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Lollipop

Play trailer Poster for Lollipop 2024 1h 40m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 15 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Molly's a dreamer and a fighter. All heart, fire and passion. She's made more mistakes than she can count, had her heart broken, and now risks losing the ones she loves. Sometimes she doesn't think she has the strength to be a woman. But she rolls with the punches and keeps getting up off the floor. And what drives her -- always onwards, never looking back -- is to give her two kids, Ava and Leo, a better life than she ever had. And she can't understand why that's not enough: in the face of a social care system that's doing everything to keep her from them. Confused, scared, angry and boxed in by an uncaring bureaucracy, Molly's soon homeless, can't find work and her kids are swallowed into social care. She can't breathe. It's a chance encounter with her old friend Amina, a refugee alone with her child, herself living on the edge, that reignites Molly's fire. "You don't get a book for this. No one tells you what to do. You just try and figure it out." She refuses to be a victim, to have her spirit crushed. Together with Amina, and her own mother Sylvie -- a broken relationship she must first fix -- Molly finds the courage and resolve to keep putting one foot in front of the other, driven by simple, everyday human connection; laughter, joy, tears and the support of the women around her. It hurts more to hold onto the pain. 'Lollipop' is the optimistic nickname Sylvie gave her, all those years ago before her dreams faded. But now Molly has a chance, just a chance, to break that downward spiral: to go on her own heroic journey and give her kids the love and hope no one gave her.

Critics Reviews

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Miriam Balanescu Empire Magazine A rousing, emotional wrecking ball in the very best way possible, boasting star-making turns across the board and a story that is guaranteed to stay with you. Rated: 4/5 Jun 17, 2025 Full Review Kevin Maher The Times (UK) The movie is an angry, unapologetic polemic from the director Daisy-May Hudson, the former Vice video-journalist who turned her family’s homelessness into the award-winning 2015 feature documentary Half Way. Rated: 4/5 Jun 13, 2025 Full Review Jonathan Romney Financial Times Lollipop presses its case with impressive steeliness; clearly both lived and meticulously researched, it has an irreducible ring of the real. Rated: 3/5 Jun 13, 2025 Full Review Latoya Austin Movie Marker Sterling’s performance throughout Lollipop is a marvel to watch with the kaleidoscope of emotions being delivered despite adversity. Her tour de force, authentic performance captivates ... Rated: 4/5 Jul 9, 2025 Full Review Emma Simmonds Radio Times It's an essential example of British cinema banging a drum for those whose voices go unheard. Rated: 4/5 Jun 24, 2025 Full Review Graham Fuller The Arts Desk Thanks to Posy Sterling’s technically astounding performance – a whirligig of fluctuating, gut-level emotions – audience sympathy with Molly never flags. Rated: 4/5 Jun 16, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews
Lollipop

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Cast & Crew

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Daisy-May Hudson

Director

Posy Sterling

Molly Brown

Idil Ahmed

Amina

TerriAnn Cousins

Sylvie

Johanna Allitt

Sheila

Brenda Birungi

Lawyer
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Lollipop

Lollipop (2024) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Molly's a dreamer and a fighter. All heart, fire and passion. She's made more mistakes than she can count, had her heart broken, and now risks losing the ones she loves. Sometimes she doesn't think she has the strength to be a woman. But she rolls with the punches and keeps getting up off the floor. And what drives her -- always onwards, never looking back -- is to give her two kids, Ava and Leo, a better life than she ever had. And she can't understand why that's not enough: in the face of a social care system that's doing everything to keep her from them. Confused, scared, angry and boxed in by an uncaring bureaucracy, Molly's soon homeless, can't find work and her kids are swallowed into social care. She can't breathe. It's a chance encounter with her old friend Amina, a refugee alone with her child, herself living on the edge, that reignites Molly's fire. "You don't get a book for this. No one tells you what to do. You just try and figure it out." She refuses to be a victim, to have her spirit crushed. Together with Amina, and her own mother Sylvie -- a broken relationship she must first fix -- Molly finds the courage and resolve to keep putting one foot in front of the other, driven by simple, everyday human connection; laughter, joy, tears and the support of the women around her. It hurts more to hold onto the pain. 'Lollipop' is the optimistic nickname Sylvie gave her, all those years ago before her dreams faded. But now Molly has a chance, just a chance, to break that downward spiral: to go on her own heroic journey and give her kids the love and hope no one gave her.
Director
Daisy-May Hudson
Producer
Cecilia Frugiuele, Olivier Kaempfer
Screenwriter
Daisy-May Hudson
Production Co
Parkville Pictures, BBC Film, BFI Film Fund
Genre
Drama
Original Language
British English
Runtime
1h 40m