The clichés of the American road movie are reimagined in Silver Star. Directors Ruben Amar and Lola Bessis center the story on two marginalized women: Billie and Franny, grappling with the ghosts of their pasts and erased by society. What begins as Billie’s desperate escape after a bank robbery evolves unexpectedly into an emotional pilgrimage, forged through the shared vulnerabilities of the two women.
This film joins the feminist outlaw road movie tradition, carrying the rebellious spirit of Thelma & Louise while embracing the emotional realism of Nomadland. The directors blend the gritty realism of 1970s road films with a contemporary indie drama rhythm, using handheld cameras and natural lighting that evoke unscripted dialogue.
Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson’s wild yet vulnerable performance as Billie and Grace Van Dien’s fragile warmth as Franny balance the film’s intensity. The unexpected chemistry between a Black ex-convict and a pregnant teenager transforms a crime-fueled escape into a story of survival defined not by triumph but by empathy. The film addresses race and social inequality not through preaching but through lived experience, revealing how conscience and guilt intertwine.
Silver Star is a slow-burning film with lasting emotional resonance, showing that freedom can also mean exile. Its final verdict is clear: this is the story of two women rewriting their own destinies, a meditation on forgiveness along a long, lonely highway.
Film Details:
Directors: Ruben Amar & Lola Bessis
Cast: Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson, Grace Van Dien
Release Date: March 2025 (UK)
Themes: Female-Centered Crime/Road Drama, Class and Racial Inequality, Redemption
