Rachel Rose’s directorial debut, The Last Day, is a moody two-hander set on the 4th of July. It stars Alicia Vikander as Julia and Victoria Pedretti as Taylor, two mothers experiencing the same day very differently, and takes its time to unfurl. Rose took inspiration from Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, with the movie opening on Vikander’s Julia, an upper-class woman living in the wealthy northern suburbs of New York City, as she plans for her annual party. Rose spends the majority of the film’s time with Julia, though Taylor might be the more compelling character study. This imbalance becomes the sticking point of The Last Day.
Rose’s style boasts moments of significant flourish. She shoots these women in slow motion, specifically as Julia moves through the city dealing with, or avoiding, the grief of her father’s death. It’s contemplative rather than mechanical, giving the audience a moment to breathe, to sit with what we’ve seen thus far and what might be coming. As Julia deals with cakes, catering, and her teenage daughter’s schedule, she intersects with Taylor, who loses her wallet in a frantic state. It’s soon apparent that this is the normal state of Taylor’s life.
A young mother of three, Taylor is experiencing a mixture of intense exhaustion, postpartum depression, and household neglect. She’s unable to rest internally or eternally. Her meds don’t work, either. Rose is unflinching with Taylor, though—the camera will not cut from neither her pain nor darkness. It’s almost unbearable to watch at times; Taylor so dearly needs a moment of respite and comfort from anyone willing to give and willing to care. Her spiral can only go in one direction, and Rose, rightly, forces the audience to sit and watch.
Pedretti excels in this role of a woman struggling moment to moment. She embodies this level of exhaustion. She finds a level of frazzled sadness, a well of emotion deep within her that is mesmerizing. The movie would do well to spend more time with Taylor, and by extension, with Pedretti.
Julia’s story is more subtle: someone who’s lost because of loss, someone unable to move forward, drawn back into the past by the people she sees on the 4th. Wagner Moura pops in for a single scene as one of these people—Julia’s ex-lover, Peter. That conversation, as they stroll through Central Park picking through the decisions and repercussions of their relationship, is an exquisite piece of writing by Rose. It’s such an internal conversation, one filled with frustration, regret, and love. And Moura is fantastic in such a limited time.
Vikander’s turn is much more restrained, managing her emotions through face twitches and slight reactions. This performance has a layered component and Vikander is up to the task. She’s giving one of her best performances of the last decade, a harkening back to the ability on display when given a meaty role.
The Last Day‘s third act begets faltering. With additional focus on Julia, Rose moves quickly to wrap each woman’s story, and does Taylor (and Pedretti’s performance) a disservice with the speed of her resolution, somewhat lessening the impact of the end of her downward spiral. The film peters out, despite the thumping of its plot, as Rose’s moody piece becomes ham-fisted and overdone. Still, it’s a rewarding debut with two high-level, effective performances. This alone makes The Last Day worthy of anyone’s time.
The Last Day premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Festival.