Affection (2025) Review

Ellie Carter (Jessica Rothe) wakes up next to a man (Joseph Cross) she doesn’t recognise in what she believes to be a strange home in a rural setting. Sneaking out of the bedroom, she wanders the house looking for the keys to depart the place, but is confronted by the strange man, who tells her they’re married. Ellie isn’t convinced in the slightest and attacks him but the sudden appearance of a traumatised girl little girl (Julianna Layne) calling her “Mommy” prevents Ellie from causing further damage.

*** THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS ***

Once Ellie has calmed down a little, it’s explained to her that she is married to Bruce, they have a daughter called Alice and, ever since Ellie was seriously injured in a car accident, she has been struggling with a condition which causes her memory to reset and create false memories. Haunted by scattered, seemingly unconnected visions of her past – a past in which she has a different name, different husband and a son rather than a daughter – Ellie tries to rebuild her life but is this possible? Can she recover fully? Or is there something more sinister going on?

Affection opens intriguingly, with a jolt of a sequence that doesn’t reveal whereabouts it sits in the plot’s timeline, before dropping the audience into Ellie’s daily dilemma, complete with disturbing seizures and an increasingly fuzzy grip on who she can genuinely trust, including herself. As she takes tentative steps forward towards the goal of a stable, normal existence, there’s always the feeling that something is around the corner which will push her even further backwards.

Writer/director BT Meza is aware that the tale could play out in a number of ways, holding the reveal until the very end or showing his hand earlier in the proceedings. It’s the latter approach which is adopted here, pulling the rug about forty minutes in and then exploring the fallout of that, sending the story in a different direction as the sci-fi leaning “what ifs” of Affection are interrogated and Ellie experiences a literal existential crisis.

The blend of horror, science fiction and drama is balanced neatly, with the gloopy, glistening, prosthetic effects, including some hideous facial injury detail, adding spice to, rather than getting in the way of, the bigger questions asked by the premise and the three principal performers are excellent, with Cross playing a fun game of what exactly he might be hiding (could be nothing) and Layne proving that she this acting lark down pat already.

Of course, with so much emphasis placed on Ellie, the overall success of Affection relies on Jessica Rothe and, having loved her in the Happy Death Day movies, I’m pleased to say that she is absolutely superb in the lead role. It’s a bravura showcase, running the gamut of emotions and calling for a large amount of demanding, physical contortion as Ellie falls victim to the extreme side effects of her condition. Even if you’re not tuned into the general vibe of the piece, Rothe is mesmerising and her startling, fearless work deserves huge credit. An Adjani for the 2020s? I don’t believe that’s too bold a claim and that’s speaking on someone who loves Possession.

The final act may cleave to a more conventional resolution – of sorts – but there’s no getting away from the fact that what precedes it is frequently head scratching (in a good way) and occasionally audacious. It also allows the necessary space for a slew of questions, both during the runtime and long after Affection has ended. Having discussed this with other folks at the screening, some felt it could have ended at the reveal of the twist and stood on its own as a short (albeit quite a long short). I accept that argument completely but it’s the decision to flip the script and explore the redefined playing field that marked this out as something a little bit special for me. Perhaps Meza’s screenplay is stuffed with more ideas than the end product can fully cope with, but I can’t fault it for taking big swings whenever it can. With its intelligent concept and top notch performances, particularly from the amazing Rothe, I guess you could say I have plenty of affection for Affection.

Movie Rating:

Affection trailer