Islands Review – Intoxicating Scenery, Gripping Story Driven Performances
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Wednesday, 28 January 2026 11:29
- Written by Janet Walker
Islands, from Greenwich Entertainment, presents a mind bending psychological thriller as a free-spirited partying tennis coach at a tropical resort finds himself entangled in a web of deceit after the husband of a beautiful guest goes missing.
The film begins establishing the daily life of Tom, played by Sam Riley, coaching hotel guests each day, heading to the club, drinking, dancing, until he is blasted and hooking up with female vacationers.
Grizzly Night Review – Excellent Feature Debut, Taut, Terrifying, A Must See
His habits have also become a bit uncontrollable, as he is hiding booze in tennis ball cannisters in the hotel tennis storage room. This leads to more than one close call on the nights he doesn't meet a stranger, and the local police officer, Jorge, played by Pep Ambros, is willing to trade the ticket for tennis lessons for his daughter.
Tom, for some, is living the life. He has no responsibilities, lives on an ocean front tropical island, with gorgeous endless beaches, and is the toast of the town, as the local tennis coach, and is paid for what he loves.
One morning as he is checking his schedule with the hotel concierge, Amina, played by Fatima Adoum, a couple has requested an early appointment, which can be challenging considering his schedule for late nights.
A Private Life Review – An Hitchcockian Psychological Drama, A Must See
Dead Man’s Wire Review – An Entertaining, Taken from The Headlines, Crime Thriller
He agrees and at the gate he meets the lovely Anne, played by Stacy Martin, and her son, Anton, played by Dylan Torrell. Once they begin playing, he sees that Anton is quite skilled already. Anne explains she and her husband are here on holiday, and while they are here, they would like Anton to have lessons. Then she explains, her husband had played for a championship team.
Soon, we meet Dave, Anne's husband, played by Jack Farthing. He brings Anton to the courts for his lesson, and immediately begins scrolling on his phone, totally absorbed in the screen, and doesn't even manage too look up. Anne arrives, and the two are complaining over the room, and so Tom asks his friend at the concierge desk if she could change it. They are upgraded to a beautiful two-room suite with a large balcony overlooking the ocean. You can almost feel the warm tropical breezes and smell the sea air.
When Tom delivers in such a big way, they offer to pay him, he refuses, and refuses again, until they offer to take him to dinner. It is evident from the beginning of dinner that there is some tension between the two, and as he watches them volley subtle insults at each other. Be the end of dinner, they are asking about hiring a driver, and he explains that he has the day off tomorrow and would be glad to be their island tour guide.
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother Review – An Entertaining, Resonating View of Family
The day is awesome, we explore this tropical coastline with them, and the endless white sand beach is stunning, with high cresting waves, and ocean spray filling the air. Dave and Anton head for the water, and Tom and Anne wait on the shore. After the day of sun, surf, and Anne's subtle sexual hints and innuendos, Tom agrees to a nightcap on the balcony of the suite.
When they begin to drink, their stories surface, and they begin to get personal in their disillusionment and then Dave explains they want a second child, but it just isn't working. By this time, Tom is looking for the exit. Music from the Waikiki club, down the beach is loud, and Dave is bored. So, since Anne has already gone to bed, he coaxes Tom into taking him to the bar. Even on the way, we understand this man is going to be trouble. He steps over the rope to get a selfie and almost falls into the ocean. By the time he gets to the bar he is arguing with the bouncer, and once inside he is downing shots of vodka, and then buys the bottle, heads off with new drinking buddies.
Tom wakes up on the chaise. His phone is blowing up with missed calls from Anne, Dave did not come home, where is he? By the afternoon, they are talking with Jorge, who explains the missing person procedure. By the next day, Anne is becoming desperate and Tom is her sole comfort.
The Chronology of Water Review – Brilliant Directorial Debut, Exceptional Story Driven Performances
Soon Tom and Anne become the suspects in her husbands disappearance, and as the cloud of suspicion becomes more concrete, the evidence against her begins to be too great to ignore.
Islands, a gripping, mind bending, psychological drama, holds the viewer captive while inching closer to the foregone conclusion.
The cast, aided by the alluring tropical destination, embody their characters effortlessly. They are genuine and authenticate as they move from the abandonment of what was into the hedonism of vacation life, seizing the moment, with a carpe diem, overpowering, lust.
Captivating and riveting, Islands opens January 30, 2026 in select theaters. See it.
Country: US.
Language: English.
Runtime: 121 minutes.
Director: Jan-Ole Gerster.
Producer: Jonas Katzenstein, Maximilian Leo.
Executive Producer: Charles Collier, Maria Carla Del Rio, Klaus Dohle, Adria Mones, Maud Petit, Ariadna Rodriguez, Jonathan Saubach, Simon B. Stein.
Associate Producer, Katrin Kreppel.
Writer: Jan-Ole Gerster, Blaž Kutin, Lawrie Doran.
Cast: Sam Riley, Stacy Martin, Jack Farthing, Fatima Adoum, Dylan Torrell, Pep Ambros, Bruna Cusi, Ramiro Blas, Ahmed Coulane, Maya Unger, Alina Schaller, Iker Lastra, Ainhoa Hevia Uria, Isabelle Stoffel, Fernando Navas, Irene Ferarios, Dawid Pietkiewicz.
Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
