to build momentum on a performance the critic calls one of Coon's best.
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