Parents' Guide to Echo Valley

Movie R 2025 105 minutes
Echo Valley movie poster: Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney's faces over a field.

Common Sense Media Review

Jennifer Green By Jennifer Green , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Drugs, grief, violence, language in tense thriller.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 15+

Based on 1 parent review

age 15+

Based on 1 kid review

What's the Story?

In ECHO VALLEY, Kate (Julianne Moore) is grieving the sudden death of her wife, barely getting by and relying on borrowed funds from her ex-husband (Kyle MacLachlan). When her drug-addicted daughter, Claire (Sydney Sweeney), shows up, Kate puts aside her own best interests to try to help Claire in whatever way necessary. That unconditional love leads her down a dark path when Claire appears in the middle of the night with blood on her clothes, an incident that gets Kate involved with Claire's unsavory boyfriend, Ryan (Edmund Donovan), and dangerous drug dealer Jackie (Domhnall Gleeson).

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 1 ):
Kids say ( 1 ):

Tense and well-acted, this thriller weaves a captivating story of fatally flawed characters getting lost in their own bad decisions. Echo Valley lags a little bit in the third act but comes to a satisfying twist ending. Moore carries the film with a nuanced performance as the manipulatable mom, lonely, still grieving her wife's death, and yearning for any connection with the daughter she once knew. Sweeney is also powerful in a disturbing role that wavers between loving daughter, fearful tears, stoned detachment, and violent outbursts. This film is as much about the toll addiction takes on relationships as it is the plot points of the action, and both will replay in your mind well after the film ends.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the relationship between Kate and Claire in Echo Valley. Does it seem realistic that Kate would go to such lengths for her daughter? Why or why not?

  • Claire is physically, verbally, and emotionally abusive of her mother. Do you think this is a credible portrayal of the effects of drug addiction? What other films portray drug addiction?

  • What did you make of the film's ending? Did you expect it? Did it change the way you thought of the characters?

  • How does the film create a gloomy mood and build and sustain tension?

Movie Details

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Echo Valley movie poster: Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney's faces over a field.

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