Having 35 acting credits to her name already and having not yet turned 30, Emily Robinson (Saturday Night Live; Edge of Everything) is no stranger to the Hollywood machine. Having landed her first role when she was just nine years old, she has a thorough understanding of the pressure and perfection one must possess to make it in the cut-throat industry. In her feature debut, Ugly Cry (having its world premiere in the Spotlight section of SXSW 2026), Robinson explores what happens when the reason you don’t get the part, the break, the moment you worked so tirelessly for is something so miniscule and minor in the larger realm of things. Part scathing peeled-back-curtain look at Hollywood and part personal journey into the lengths one will go to get what they desire, this film could’ve dived into the Cronenberg (The Fly) territory or even further into Fargeat (The Substance) territory of body horror. Instead, Robinson, in her writing, directing, and acting for this film, focuses on a singular goal, using more realistic traumas and fears. This focus makes Ugly Cry a strong debut and Robinson a voice to look out for in the future.
Delaney (Robinson) is an aspiring actress who gets an audition for a role that experiences a “dramatic breakup” before being eaten by a monster. After the audition, she learns she lost the part due to her “ugly cry”. Unsure of how to cope with the rejection being due to her facial expression, she goes down a dark rabbit hole trying to perfect how she looks when she performs crying.
Emily Robinson as Delaney in UGLY CRY. Photo Credit: More Avenue. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
While Robinson’s performance grounds a film focused on the unobtainable, she relies heavily on Ryan Simpkins (Brisgby Bear) as Delaney’s friend, Maya, and Aaron Dominguez (Words on Bathroom Walls) as Delaney’s boyfriend, Miles, to bring Delaney to her breaking points which further her motives and show how daunting and difficult the idea and conception of perfection is. As supporting characters with limited screen time, they help the audience understand the isolation and determination that Robinson wrote into the script in undeniable ways, lifting Robinson’s work in Ugly Cry to be the tour de force it truly is.
Ugly Cry explores the toxicity of Hollywood and the lengths someone is willing to go to obtain their goals at any costs while feeling completely personal and grounded. Knowing what you present is not enough and wanting to go further at any cost to obtain what you desire creates a powerful, emotional, and driven story that Robinson not only conveys with her performance but also in her writing and direction, making Ugly Cry a tight, intense, and brutal depiction of striving to achieve one’s unobtainable goal.
Screening during SXSW 2026.
For more information, head either to the official Ugly Cry SXSW webpage or film website.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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