Three Josh O’Connor Movies to Watch

By Jaeda N. '27

Amidst the output of new movies and TV shows, one actor’s name crops up seemingly everywhere: Josh O’Connor. A 35-year-old English actor with an oeuvre encompassing everything from The Crown to Challengers to Jane Austen’s Emma, he has gained prominence, as well as critical acclaim, for his versatility and his magnetism. Recently, he’s hosted “Saturday Night Live” and starred in four notable movies released last year. In fact, he was so ubiquitous last fall that The New York Times deemed it the “Season of Josh O’Connor Content,” and British Vogue seemed to agree by heralding “The Autumn Of Josh O’Connor.” I had only seen one of his performances, but I decided to change this by embarking on a Josh O’Connor movie-watching spree during winter break. Here are my thoughts on some of the movies that I watched.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

Wake Up Dead Man is the third film in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series, starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, a private investigator with a Southern drawl who uses his observations and wit to solve homicide cases. In Wake Up Dead Man, Blanc investigates a locked-room murder in an upstate New York church, and in doing so, is forced to navigate the interplay between religious faith and the legal system. Although the movie is embedded with a theme of faith, it resists coming across as overly preachy or dogmatic. I found Wake Up Dead Man to be neither an indictment nor an endorsement of Christianity; instead, the movie focuses on more universal themes of forgiveness and kindness in the face of corruption, extremism, and greed. Wake Up Dead Man resisted both mocking and proselytizing religious beliefs, making it feel refreshing and unique perspective on faith.While Wake Up Dead Man dealt with solemn topics, it deftly wove in the series’ characteristic humor, adding levity that counterbalanced the more grim aspects of the movie. This was the first movie I watched in my Josh O’Connor movie marathon, and it did not disappoint. O’Connor’s sincere performance as the former boxer turned priest brought an added depth to the movie. Overall, I appreciated the movie’s thoughtful and nuanced commentary and perspective, and I would recommend it as a murder mystery that’s entertaining and funny without compromising its depth and relevance.

The Mastermind (2025)

Set during 1970, this movie follows an unemployed father and husband named J.B. Mooney (played by Josh O’Connor) as he attempts to stage a robbery at his local art museum. It’s directed by Kelly Reichardt, who employs her signature minimalist style throughout the film.

Although The Mastermind is described as a heist movie, its tone and pacing are starkly different from something like Ocean’s Eleven. Instead of snappy action scenes, the movie utilizes long takes and really lingers on the scenes. For me, the relaxed pacing and minimalist dialogue offered more time to reflect and ponder the movie, and to notice the subtleties and details. I also appreciated how The Mastermind thoughtfully integrated the Vietnam War into the film’s plot. For most of the movie, the Vietnam War was backgrounded, but the ending highlighted how war can even pervade the lives of people who attempt to live peripherally to it. While it took me a little bit of time to adjust to the pacing and sparse dialogue, I ultimately found myself captivated by the film’s unexpected and thought-provoking developments.  

La Chimera (2023)

Out of the films I watched, La Chimera, directed by Alice Rohrwacher, was my personal favorite. An Italian-language film set in 1980s Tuscany, it follows a man named Arthur and a band of grave robbers, or tombaroli, with whom he works. The movie delves into themes of art and beauty, greed and wealth, romance, and death, as well as the afterlife and metaphysical realm. La Chimera had mesmerising cinematography that allowed me to feel immediately immersed in the film, despite not knowing a word of Italian. I also loved the elements of magical realism that Rohrwacher wove into the story, which contributed to the liminal undertones of the film. The acting was tremendous all around but especially from Josh O’Connor—La Chimera perfectly showcases his ability to convey complex and nuanced characters. Although this is more of an arthouse film, it’s engaging enough that its story still feels accessible and clear. I found it perfectly poignant (but not mawkish in the slightest), and a beautiful exploration of art, love, and loss.