The Red Shoes: Next Step

2023

1h 51m

Kids & Family

Drama

Romance

List

33%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

86%

Audience Score

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Samantha Cavanaugh is about to dance the lead role in the Red Shoes when she takes a congratulatory Facetime call from her sister, Annie, who has been picked up by the New York City Ballet. What should be a moment of mutual celebration turns into a shared nightmare when Annie is struck by a car. Traumatized and stricken with guilt, Sam quits dancing, leaves Harlow’s Academy, and returns to her local High School where she renews her friendship with Eve, an alternative indie-punk chick. A blur of grief-stricken partying and misbehavior spins Sam’s life further out of control and a shoplifting spree lands the girls with two-hundred hours of community service each. Sam’s mother, Jennifer, concerned that Eve is largely responsible for the extremes of her daughter’s current behavior, is desperate for Sam to find her ‘normal’ again, and Sam is sent back to the Academy to serve her two- hundred hours there - cleaning the studios and facilities and attending regular study sessions - but not dancing. Sam’s return is difficult. There are constant reminders of her sister - trophies, images, inescapable memories that make Annie a living presence for Sam - an accusatory reminder of the tragedy. What’s more, the students are rehearsing The Red Shoes again, this time with Ben Shelby, an old friend of Annie’s and Sam’s, in the lead male role. Ben is on loan from NYC Ballet. He’s partnering Gracie, the Academy’s new star pupil and Sam’s old rival.

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Leslie Felperin

Guardian

Honestly, the Angelina Ballerina books and TV show for ballet-crazy primary schoolgirls offer a more dramatically plausible portrait of the world of dance than this tosh...

Rated: 2/5

Aug 21, 2023

Full Review

Andrea Beach

Common Sense Media

The Red Shoes: Next Step simply moves from one overworked cliche to the next, not providing nearly enough context or explanations and leaving plenty of plot holes behind.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 8, 2023

Full Review

Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

Amid the dancing, the central storylines involve friends and family, so there's a certain warm comfiness about it all. And the dancing itself keeps the movie enjoyable to watch.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 28, 2023

Full Review

Hugh Barnes

The Arts Desk

Co-directors Jesse Ahern and Joanne Samuel, who made the 2019 children’s fantasy adventure The Legend of the Five, have also crafted a story about ballet and bereavement, but theirs has the shallow, implausible feel of a soap opera by comparison.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 25, 2023

Full Review

Edward Porter

Sunday Times (UK)

Jesse Ahern and Joanne Samuel’s film has the look and tone of a cheap soap opera, but its dance sequences are fine, which might be enough for young ballet fans.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 24, 2023

Full Review

Erin Free

FILMINK (Australia)

…well-paced, strongly performed and highly entertaining…

Rated: 18/20

Apr 11, 2023

Full Review

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Jesse Ahern

Director

Joanne Samuel

Director

Juliet Doherty

Sam Cavanaugh

Lauren Esposito

Eve Leary

Joel Burke

Ben

Carolyn Bock

Miss Harlow

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Synopsis

Samantha Cavanaugh is about to dance the lead role in the Red Shoes when she takes a congratulatory Facetime call from her sister, Annie, who has been picked up by the New York City Ballet. What should be a moment of mutual celebration turns into a shared nightmare when Annie is struck by a car. Traumatized and stricken with guilt, Sam quits dancing, leaves Harlow’s Academy, and returns to her local High School where she renews her friendship with Eve, an alternative indie-punk chick. A blur of grief-stricken partying and misbehavior spins Sam’s life further out of control and a shoplifting spree lands the girls with two-hundred hours of community service each. Sam’s mother, Jennifer, concerned that Eve is largely responsible for the extremes of her daughter’s current behavior, is desperate for Sam to find her ‘normal’ again, and Sam is sent back to the Academy to serve her two- hundred hours there - cleaning the studios and facilities and attending regular study sessions - but not dancing. Sam’s return is difficult. There are constant reminders of her sister - trophies, images, inescapable memories that make Annie a living presence for Sam - an accusatory reminder of the tragedy. What’s more, the students are rehearsing The Red Shoes again, this time with Ben Shelby, an old friend of Annie’s and Sam’s, in the lead male role. Ben is on loan from NYC Ballet. He’s partnering Gracie, the Academy’s new star pupil and Sam’s old rival.

Director: Jesse Ahern, Joanne Samuel
Producer: Jesse Ahern, Tanya Esposito
Screenwriter: John Banas, Zachary Layner, Peter McLeod
Distributor: 4Digital Media
Production Co: One Tree Productions, Uncharted Studios
Genre: Kids & Family, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 7, 2023
Runtime: 1h 51m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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