Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
New York photographer Ronit flies to London after learning about the death of her estranged father. Ronit is returning to the same Orthodox Jewish community that shunned her decades earlier for her childhood attraction to Esti, a female friend. Their fortuitous and happy reunion soon reignites their burning passion as the two women explore the boundaries of faith and sexuality.
Disobedience is carried primarily by the extraordinary performances of Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, whose chemistry and emotional depth elevate what is otherwise a fairly familiar forbidden-love narrative. The plot follows a well-worn structure of return, repressed desire, and reckoning with community and identity — competently executed but not particularly surprising. Sebastián Lelio's direction is controlled and intimate, with cinematography that is restrained and functional rather than visually distinctive. The Orthodox Jewish cultural setting provides some genuine specificity and adds texture to the novelty, but the film doesn't radically reinvent its genre. The ending is quietly affecting and offers a degree of resolution that feels earned, though not especially memorable or bold. Overall, the film punches above its weight due to its lead performances.