2025 Middleburg Film Festival Day 3: ‘The Secret Agent,’ ‘A House of Dynamite,’ Critics Chat and the Annual Concert Celebration Featuring Kris Bowers
I opened day three at Middleburg with one of their signature events: Talk Back to the Critics. Mae Abdulbaki (Screen Rant), Jen Chaney (NY Times), Tim Gordon (Keeping it Reel with FilmGordon), Roxana Hadadi (Vulture), Nell Minow (RogerEbert.com), and Travis Hopson (Punch Drunk Critics) made up an eclectic panel that led a conversation on all the great experiences they’ve had at Middleburg over the years, several of them attending since the start thirteen years ago. They discussed the evolution of the festival and how it has grown in that time, and that what they enjoyed most was the opportunity to connect with other movie lovers.
They talked about the films they are most excited to catch at this year’s event. Hamnet seemed to be the buzziest title between the six of them.
The first film of the day was Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, starring Wagner Moura as Marcelo, a technology expert in 1977 Brazil. Set against the chaotic backdrop of Carnival in Recife, the story follows Marcelo, a widowed fugitive navigating the shadows of the military dictatorship. Desperate to reconnect with his long-lost son, he sneaks through the city’s lively streets, dodging assassins while haunted by his past role in a secret rebel group. Mendonça Filho does a fine job weaving a tense web of espionage and moral ambiguity, blending thriller elements with a social commentary on power and survival.
The film’s strong direction and smooth cinematography capture the wild energy of the time, but The Secret Agent ultimately left me wanting more payoff for its bold ambitions. Wagner Moura’s commanding performance anchors the story, his nuanced take on quiet desperation and glimmers of hope lifting every tense moment. Still, the sprawling, nearly three-hour plot drifts too often into repetitive chases and vague nods to authoritarian fear, draining the urgency without offering real depth. For all its sleek polish and relevant message on resisting oppression, The Secret Agent comes off as an elaborate detour, stylish and earnest, but reaching a finish line that doesn’t fully justify the long haul it took to get there. (B-)
The main event for the day was the annual Concert Celebration. This year’s featured film composer was Kris Bowers, whose work was performed by a 60-piece orchestra led by conductor Fabrizio Mancinelli. Bowers won an Academy Award for the Documentary Short Film, The Last Repair Shop. He has also been nominated for Original Score for his outstanding composition for The Wild Robot. The orchestra, accompanied by short clips for each film, played a selection of his best work, including King Richard, Green Book, The Wild Robot, and his latest, The Eyes of Ghana, a documentary by his Oscar-winning partner, Ben Proudfoot, which is playing here at Middleburg. It was, as it always is, a rapturously impressive event and the centerpiece of the entire festival.
Another one of my favorite events, Cocktails & Contenders, hosted by Variety’s Clayton Davis and Jazz Tangcay, was next. The pair covered the films vying for position in the Oscar race in all the major categories. Clayton talked about the big contenders for Best Picture, primarily, while Jazz led the conversation around the artisans.
I had to leave the event a tad early for my next film, Kathryn Bigelow’s taut thriller, A House of Dynamite. The film follows the U.S. government’s tense race against time to identify the source of a single, unattributed nuclear missile launched toward the midwest states and decide on a response before impact. They scramble to gather facts, weighing a counterstrike against the usual suspects versus holding off to avoid an all-out nuclear war without confirming the true culprit. Bigelow builds tension masterfully as frantic leaders clash in heated conversations that feel all too real, creating the ultimate “what if?” scenario. The incredible ensemble cast includes Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Jared Harris, Anthony Ramos, Tracy Letts, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke, Gabriel Basso, and Moses Ingram.
Bigelow’s direction is sharp and the pacing races along, thanks to two-time Oscar-winning editor Kirk Baxter’s precise cuts and Noah Oppenheim’s ardent script. If I have one complaint about the film, it’s that Volker Bertelmann’s score feels too similar to his Conclave music from last year. It breaks the spell a bit for someone who is too familiar with Edward Berger’s film. Even so, this is Bigelow firing on all cylinders. A House of Dynamite is a gripping, nerve-shredding thriller that left me completely on edge and does a mesmerizing job of capturing the sum of all fears. (B+)
I wrapped the day with a second viewing of Chloé Zhao’s masterpiece, Hamnet. You can read my initial reaction from Telluride, here, or check out Sophia’s amazing full review here. After a second viewing, my feelings on the film remain unchanged.
After claiming the People’s Choice Award at TIFF and Audience Favorite at Mill Valley, one would assume it is the frontrunner to repeat here as well. However, the crowd reaction was a little more tempered than expected. Perhaps they were still trying to recover from the film’s gorgeous, heartbreaking beauty, the applause polite but far from vibrant as the credits rolled. We’ll see if it sustains its festival-winning streak or if something else steals the spotlight here at Middleburg.
On Sunday, I will wrap up the festival with screenings of Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On?, Hikari’s Rental Family, and Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
- 2026 Oscar Predictions: The Awards Alchemist’s Updates With Festival Awards and Heading Into Critics Season - November 4, 2025
- 2025 Middleburg Film Festival Day 4: ‘Is This Thing On?,’ ‘Rental Family,’ ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ - October 20, 2025
- 2025 Middleburg Film Festival Day 3: ‘The Secret Agent,’ ‘A House of Dynamite,’ Critics Chat and the Annual Concert Celebration Featuring Kris Bowers - October 19, 2025
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