☰
Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Islands

Play trailer Poster for Islands 2025 1h 40m Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
95% Tomatometer 22 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
ISLANDS tells the story of Tom, a one-time tennis pro who, years ago, washed up on a holiday island. Now he’s the coach at a hotel resort, hitting countless balls over the net to tourists who come to escape their everyday lives. Living an endless summer, Tom fills the emptiness inside with booze and brief affairs. He’s still kidding himself that he’s in paradise, but it is beginning to dawn on him that he’s wound up in hell. When he crosses paths with a particular tourist family, it seems he’s found an escape of his own.

Critics Reviews

View More (22)
Tom Charity Sight & Sound It’s a bold move to build an entire film around an unspoken suspicion while staving off Antonioni-ennui, but Gerster pulls it off. Sep 12, 2025 Full Review Nick Howells London Evening Standard Audiences are in for a scorching, sun-frazzled Hitchcockian delight from German director Jan-Ole Gerster. Rated: 5/5 Sep 11, 2025 Full Review Emily Maskell Little White Lies What if Challengers were a European noir? Sep 11, 2025 Full Review Demetrios Matheou The Arts Desk It’s a decidedly slow burn, with not a great deal actually happening, but it never loses the attention, its centre beautifully held by Riley, who with his sad eyes and whisky voice does a great job of conveying a lost soul in the last chance saloon. Rated: 4/5 Sep 13, 2025 Full Review Brian Viner Daily Mail (UK) Director Jan-Ole Gerster toys with our narrative expectations, playfully back-handing red herrings our way. Rated: 3/5 Sep 12, 2025 Full Review Emma Simmonds The List The whole enterprise benefits from bags of laid-back charm, a wonderful fit for a misguided yet inherently affable hero, who just cannot resist getting sucked into trouble. Rated: 4/5 Sep 11, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (1)
MB C “Islands” is a visually striking psychological drama set against the beauty of the Canary Islands.... Strong performances and atmospheric direction capture themes of desire, guilt, and escape, yet the film falters with slow pacing and a late shift into formulaic mystery....A haunting but uneven work that lingers more for its mood than its story.... Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/12/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Islands

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Jan-Ole Gerster

Director

Sam Riley

Tom

Stacy Martin

Anne

Jack Farthing

Dave

Dylan Torrell

Anton

Pep Ambròs

Jorge
View All

Islands

Islands (2025) Islands (2025) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis ISLANDS tells the story of Tom, a one-time tennis pro who, years ago, washed up on a holiday island. Now he’s the coach at a hotel resort, hitting countless balls over the net to tourists who come to escape their everyday lives. Living an endless summer, Tom fills the emptiness inside with booze and brief affairs. He’s still kidding himself that he’s in paradise, but it is beginning to dawn on him that he’s wound up in hell. When he crosses paths with a particular tourist family, it seems he’s found an escape of his own.
Director
Jan-Ole Gerster
Producer
Maximilian Leo, Jonas Katzenstein
Screenwriter
Jan-Ole Gerster, Lawrie Doran, Blaz Kutin
Production Co
Augenschein Filmproduktion, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Deutscher Filmförderfonds
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 40m