Unpacking the Cost of the Dream

Read Time:4 Minute, 39 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Kid
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Genre: Drama
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 20m
Director(s): Ryan J. Smith
Writer(s): Ryan J. Smith
Cast: Harry McLafferty, Rhiann Millington, Neizan Fernández, Latasha Arnone, Kyle Passmore, Charlotte Dalton, Jake Waring, Nicole Evans, Ryan Davies
Where to Watch: TBA

RAVING REVIEW: When creative ambition meets the emotional baggage that no studio could balance, things will get complicated. KID doesn’t just acknowledge this—it builds its entire story around it. This grounded, sometimes heavy, sometimes tender indie project explores the reality behind all those “follow your dream” slogans: the mess, the exhaustion, and the emotional trade-offs required when your home life constantly conflicts with your passion. It’s not aiming for grandeur. Instead, it zeroes in on the grind, the intimacy of closed spaces, and the slow burn of personal pressure.

At the center of this story is Henry, a low-key music producer trying to complete an album that might finally launch his career. He lives with his sister and her controlling partner, and the space they share is both his sanctuary and his biggest obstacle. This isn’t a movie about storming into fame. It’s about quietly trying to create something meaningful while the walls close in, emotionally and literally. That push-pull dynamic between artistic urgency and household dysfunction shapes everything that follows.

The film’s decision to keep the setting largely confined is one of its strengths. Instead of trying to stretch across multiple environments or make grand symbolic gestures, it treats the home as a pressure cooker—filled with awkward silences, passive-aggressive exchanges, and moments of real tenderness. These scenes feel personal, and there’s a certain authenticity in how the script allows tensions to bubble up rather than explode. The interpersonal friction is understated but constant, which makes the more dramatic moments feel earned rather than forced.

Henry’s father, a musician whose dreams were never realized, becomes a presence in Henry’s journey, not through flashbacks but music and memory. The discovery of old demo tracks from his dad becomes a subtle but pivotal shift in the narrative. It’s not treated like a grand revelation. Instead, it lingers like an echo, informing Henry’s decisions, shaping his identity, and complicating his desire to make something original.

Harry McLafferty’s portrayal of Henry is quiet and reserved, strongest when he’s reacting rather than speaking. You believe his exhaustion. You see his mind working during the pauses, and that’s often more compelling than the dialogue itself. Rhiann Millington, as his sister, has a similarly gentle approach that works in the quieter scenes but loses its footing when the script calls for confrontation. Neizan Fernandez brings unexpected complexity to a character that initially seems like a stereotype. His presence becomes increasingly essential as the story unfolds.

What KID sometimes lacks in punch, it makes up for in honesty. Smith’s personal experience informs the storytelling—this isn’t a generic “struggling artist” narrative. The specificity in the music industry details, the lived-in feel of the setting, and the complexity of trying to honor both your past and your future all contribute to something that feels deeply sincere.

While the ending is serviceable, it doesn’t fully capitalize on the layers built before it. There was potential for a more ambiguous, unresolved conclusion acknowledging how messy creative pursuits can be. Instead, the ending leans toward tidy closure, which slightly undercuts the film’s strongest attribute: its realism.

KID isn’t reinventing any genre or crafting an overly symbolic take on artistic struggle. Its strength is in its rawness. It captures the discomfort of making something meaningful when the world around you won’t stop pressing in. And it does so without flashy tricks or over-the-top emotional arcs. It just observes. And in that observation, it finds truth.

For viewers who’ve experienced the quiet frustration of chasing a goal while juggling life’s less glamorous realities, something here will feel uncomfortably familiar. It’s a story that recognizes the creative process not as some euphoric burst of inspiration but as a series of compromises, delays, and internal battles. And in showing that, it creates a connection far more valuable than spectacle.

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[photo courtesy of SILENT D PICTURES, SKINT FILM COMPANY]

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