During Hollywood’s Golden Era, the so-called “women’s film” was a genre that did big business—I’m talking Imitation of Life, Now, Voyager and Mildred Pierce. Now, 80-plus years later, the strong female characters and criminal goings-on in new AppleTV+ thriller Echo Valley make a good case for bringing back such entertaining, edge-of-your-seat stories. It reminded me of the woman-to-woman jockeying for domination and closeness in Sirens, except presented in a noir aesthetic.
The 3 Twists and Turns in This New Julianne Moore Thriller Had Me Glued to the Screen
The movie co-stars a creepy villain
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Published Jun 13, 2025
AppleTV+
In Echo Valley, Julianne Moore is a woman who lives alone on a horse farm in what looks like rural Pennsylvania. She dutifully feeds the horses and gives riding lessons, but mornings find her struggling to get out of bed. She’s in grief over the sudden loss of her spouse. When her drug-addled daughter played by Sydney Sweeney shows up one night in crisis and needing assistance evading a malicious drug dealer (Domhnall Gleeson at his creepiest), the story takes off into surprising territory. One fix requires another, each coverup becomes more complex and the stakes and double-crosses really climb.
AppleTv+
Besides keeping me in suspense, Echo Valley riveted me with the diva-level acting talent on display from Moore and Sweeney, especially in their scenes together. Tender mom-dot cuddling in one moment transitions to domestic violence between the two women in the next scene, with both actors really selling their heated dance of codependency and addiction. Moore’s ability to convey hidden depths with only a sidelong glance or facial expression is so fun to watch, and Sweeney’s messy, heated characterization somehow managed to leave me still sympathetic to her.
By the time double-crosses ensue and Gleeson’s character has gone full blackmail/fraud/kidnapping perp, I had lost hope for the women to wrest their way out of what had become a terrible mess. No spoilers, but suffice it to say viewers shouldn’t completely rule out Moore’s tiny-but-strong horse trainer character—the way this woman totes hay bales and manages rugged farm upkeep, she’s not just going to roll over and play dead. (Oh, and a final point: the handsome horses in Moore’s barn make me want to adopt a total horse girl aesthetic, no boot blisters required.)
You can stream Echo Valley on AppleTV+ now.
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