Barron’s Cove – Movie Review (3/5)

BARRON’S COVE is a new crime thriller with a brutal story as it involves the death of a child and the need for revenge. This may sound very simple, but there are many layers to the character-driven story. Read our full Barron’s Cove movie review here!

BARRON’S COVE is a crime thriller about a man who wants justice (or revenge, really) for his dead son. This could be a movie that played out like many action thrillers before it. A brooding man, whom everyone roots for against the evil forces in the world.

However, with this movie, there are nuances. The dead child was innocent, as are many other people in the world presented here. And yet, it’s also a world full of violence. Often at the hands of our main protagonist. It’s a world of gray that he now sees as black or white.

Continue reading our Barron’s Cove movie review below. Find it in Theaters and on Digital from June 6, 2025.

A tragedy turns into violent grief

In Barron’s Cove, we meet Caleb Faulkner (Garret Hedlund) on the day when his son is tragically killed. It looks like an accident, but Caleb is consumed by grief and wants justice. Understandably, as it seems there’s more to the accidental death of his son.

One that involves another child, Ethan (Christian Convery). However, this child is the son of an important politician, so the system (in a far too familiar way) fails to hold the child accountable.

This is not something Caleb can accept. At the very least, he needs to know what happened. His method means abducting the boy. It’s an act of desperation that results in a frantic manhunt.

Of course, the character-driven story will reveal deeper layers of both the story and the characters. Nothing is as simple as it looks. Least of all, the fact that Caleb failed to pick up his son on the day when he died, so there’s an element of guilt there as well.

Such a brilliant cast

Having Garrett Hedlund in the lead role as the angry, grieving father is as brilliant a casting as getting Christian Convery as Ethan, the kid who is somehow responsible. From both Sweet Tooth and The Monkey, we know Christian Convery can be eerily nuanced!

Also in the cast is Brittany Snow (The Night Agent) in a fairly small role. Or rather, it’s a meaty role as the mother of the dead boy, but she doesn’t get much screen time. Still, she is memorable!

In other key roles are Tramell Tillman (Severance), Raúl Castillo (Smile 2), Stephen Lang (Don’t Breathe 1 and 2), Marc Menchaca (Companion, The Creator), and Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass).

Most of these roles don’t have that much screentime, but they are all memorable in their portrayals. And every one of them is important to the story. Quite impressive, actually.

Watch Barron’s Cove In Theaters or On Digital

Evan Ari Kelman is the writer and director of Barron’s Cove, which serves as his feature film debut. However, he isn’t a newcomer as he has already won awards for several of his short films.

This is a very impressive feature debut for Evan Ari Kelman, which means I’m looking forward to whatever he does next. Hopefully, he can live up to the standard he has set for himself with this one. Probably even surpass it with slightly tighter pacing.

Barron’s Cove is a mystery, thriller, crime, and drama. It will pull on your heartstrings as well as your ideas of justice and revenge. The casting of this movie is absolutely stellar, but the story itself is also worthy of your time. Even without the wonderful cast.

It does run a bit too long, which is the reason we’re not on 4 out of 5, but it was very close!

Barron’s Cove is In Theaters and on Digital on June 6, 2025.

Details

Director: Evan Ari Kelman
Script: Evan Ari Kelman
Cast: Garrett Hedlund, Hamish Linklater, Brittany Snow, Christian Convery, Tramell Tillman, Raúl Castillo, Stephen Lang