The Change

This is a slight retelling of the rise of Hitler and the Nazis but in modern day America.

A scorned student who is upset by a teacher ends up with a big chip on her shoulder and sets out to write a book all about how to change things and how things will be much better.

Later the student meets her new mother in law (teacher who angered her). Slowly over each anniversary things change within the.new America.

The details of the ideology are not spoken about but the book is very inspiring to all different kinds of people, white/black, straight/gay etc.

There are also people who find the ideology restrictive and repressive.

Those opposing the new regime/ideology are hunted, caught and processed.

Overall the film is well acted, it can be tense and thoughtful and the pacing is good considering most of what occurs is within a single family home.

The focus is very much on one family and not so much the bigger picture which is merely hinted at.

This is a film where the actual politics/ideologies are not important, what is important is the way anyone opposing is shut down/cancelled/arrested/processed and how this affects a single family who are at the heart of this new movement.

This is a film about anti freedoms but also brain washing, manipulation, family dynamics within politics and how damaging the attempt and finding a utopia often becomes dystopia.

Its a solid 7/10 for the acting, message and powerful ending but don't expect a complete masterpiece.

I walked into this on a whim and couldn't be more impressed. This is 2025 in every sense of the word. Thank you director Jan Komosa, Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Zoey Deutch, all the talented performers in this film, you all deserve nominations. I write joke reviews sometimes but this is terrifyingly urgent filmmaking, why the medium was invented in the first place. Please give this film an audience, you will not regret it. Thank you.

It's both amusing and unsettling to watch this family unravel year by year. The film is surprisingly deep and sharply ironic.

The opening immediately reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale (there are even two cast members from the series in this movie). A once-happy family is thrown into chaos as political tensions rise, triggered by their son's girlfriend entering their lives right as the political movement intensifies.

The message is clear: when people become extreme in any belief, anything can happen, literally. As the old social order collapses alongside its devoted followers, the new "change" leaves no room for dissent. Even the ones who ignite the movement can't control it once everything spirals out of hand.

Diane Lane's performance is top-notch, as always. The rest of the cast is equally brilliant and convincing.

Dylan O'Brien's character made me genuinely hate him, in a good way. He was once a "loser" in the old world, but he thrives under the new dictatorship, where he finally holds power.

This film reflects our society in a chilling way. It feels real, something that could happen in the future, and something that has already happened in the past. No doubt about it.

The level of hate in this movie is off the charts. The intense conversations down to the drama surrounding each of them. I truly was sucked into all of it at the big screen. Wrapped up in each of their personalities at the dinner table. Sure you could say not much goes on and its filmed mainly in one place. This is about capturing revenge, politics, passion, anger, family bonds. I may lower the score in the future based off of the suprise factore, but i have to give it the higher rating i did becsuse the acting was overall great, and it truly took me on a wild ride. The ending felt like a little much, as most movies do, but its a seemingly fit ending for how it all worked up.

Watched at AMC with Heather on 11-6-2025.

My theory: This is not merely a movie. This is a warning of what is about to happen. I believe that with movie like this can both warn us and by watching our reviews understand how we feel about what's coming. This is one of the more important movies of the decade. Brace yourselves and good luck to us all.