Hyde Park Pick: Rebuilding

Call me Josh, not Mr O’Connor.

It’s always great to see an actor on the rise, seeking out a wide variety of characters and personalities and inhabiting them completely, in the way all the great actors can. Josh O’Connor is, for me, a perfect example of this. 

I’ll admit, I’ve not liked all of the films he’s been in, but that’s not the point, and I’m not sure we’re supposed to. Where would be the fun in that? You can guarantee, however, that Josh makes some great choices of roles and with whom he works. And he always delivers: from the reserved, resilient young farmer in God’s Own Country (2017), to the confused but devoted and determined priest in the wonderfully entertaining Knives Out 3 (2025), from the dishevelled archaeological diviner in (to my mind) the best film of 2023, La Chimera, to the flawed art-thief itinerant in Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind (2025) and now with Rebuilding.

Rebuilding is a gentle, emotional film of deep, but stretched family bonds and finding strength in community, where the pervading tragedy of current American politics is barely seen, but very much experienced. Similar to how these small, personal lives are part of, but dwarfed by the stunning Colorado landscapes they call home, huge storms are on the horizon.

Josh navigates all this with a quiet, subtle stoicism that comes naturally to him, and it’s impressive how he’s able to do a lot by saying very little, conveying the fortitude that comes from accepting help and the endurance required to recover from great tragedy, together. Something, sadly, we all might need to be mindful of right now.

But this is why we thankfully have cinema, why films like Rebuilding are so welcome and why we need stories centred by an actor who seems kind, approachable and personable. Which is why I don’t think Josh will mind me calling him Josh, rather than Mr O’Connor in this Pick.

Hang on to each other.

We've also got about 50 of these beautiful prints for the film to give away. So, show your ticket and ask for one if you'd like one. Available until they're not. The artwork is by Katie Dokson, Rebuilding's co-producer.

Rebuilding is showing at HPPH from Fri 17 Apr. You can find times & tickets here.