Madeleine Wall Sight & Sound May 13, 2026

Brady's film is a little too didactic about the lasting impacts of political trauma on the individual, and the reverberations across generations, but the film is carried by the performances of its leads.

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Kat Halstead Common Sense Media Mar 3, 2022 4/5

Wildfire is a powerful 85 minutes filled with great complexity and some potent visual flourishes that emerge from the understated direction.

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Victoria Luxford City AM Mar 3, 2022 4/5

Rolling to a stop rather than ending with a bang, Wildfire is an understated British drama that perfectly captures the power of things left unsaid.

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Britany Murphy The Reel Roundup Feb 26, 2022 3.5/5

Showcasing the devastating effects of both grief and mental illness, the result is a stirring drama about dealing with anguish and overcoming personal battles.

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Michael Lee Film Ireland Magazine Sep 23, 2021

Wildfire is an arresting drama that burns and melts with incredible performances and establishes Cathy Brady as a visionary feature director.

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Mark Kermode Kermode & Mayo's Film Review Sep 21, 2021

Haunting, ambient and very impressive.

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Christopher Machell CineVue Sep 7, 2021 4/5

In its study of tragedy, Wildfire does not draw straight lines between its personal narrative and the broader political and social contexts. Instead, the film uses the Troubles and Brexit to frame its understanding of the past and the present.

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Andy Lea Daily Express (UK) Sep 5, 2021 4/5

An elemental force overturns a precarious peace in a haunting and brilliantly acted debut feature from writer/director Cathy Brady.

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Wendy Ide Observer (UK) Sep 5, 2021 4/5

Savagely powerful, directed with an unshowy but acute eye, this is a terrific feature debut from the writer and director Cathy Brady.

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Sarah McIntyre RTÉ (Ireland) Sep 3, 2021 4/5

A fierce and fearless energy runs through Wildfire, writer-director Cathy Brady's assured, complex feature debut set in post-Troubles Northern Ireland that scrutinises the transgenerational reverberations of trauma and grief.

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Paul Whitington Irish Independent Sep 3, 2021

This wider theme is latterly thrown away, but Wildfire is made absorbing by the fierce chemistry between Noone and McGuigan.

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian Sep 2, 2021 3/5

It's a potent drama - and a melancholy reminder of the talent that Irish cinema and TV lost in McGuigan.

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Jason Best Marie Claire Sep 2, 2021

Most of its power comes from its stars' electrifying chemistry - at its most potent when the sisters dance with wild abandon to Van Morrison's song 'Gloria' in a bar frequented by an unrepentant IRA bomber.

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Danny Leigh Financial Times Sep 1, 2021 4/5

Stark and impressive.

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Fatima Sheriff Little White Lies Aug 31, 2021 3/5

Valiant effort but the approach to political metaphor feels very two-birds-one-stone.

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Deirdre Molumby entertainment.ie Aug 23, 2021 3.5/5

Not a lot happens in Wildfire as director Cathy Brady opts to hone in almost solely on the ambiance and the performances. But when you have two actresses as phenomenal as Nika McGuigan and Nora-Jane Noone, that's hardly a complaint.

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Maria Lattila The Digital Fix Aug 10, 2021 7/10

Wildfire could make its point sooner and louder, but Brady has traded big emotions for subtlety and stillness.

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Calum Reed In Review Online Jun 5, 2021

[Wildfire] should be commended for providing such a realistic window into an underrepresented section of society, but its authenticity as a family saga is questionable.

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Rich Cline Shadows on the Wall Mar 25, 2021 2.5/5

Because it's so relentlessly bleak, writer-director Cathy Brady never achieves the catharsis the story seems to be seeking.

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Adam Sweeting The Arts Desk Nov 26, 2020 4/5

Wildfire occasionally threatens to veer off the track entirely, but its twin leads just about keep it together, with McGuigan startlingly good as the disturbed Kelly.

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