Emma Mackey & Fiona Shaw Go to Spain in ‘Hot Milk’ Thriller Trailer
by Alex Billington
April 30, 2025
Source: YouTube
“I’d rather be dead than shackled.” IFC Films has revealed an official trailer for Hot Milk, an indie thriller from screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz (of Ida, Disobedience, Colette, She Said, The Salt Path) making her feature directorial debut. This originally premiered at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival a few months ago, but got mostly mixed to negative reviews from critics. I wish it was better. In this, Sofia travels to the Spanish coast with her domineering mother, who seeks a cure for a strange illness. A tantalizing world awaits Sofia, if she can escape her mother’s demands. The mother and daughter stay in a seaside town called Almería (see Google Maps), where they consult a peculiar healer who might help solve her mother’s problems. While waiting for the treatment, Sofia falls in with an older woman who sweeps her off her feet. Starring Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, Pasty Ferran, Yann Gael, Vangelis Mourikis, Vincent Perez, and Vicky Krieps as Ingrid. I caught this at Berlinale with everyone else and it’s such a frustrating mess. Also none of us could figure out why it’s called Hot Milk – there’s no milk anywhere & it has nothing to do with the story.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s film Hot Milk, direct from YouTube:
Set in the scorching heat of a Spanish summer, the film follows Rose (Fiona Shaw) and her daughter Sofia (Emma Mackey) as they travel to the town of Almería to consult with Gómez (Vincent Perez) an enigmatic healer who may hold the key to Rose’s mysterious illness, which has led her to now use a wheelchair. But in the sun-drenched town, Sofia, trapped till now by her mother’s condition, begins to shed her inhibitions as she is drawn to the magnetic charms of a free spirited traveler, Ingrid (Vicky Krieps). Sofia’s increased freedom becomes too much for her controlling mother, and as the hot sun beats down, their relationship simmers with pent-up resentments and bitterness, threatening to tear the fragile threads that hold them together. Hot Milk is written and directed by British writer / filmmaker Rebecca Lenkiewicz, making her feature directorial debut after writing the scripts for Ida, Disobedience, Colette, Servants, She Said, and The Salt Path previously. Based on the book “Hot Milk” by Deborah Levy. Produced by Christine Langan, Kate Glover, & Giorgos Karnavas. This initially premiered at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. IFC Films will debut Hot Milk in US theaters starting on June 27th, 2025 coming soon. Anyone into this film?