LA FEMME INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2025 REVIEW! Set in 1950s Hollywood, Nadine follows fading film star Nadine (Grace Caroline Currey) as she arrives at the studio for what may be her final film, since the studio is not renewing her contract. Her driver greets her, but she appears distant, lost in thought about her uncertain future.
Once inside, she prepares for a musical number under the watchful eye of a slick, dismissive executive who is groping for his next starlet. Around her, whispers spread that she has become difficult and is no longer the studio’s darling. Nadine then overhears younger dancers gossiping that she’s “let herself go,” the kind of cruel remark that confirms her worst fears about being replaced.
As cameras roll, Nadine struggles to stay focused on her choreography. Memories of her long career and the power the studio once held over her begin to surface. When the director calls “cut,” she makes a decision that turns the moment into something unexpected.
“Set in 1950s Hollywood, Nadine follows fading film star Nadine as she arrives at the studio for what may be her final film.”
Nadine is a callback to a time when men were in charge of Hollywood and women were caught between tirelessly maintaining their looks and “pleasing” studio executives and directors to ensure there was a next picture.
Writer-director Tash Ann excels in two areas. The first is to set the tone of a studio system that controls and discards its female stars at the slightest hint of age or agency. The second is giving Nadine her final words, calling out the situation. Grace Caroline Currey as Nadine hits all the right emotional beats…and the dance number is pretty sweet, too.
Nadine closes with a powerful reminder that even in a system designed to silence women, one voice can still command the room.
Nadine screened at the 2025 LA Femme International Film Festival.
"…a powerful reminder that even in a system designed to silence women, one voice can still command the room."
