ECHO VALLEY on Apple TV+ is a psychological thriller that ultimately focuses on the power of female friendship & LGBTQ characters. Having Julianne Moore and Fiona Shaw fight back against the bad guys is the perfect treat for Pride Month. Read more about Echo Valley below and find it on Apple TV+ now!
The new Apple TV+ movie Echo Valley delivered so much more than I ever expected. First, we get a queer woman as the main protagonist, which I had not caught on to from the trailer. However, Julianne Moore was happily married to a woman, who tragically passed away before the story we see in the movie.
For this Womentainment piece, I want to focus on the power of female friendship between LGBTQ characters. Both are arguably the most amazing, loving, and totally badass characters of the movie. A movie you definitely should check out!
I’ve already reviewed the movie over on Heaven of Horror, so you can find a spoiler-free review of Echo Valley there >
Julianne Moore and Fiona Shaw as best friends
As the plot of Echo Valley evolves, Fiona Shaw’s character comes into play. She is also a lesbian and happily married to a wonderful woman. The two have been worrying about Kate (Julianna Moore), so she heads over to the Echo Valley farm to check on her friend.
The friendship shown between Julianne Moore and Fiona Shaw is everything. We see how they care for one another and how Leslie (Fiona Shaw) cares for and comforts Kate (Julianne Moore) as only a best friend kind.
Also, when it comes to the age-old question “Who do you call when you need to get rid of a body?”, the answer is given in Echo Valley.
I’m oversimplifying, of course, but also not really, as things get very dark as the plot of Echo Valley progresses.
The power of queer friendship
If you enjoyed the friendship between the character portrayed by Annette Bening and Jodie Foster in NYAD (and who didn’t?!), then Echo Valley gives you that same feeling. It did for me, anyway.
And yes, I do feel that the friendship between both Julianne Moore and Fiona Shaw’s characters in Echo Valley, and Annette Bening and Jodie Foster’s characters in NYAD, is a product of their queerness. There’s often a deeper friendship as a bond more akin to family tends to arise.
Sometimes, even in place of family, who cannot accept their LGBTQ family member.
With Echo Valley, the fact that Kate is queer is a non-issue. Well, she did fall for the lesbian farm hand, divorced her husband, and married said farm hand. However, her ex-husband has also remarried, and the two are on good terms, so it worked out for them both.
LGBTQ friendship for Pride Month
As the life-shattering events occur in Echo Valley (from the death of a spouse before the movie begins, to the core plot of this movie), the friendship Kate has with Leslie is life-saving. I had no idea this would be a core element of the Apple TV+ movie, but it is.
Suddenly, the release date in the middle of Pride Month (and also, just in time for Friday the 13th, for those who like it darker) seems absolutely perfect.
Also, Fiona Shaw is an out and proud woman who has already been in iconic WLW productions (not least Killing Eve) and Julianne Moore has played a queer character in everything from Lisa Cholodenko’s 2010 Oscar-noiminated The Kids are All Right (ironically co-starring with Annette Bening) to Chloe (2009) and Freeheld (2015).
If you hadn’t considered watching this – maybe because you believed you had it all figured out from the trailer (find it below), like I did – then I urge you to reconsider.
Also, Sydney Sweeney is breathtaking as the daughter of Kate. She portrays a young woman addicted to drugs, awful men, and even worse decisions, which is where it all starts going wrong.
Echo Valley is on Apple TV+ from June 13, 2025.
