Landing her first major role in David Fincher’s Panic Room back in 2001, and making it mainstream by starring as Bella Swan in the cultural phenomenon known as The Twilight Saga, Kristen Stewart is nothing short of a household name actress. However, 2025 looked a little different for her resume, as it’s the year she stayed behind the camera. Starring Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later) and Thora Birch (American Beauty), The Chronology of Water is Stewart’s directorial debut, telling the story of woman who escapes an abusive childhood by taking up competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships and addiction before finding her voice through writing. As raw and unrelenting as filmmaking can get, The Chronology of Water is a grueling watch due to its subject and themes, but rewards viewers with a phenomenal lead performance.
Saliva, blood, vomit, drugs, sex, addiction, self destruction, abuse. These are just a handful of things heard and seen in Stewart’s bold directorial debut. Telling you from the get-go that this is no regular watch, it might not be a viewing experience for everyone, but it certainly puts Stewart on the map as one not afraid to dive head first into the uncomfortable. A biopic based on the book of the same title by Lidia Yuknavitch, her extraordinarily tough life is brought to the screen in a way that unsettles you. Trigger warnings should perhaps be visited before you choose to press play on this one, as the themes of child abuse and the loss of a child make up the bulk of the run-time here. Existing to show how trauma never really leaves you, it takes an uncompromising and relentless approach to a story that deserves sincerity and understanding.
The Chronology of Water: Is Kristen Stewart’s Directorial Debut Worth Watching?
The cinematography is uncomfortably close at all times, forcing you to experience all the horrendous events that Lidia must endure right alongside her. Blood-soaked shower floors and a handful of cremated ashes are just two examples of what Stewart and the team dare to show us. The way this film is shot, with its 4:3 aspect ratio, intimate approach and spiky editing, feels like home video footage which only adds to the sense of realism. The sound design is what brings it all together, taking a unique approach to narration and background noise that we’ve rarely heard done before. Complimenting whats on screen in front of us whilst adding another unsettling layer to it all, so much care has been put into making this more of an experience than a film. Whether this brazen approach works for the viewer or not, it undoubtedly shows a lot of flair from Stewart as a director.
It’s hard to pinpoint another time in which an actor has put so much faith and trust in their director, as leading lady Poots has with Stewart. Due to the taboo subjects and raw emotion required for the role of Lidia, Poots is given no easy task, yet she delivers her best work yet. Believable at all times that she’s been through the events that her real life counterpart has, her performance is both heartbreaking and mesmerizing to endure. Playing her sister Claudia is Thora Birch, who is compelling every time she graces the screen. Her sisterly bond with Lidia is very fraught due to what they went through as children, but Claudia remains something steady in Lidia’s life, with Birch taking on that role well. Jim Belushi (Saturday Night Live) absolutely commands the screen in his role as novelist Ken Kesey, stealing the spotlight whenever he’s around, and Earl Cave (The Sweet East) also impresses.
The Chronology of Water is equal parts messy and compelling. Although it sometimes feels like Stewart chooses shock value over storytelling, it’s hard not to admire her brave approach to this biopic. Be it a tough and emotionally uncomfortable viewing experience, it also delivers one of the most thorough explorations of trauma we’ve seen for quite some time, alongside a stellar performance from Poots. Showcasing a knack for creative flair and uncompromising storytelling, it will be interesting to see what Stewart delivers next.
Rating: C+
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The Chronology of Water
A woman, after an abusive childhood, escapes into competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before finding her voice through writing.
