Julia Jackman’s 100 Nights of Hero is fantasy romance like they don’t make ’em anymore
Courtesy IFC
Director/screenwriter Julia Jackson opens the curtain this weekend, nationwide, on a film that delivers on a genre I didn’t know I was missing.
Based on Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel, 100 Nights of Hero follows a world of storybook players, built on a civilization that worships a bird-god from the sky, and manifests his will into a cruel ideology. Cherry (Maika Monroe) is supposed to deliver an heir to her wealthy husband and his royal family, but the man has neglected her and kept his faults a secret. In a bet with a fellow noble (Nicholas Galitzine), he gives one hundred days for the man to flirt with Cherry, and put her fidelity to the test. This seductive sutor is well positioned to win the secret wager over a castle, but Cherry’s handmaid Hero (Emma Corrin) is all that stands in the way. Using a magical power of storytelling, Hero keeps furthering a disorienting time paradox that is slowly chipping away at the 100 day deadline—using a tale about a family of women who weaved similar powers of language to find their way through an antagonistic, misogynistic world.
Yes, the magic weaver women include Charli xcx doing some delightful (if limited) work on screen. I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that her inclusion was the primary reason I knew this indie flick existed.
Undersold by the marketing and initial framing of the film is that this is, textbook, a fable. The stories and the stories within the stories are all playing out through worlds of light magic and subtly bizarre fringe. I wasn’t really prepped for such a tonally singular but old-timey approach to fantasy—and what a breath of fresh air that would be in 2025. A movie that weaves a queer narrative into a tale that feels lifted from medieval manuscripts, early print, and woodcuts is bolstered by terrific performances and a sense of humor that makes the silly parts peak and the beautiful bits land with warmth.
It’s a beautiful break from the standard cinema releases this weekend, and an easy recommendation from us.
Courtesy IFC
