The Chronology of Water

Kristen Stewart’s first foray into directing is undoubtedly ambitious. The Chronology of Water, adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s raw, fragmented memoir, is shot on dreamy 16mm film and unfolds in five dense chapters – each brimming with reverence for Yuknavitch’s words.

Imogen Poots plays Lidia from her teenage years onward, capturing with startling intensity the character’s desperation for escape, her loneliness, her rage and her complicated relationships with her father (Michael Epp), mother (Susanna Flood) and older sister, Claudia (Thora Birch). The British actress is at her best during Lidia’s first stint at university – a hard-partying, vulnerable addict clawing her way through grief and trauma. She is electric here: frayed, furious, her performance charged with the raw physicality of a young woman unravelling.

Yet the film’s lyricism often blunts its emotional impact. Stewart seems drawn to a distinctly Sofia Coppola-esque aesthetic: soft-focus shots of pale legs in red Mary Janes, close-ups of pink lips and cascading hair, a teenage girl screaming into a pillow and biting its white lace edge. Though artfully composed, these moments drift into the realm of cliché. The brutal realities of Lidia’s early life – including sexual abuse and domestic violence – are rendered through a lens that feels overly stylised, almost too romanticised to do the subject justice.

Structurally, the feature struggles under the weight of its source. By clinging closely to Yuknavitch’s prose – including extended passages delivered in voiceover – Stewart sacrifices cinematic rhythm in favour of literary fidelity. The five-chapter structure surges ahead, dense with incident, yet rarely pauses to reflect. The result is oddly inert: a movie that respects its subject deeply but doesn’t quite breathe. At times, it resembles an illustrated audiobook more than a fully realised feature. One wonders whether this jagged, emotionally sprawling narrative might have been better served as a limited series, allowing its quieter moments the space they deserve.

Still, there’s no denying Stewart’s sincerity or her clear-eyed commitment to the material. The Chronology of Water may lack the smooth current of a conventional narrative, but it beats with conviction. It’s a bold, promising debut that suggests Stewart is more than willing to dive into the deep end.

Christina Yang

The Chronology of Water is released nationwide on 6^th February 2026.

Watch the trailer for The Chronology of Water here: