Venice reviewers agree on Herzog's new film: the Mara sisters are astonishing, the film is a mess

If you enjoy turning up to a festival screening, seeing two big names turn entirely weird, and then walking out unsure whether you loved it or just sat through a fever dream, then Bucking Fastard is your sort of film. Werner Herzog’s latest has finally landed at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival — and the very early reviews are in. If you reckon the Mara sisters together on screen must be a bit odd, you’re right. It’s odder than even I expected.

The Sisters Act

Let’s start with the set-up: this is the first time Kate and Rooney Mara have shared the big screen, and their on-screen chemistry is exactly the highlight you’d hope for. They play a pair of sisters who are not only inseparable — they actually speak in unison and go through life as if they’re operating from a single hive mind. Their main plot? They both fall for the same man. Cue dreamlike obsession and all the psychological twinning you can stomach for two hours.

The Mara Sisters' dedication to mirroring one another's every move and word has been described by The Hollywood Reporter as, "how fully the Mara Sisters commit to the psychological and physical symbiosis of their precisely synced characters."

The story goes a bit further into the bizarre — it’s actually inspired by real-life identical twins Freda and Greta Chaplin, who gained a weird sort of fame in '80s Britain by having a restraining order slapped on them. Herzog’s film follows suit, with the sisters getting caught up in a legal mess once their shared love interest, Gareth Mulroney, hauls them into court for harassment. It’s Herzog, so yes, expect things to get strange.

Critical Reception: Praises and Pains

It’s still early days for proper reviews — hardly anyone’s seen it yet, but those who have agree: the Mara sisters are brilliant. The film itself, less so. Early reviewers seem to think Herzog’s direction and the plot don’t always keep pace with the performances. The script meanders, and sometimes it’s just a bit too self-conscious of its own eccentricity. But you’ll struggle to look away when Kate and Rooney are sharing the frame (and sometimes even finishing each other’s lines).

In Next Best Picture’s words from their festival review: "Even as the story meanders, you’re still invested because of them, and they often bring you back in as they’re off on some other bizarre conquest."

So, essentially, the consensus is that even if you lose patience with the film’s oddities, the sisters usually pull you back in. The twin act is the lynchpin — the rest of the thing just wobbles around them.

Who Else Pops Up?

Just in case the Mara sisters plus Herzog weren’t enough weirdness for one film, Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson are along for the ride in supporting roles. No shortage of talent, then. For Herzog himself, this is his 21st feature as a director, adding to a catalogue that already includes Family Romance, LLC and Ghost Elephants. Yes, he’s still acting in other people’s projects as well — can’t keep the man away from a camera, apparently.

• Title: Bucking Fastard
• Festival Debut: 83rd Venice International Film Festival
• Director: Werner Herzog (his 21st film)
• Stars: Kate Mara, Rooney Mara, Orlando Bloom, Domhnall Gleeson
• Based on: The eccentric real-life twins Freda and Greta Chaplin
• Plot: Twin sisters, a shared obsession, and a restraining order

Bucking Fastard currently has no announced release date beyond its Venice premiere.

No word yet on when Bucking Fastard will actually hit cinemas or streaming, so for now, it’s just a Venetian oddity with a lot of promise — and apparently, a lot of weird.