Julia Jackman’s 100 Nights of Hero (2025) transforms Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel The One Hundred Nights of Hero into a lush, historical fantasy romance, pulsing with drama, wit, and fairy-tale sensibility.

Drawing on the storytelling traditions of One Thousand and One Nights, the film weaves myth and gendered power into a a sad narrative. Visually striking and unapologetically feminist, it is a world where costume, set design, and cinematography are as central as the story itself.

Set in a patriarchal, mythical realm, the film centres on Cherry (Maika Monroe), whose husband Jerome (Amir El-Masry) abandons her for one hundred nights to test her fidelity, though his true desires remain enigmatic (Is he actually gay?). During his absence, Cherry navigates desire and danger, most sharply embodied through her devoted maid Hero (an amazing Emma Corrin) and the dangerously seductive Manfred (Nicholas Galitzine). Hero, armed with intelligence and storytelling skill, becomes both protector and strategist, demonstrating how survival can intertwine with survival.

The story unfolds as an exploration of freedom, love, and protection within a fantastical yet psychologically resonant world.

Jackman balances romance, drama, and whimsical fantasy throughout. The film’s rich visual palette evokes the graphic novel’s intricate artistry. It immerses the viewer in a fairy-tale realm where patriarchy and desire are constantly negotiated. By centring Hero’s cunning and Cherry’s resilience, 100 Nights of Hero celebrates women’s quiet strength in a world shaped by male authority. This is a story of resistance!

The film’s layered world is made even more vivid by Charli XCX, who appears as a tortured musician and one of three sisters, adding a note of modern energy to Jackman’s otherwise timeless realm. In its interplay of magic and fashion, 100 Nights of Hero as a contemporary cinematic fable is a story that is as visually enthralling as it is socially astute.

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