‘THE GORGE’: A FILM ON THE EDGE OF SOMETHING
Featuring two of the most popular stars of the moment, Apple TV tries its hand at a dark (and slightly creepy) romantic thriller with The Gorge.
The Gorge (2025) Apple TV+ Film Review
February 14th is a day Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) dreads. It’s the day her father plans to take his own life after he learns there is no treatment for what ails him. This she learns after she takes a life using her skill as an operative. Autumn comes and Drasa is guarding a mysterious gorge where she is allowed no company. Across the vast expanse opposite this gorge is also a guard in former military vet Levi (Miles Teller). Accepting a mysterious mission proposition from a woman (Sigourney Weaver) he assumes is high level intelligence, Levi agrees to take this post given he has no one who cares for him. The man Levi is replacing believes “the Gorge is the door to hell,” which makes Levi wonder, what is this place?
Time passes, in silence and curiosity, and then it’s Drasa’s birthday and she’s going to do “whatever the hell she wants.” The pair form an unlikely and forbidden bond, mysterious happenings challenge everything they believe they’re doing.
‘THE GORGE’: A FILM ON THE EDGE OF SOMETHING. Reviewing the #AppleTV thriller #TheGorge. #MilesTeller and #AnyaTaylorJoy star in unique mystery. Share on X
This film is one of those odd juxtaposition titles that is just, well, unusual. The “hook” is excellent, and I love how intriguing it begins. It’s dark and certainly one way it earns my respect is in no way does the opening give a false impression. We know from the start this is not a cheerful title. It opens with a death carried out in a kind of cold and stark way. It also has this odd mix of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Pirates of the Caribbean, minus pirates. The “draw” earns my respect, but it was the weight of the rest of the film that had to keep my interest.
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Starting with its impressive cast, The Gorge knows how to cast a film. Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller are both popular and seemingly, based on the recent credits and rumors of films they respectively have in the pipeline, in high demand. Teller may have had his star turning role in Top Gun: Maverick, but I first loved him in the Footloose remake. Anya Taylor-Joy have been in everything from the 2020 adaptation of Emma. to Dune: Part Two.
Outside of the darkness, this is still oddly a film we want to have a satisfactory if not happy end. This is carried on by the unique and colorful way we see flirting carried out. In romance films, finding something or a concept that hasn’t been done is nearly impossible, but this one does it well. We see these two form a bond and flirt and have fun all without having any kind of ability to touch or hear a voice. Surprising no one more than myself, I did actually like The Gorge. It does beg questions and make us wonder what is going on, yes, but it also does have this odd way of building a human connection that films with characters always together cannot always get right.
Mercifully this film grants happiness even though the getting there is driven by rebellion, both of which I approve of.
Photos: Apple TV Press
Content: this one uses a lot of weapons (guns) to terminate creatures. Most of the the bullets into creature like beings rather than anyone human. These creatures may be a bit creepy for some depending on your tolerance of horror-esque elements. The film shows a blurred out shot of a naked couple having sex; there is some movement (but the blurring is very effective). We hear the f-word and other more minor profanity. The film rates PG-13.
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