Megan McLachlan reviews the films she’s seen at Telluride 2026, the 53rd iteration of the film festival that takes place every summer in Telluride, Co.
It’s always a challenge to pick and choose what films you want to see at a film festival, but at Telluride 2026, the lineup was so packed, there truly was no way to see everything.
Of all the films I wanted to see, I knew The Debut was at the top of my list, since it was the world premiere at the Palm Theatre (more on that below!), while other films like Wild Horse Nine, featuring a trailer we’ve seen a million times now, surprised me with how much I liked them. Check out my reviews below!
Wild Horse Nine is a Downbeat Western Anchored by John Malkovich’s Career-Defining Performance
Each Telluride, the festival opens with a secret screening following the afternoon press conference, and this year’s was Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, one of the most anticipated films of the fest. After the film received glowing reviews out of Venice, all eyes were on this one and whether the John Malkovich Oscar narrative was all hype or something real.
I can totally report that the narrative is real. While not as emotionally charged as Banshees, WHN delivers on everything fans love about McDonagh films as well as what makes Malkovich a once-in-a-lifetime actor. Malkovich leans in on his idiosyncrasies, acknowledging his asymmetrical eye, and pontificates various hilarious outbursts. There are so many other Malkovich performances living in Chris, like Of Mice and Men‘s tragic Lennie, his leering Sebastian from Dangerous Liaisons, and even some villlainry from his role in Con-Air. The audience ate up this one at the Werner Herzog theater on Friday.
Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi turn out two strong supporting performances in what can only be described as a “downbeat Western” by Malkovich’s character himself. Whether this is a Best Picture player remains to be seen, but Malkovich and Rockwell should be in contention.
Tender Loving Care is a Bittersweet Send-Off to Mike Leigh’s Legacy in Film
It’s amazing to me that an 83-year-old man can get to the heart of female friendship and relationships the way Mike Leigh does. As someone who loves Happy-Go-Lucky and appreciates the big swings of Hard Truths, I’m impressed by the way he develops his female characters and their relationships on screen, which always feel fresh, real, and something to aspire to.
In what is probably his last film, Kate O’Flynn plays Amy, a woman just coming out of a long-term relationship with a married man who retreats to her best friend Rosie’s apartment to live (Alice Bailey Johnson). Both women are social workers by day and blow off steam at night over wine with friends. I’ve heard a lot of people call Leigh’s style of direction as verite, but I think that’s an oversimplification. It never feels documentary-style. His camera always stays a little longer on these characters, allowing us to spend more time with them.
Tender Loving Care is much less miserable than Hard Truths but no less devastating. In just under two hours, Leigh tackles healthcare gaps in the UK, female friendships, aging parents, and mental illness, with a bittersweet smile, which sums up a lot of his filmography. In a top-notch ensemble, it’s hard to pick out just one performance, but Marion Bailey’s Birdie quietly steals the show, as she grapples with life changes. If this is Leigh’s final film, it’s a good one to go out on.
Andrew Scott Enters the Oscar Conversation with Elsinore, a Layered Performance Honoring Art and Tragedy
It’s crazy to think that just a few years ago, Andrew Scott was more often known as “Hot Priest,” from his game-changing turn in the Emmy Award-winning Fleabag. Now, after Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers and last year’s Blue Moon, he’s really come on as an actor to watch, and this season, that narrative as climaxed with Simon Stone’s Elsinore, which probably has Scott’s best performance to date.
Based on the real life of Ian Charleson, a Scottish actor who starred in Chariots of Fire, Scott has to sell three different performances in the film: that of a fading actor, a man living with AIDS, and an artist given the role of a lifetime. There aren’t many actors who can pull this off, but Scott makes it look easy.
Elsinore played very well at the Palm Theatre Friday night, with audience members waiting for him with applause in the lobby following the screening.
One of the most underrated aspects of Simon Stone’s direction is the way he pulls the thread of found family into this AIDS narrative, how the arts community ended up saving Charleson and being there for him when he needed them most. That new layer adds dimension to this familiar narrative.
Danny Boyle’s Ink Leaves You Wanting More from the Page
Danny Boyle has a specific 360-stop-and-cut style that has served him well, especially in his Oscar darling Slumdog Millionaire. When it came to the origin story of Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper The Sun, I was all in on learning how tabloids came to tabloid, how we’ve slowly devolved into “Celebrities They’re Just Like Us” and Jennifer Aniston’s secret pregnancy with Batboy.
But Ink offers confusing motivations from Rupert Murdoch (Guy Pearce), who starts the film pretending to jack off while reading the boring newspaper, then later cautions Larry Lamb (Jack O’Connell) from celebrating “Knickers Week” and giving away tins of scented underwear to boost paper sales. Claire Foy’s Jules asks Larry for a women’s section in the newspaper, and yet we never know what she writes for said section.
The last 30 seconds of the film, similar to Babylon’s closing montage, provide the most interesting commentary on modern tabloid journalism that I wish were more integrated into Ink. Great performances all around (O’Connell really pops), but I wish I knew more about what they all wanted from The Sun. Larry even asks Jules at one point, “Do you like what we’re doing?” And she says, “It’s fun.”
First, I Hated Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut. Then, I Absolutely Loved It.
Warning: The Debut is not the movie you’re sold in the initial trailer.
If you’re expecting a dramedy combo of Gloria Bell meets Far From Heaven, the story of a woman finding herself and rebuilding her relationship with her family through musical theater, then you’re going to be disappointed.
Instead, Jesse Eisenberg’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning A Real Pain zigs when it could zag in truly unexpected ways. At some point in the film, it reaches a point that could feel like “an end”; instead, Eisenberg pushes Mona (Moore) to new limits. Women are rarely given comedic roles like this, but women over the age of 40? Never. Moore has never been more hilarious or used her physical comedy attributes to such an extent. Paul Giamatti serves as the perfect counterpoint, and it’s astounding they haven’t done a previous movie together.
The zaniness of the third act might detract some audience members, but once you sit with it, you realize what a true, rare gem this film is. Not only has the potential for some awards, but to drive some serious box office.
Telluride Film Festival runs September 4 through 7.
