Tangles Review: An Emotional Journey of Grief and Love [NewFest 2026]

At the NewFest 2026 Tangles screening, not a single person in the room had dry eyes.

Based on Sarah Leavitt’s autobiographical graphic novel, the film follows Sarah as she returns from San Francisco to her small town to care for her mother with Alzheimer’s, Midge.

The movie highlights the complicated family dynamics, such as Sarah’s relationship with her aloof sister, Hannah, and avoidant father, Rob. It also explores how Sarah’s personal life changes over time, juxtaposing her romance with Donimo and her magazine illustrator job with her stressful home environment.

Sarah’s queerness and journey of self-discovery is a strong throughline for the story. Her strong personality and early age make the story all the more devastating as she grapples with questions of finding herself while still supporting her family.

Importantly, the story is a beautiful tribute to Midge, showing her beauty and resilience as much as it portrays her struggles with Alzheimer’s. Her family’s love for her shines through, even through the chaos.

Tangles is hard to watch because viewers know the ending from the moment the diagnosis is confirmed. It’s heartbreaking to watch Midge’s family do their best to make her last months as easy as possible.

At times, the pacing struggles under the film’s ambitious sprawl of multiple complicated themes.

But when Midge passes, the movie creates space for Sarah and her family’s grief. Media that tackles Alzheimer’s and grief is still rare, so films like Tangles have the incredible impact of sparking conversations about the topic.

The visual style and language are beautiful. Animated in black and white, Tangles has a markedly different art style from Leavitt’s graphic novel, but it makes the characters feel lively.

In particular, the visualizations of Sarah and Midge’s emotional states show how they feel with impressive precision. Even with the heavy subject matter, the film finds dark humor in the plane scenes with sarcastic voiceovers.

Usually, movies with stacked casts, even for animated ones, can suffer from trying too hard to bank on talent to tell the story.

But the world of Tangles is so immersive that the star-studded cast is barely noticeable.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus voices Midge, Abbi Jacobson voices Sarah, Beanie Feldstein voices Hannah, and Bryan Cranston voices Rob. Other cast members include Wanda Sykes, Bowen Yang, Sarah Silverman, and Seth Rogen.

Tangles is a difficult watch but a necessary one. The love, care, and collaborative creative effort poured into the film are evident to anyone watching.

The credits feature the names of people who the cast and crew lost to Alzheimer’s. It’s a move that drives home the point that films like Tangles are important to talk about this disease and its effects.

The film ends on a hopeful note, with Sarah remembering her mother telling her that she’ll come back as a maple tree and that death is a natural part of life.

At the end of the day, Tangles is a moving tribute to Midge’s bravery and the profound impact that she had on Sarah’s life.

 

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