Carolina De La Rocque
The coming-of-age drama Mouse deals with themes of loss, grief, bonding, and friendship by portraying the relationship between juniors Minnie and Callie; best friends since a young age, Minnie’s life is turned upside down by the sudden loss of her friend. Minnie has lived her entire life under Callie’s shadow — the disparity in their popularity levels was never an issue in their friendship, as they had been friends since before even understanding what “popular” meant.
With phenomenal performances by Sophie Okonedo as Helen and Katherine Mallen Kupferer as Minnie — Callie’s grieving mother and best friend, respectively — Mouse is emotional, nostalgic and has a hopeful tone in the midst of the troubled emotions brought out by grief. Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s compassionate filmmaking demonstrates how both directors care for these characters and just how much they want to tell this complex and bittersweet story comprehensively.
Helen and Minnie form an unexpected bond as they navigate the first months without Callie and need to establish relationships with other people. To Minnie, one of these people is her first crush, Kat, portrayed by the incredible Iman Vellani; yes, when you think it couldn’t get any better, Mouse makes sure to portray the euphoria, fear, and passion of a first love in the most sensible way possible.
The set, 2002 Arkansas, functions as a character on its own; it is drawn from O’Sullivan’s personal experiences in her home town. In a post-screening Q&A, the director revealed that setting the story before the age of cell phones and social media was a highly intentional decision, as she believes they inherently affect the process of grief. It surely is one of the factors that establish Mouse’s nostalgic tone, capturing that early 2000s feel.
O’Sullivan also has a specific reason to portray mother-daughter relationships so well — Mouse is dedicated to her late mother who passed during filming, as she revealed after the screening. Mouse, then, becomes a love letter to friendship and motherhood; O’Sullivan’s trajectory and her compassionate, detail-oriented perspective establish her as one of the most promising filmmakers in the industry — as also proven by her appearance in Variety’s list of 10 Screenwriters to Watch 2026. Casting Tara Mallen and Sophie Okonedo as opposing motherly figures was also a pivotal decision to the flawless portrayal of mother-daughter relations.
All the praise I could fit in here does not even begin to make justice to what I actually felt watching Mouse. It is a must watch if you’re a fan of nostalgic, dramatic, and moving films, if you are searching for a cast full of positive surprises or if you’re experiencing loss and want to see all the nuances involved in the process of grief portrayed beautifully.
