Clement Virgo (Brother) is back with another powerful drama while, again, pulling double duty as director and as part of the co-writing team with newcomer Tamara Berger. Steal Away balances a multitude of themes, ensuring that the film cannot get pigeonholed as a singular genre and will certainly appeal to more of a mass audience. Virgo and Berger took some swings and anchored their story using inspiration from true events in the non-fiction book, Steal Away Home, penned by Karolyn Smardz Frost, which, along with some marvelous performances, make this story and all of its complexities and chaotic happenings truly engaging.
The film focuses on Cécile and Fanny (Mallori Johnson and Angourie Rice, respectively) who meet as Fanny’s mother, Florence (Lauren Lee Smith), brings Cécile into her home as a refugee. However, there is something more between the two girls other than just a newly found bond, there are hints of jealousy, want, and desire that Fanny develops for Cécile and the movie slowly twists itself from an unsettling modern day refugee story into a tense psychosexual drama that is heightened by the intensity and brilliance of its two leads. Florence shelters Fanny to Rapunzel-like levels, leaving her with no exposure to the outside world, with no idea what’s happening, and as never truly having new experiences, which brings Fanny’s pining after Cecile’s infectious personality and interests to fruition.
L-R: Mallori Johnson as Cecile and Angourie Rice as Fanny in STEAL AWAY. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
What shines bright here is the strong and powerful script by Virgo and Berger as they crafted a movie that takes so many twists and turns and refuses to allow itself to be confined to one genre one way or another. At first, there was concern that they made a movie that felt like a white saviour story, which was certainly not what was expected, but it thankfully swiftly left that storyline and became the final product of a haunting adventure.
Angourie Rice (Mean Girls; Honor Society; Spider-Man Far from Home and No Way Home) playing the isolated “princess” that finally gets a taste of life and realizes everything she’s been missing and cannot help but be overwhelmed, jealous, and “childish” about it is sublime. There is a clear moment when Fanny meets Cécile where the lightbulb just clicks, Rice’s facial reactions and presence showing the desire for everything as Fanny realizes there is an entire universe she has not been able to explore as well as her not knowing how to handle this new discovery. It’s a subtle moment, but it’s obvious when you see the moment occur what her intentions are from here on out, and it’s just one instance where we see Fanny’s wheels turning thanks to Rice’s great performance. On the other hand of this is Mallori Johnson (The Other Zoey), who juxtaposes Rice in almost every way. Johnson keeps Cécile on edge, always looking over her shoulder, darting her eyes while meticulously being aware of her surroundings, holding different postures, and always trying to make sure that she is being safe while living her life. There is always a tenseness to Johnson’s performance which creates a new level of tension for the audience compared to Rice’s calculated moves. Despite Cécile being “rescued” and becoming part of the family thanks to her “adoption,” she has lived life, she knows what the outside world is, she is not sheltered, and she continues to live her life alongside Fanny because Fanny demands that she gets treated as an equal and ensures that her friend has no restrictions. The complicated dance of Cécile trying to resume her life while thrusted into this new environment and having to balance her own safety along with her own wants and desires against Fanny’s new found zest for life and complicated understanding that not everything is black and white is on full display for the audience because of how well Rice and Johnson bounce off of each other, manifesting a masterful script.
Steal Away briefly is uncomfortable with where the movie makes you think it is potentially going, and quickly recovers and becomes something different. What it does deliver is two powerhouse performances that help carry the incredible script penned by director Clement Virgo and co-screenwriter Tamara Berger to a film about isolation, friendship, and discovering desires and wants in what could be the unhealthiest way possible. Truly a character study for both Angourie Rice and Mallori Johnson who both shine bright.
Screening during Toronto International Film Festival 2025.
For more information, head to the official Toronto International Film Festival Steal Away webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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