100 Nights of Hero
Inspired by the Arabian Nights, Isabel Greenberg’s feminist graphic novel is brought to the screen in a somewhat uneven interpretation.
Emma Corrin, Maika Monroe and Nicholas Galitzine
Image courtesy of Vue Lumière.
by MANSEL STIMPSON
Julia Jackman’s second feature is her own adaptation of a graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg which appeared in 2016. It's a work which harks back to the ancient folk tales that became part and parcel of the collection known as One Thousand and One Nights. That work was centred on Scheherazade who, aware that her husband is a man who kills his brides, repeatedly tells him a night time story that is broken off leaving him so curious as to how it will end that he keeps postponing her execution. The variation on that created by Greenberg does indeed feature a wife, Cherry (Maika Monroe), but her situation is rather different. The storyteller is not Cherry herself but her servant, Hero (Emma Curran), who uses stories to protect her. The wife's situation is not that she is in fear of her husband – Prince Jerome (Amir El-Masry) – but that he has secretly entered into a bet with his friend Manfred (Nicholas Galitzine) and that the menace to her comes from this man. Jerome, who is going to be away for one hundred nights, has agreed to Manfred staying on in his castle and makes a bet with him that he will not succeed in seducing Cherry during that period (if One Thousand and One Nights can be considered an influence, so too the bet here could be seen as one that echoes the wager made in Mozart's opera Così fan tutte). Each time that Cherry feels that she is in danger she alerts Hero who steps in to distract Manfred with a tale. However, unlike Scheherazade, she offers not a series of tales but a single one which is developed episode by episode each time ending on something of a cliffhanger.
100 Nights of Hero has the stylisation of a fairy tale or myth and there is no attempt to tell it naturalistically or in a defined period. It even begins with a narration by one of its executive producers, Felicity Jones, which declares “Are you ready? Then we shall begin”. Furthermore, it then has a short introductory passage in which we are told that a child – a girl – created the world and made it akin to a beautiful garden but that her father, Birdman, intervened and, God-like, imposed a male dominated order under which females found themselves to have decidedly limited rights. With that established the main narrative begins and the story of Cherry unfolds. Its portrayal of women’s need to fight back and assert themselves becomes the theme of the piece and, whether or not it was Isabel Greenberg’s specific intention, one can feel that a prime target for the book, as now for the film, could well be teenagers.
From the outset it is clear that the tale being told is a feminist one and offering that concept to youngsters on the basis that you can’t do that too soon is surely in keeping with the spirit of this piece. Exactly the same notion is applied to the film’s other central concern but that one emerges gradually. Early on it is stressed that to Cherry’s dismay Prince Jerome has failed to consummate his marriage and, although he would never acknowledge it, there is a suggestion that this is because he is gay. But, while that is no more than a passing detail, what emerges as the film proceeds is that Hero’s devotion to Cherry stems from her undisclosed love for her and in time Cherry will realise that she shares Hero’s feelings. Although this is clearly indicated and presented positively, some critics have dismissed the film as one that by hardly going beyond kissing is too tame and lacks passion. But if, as I have suggested, 100 Nights of Hero is in part aimed at a young audience, that is surely the right approach and it means that the UK censor’s certificate is no higher than a 12A.
While these messages in the film are seriously intended, the tone is often playful and especially so in its portrayal of Manfred who considers himself such a desirable example of manhood. The film is relatively modest in length (91 minutes) but that still gives it time to illustrate the story that Hero tells when she comes to Cherry’s rescue. This story is centred on three sisters one of whom is Rosa, a role played by the pop singer Charli XCX whose appearance here heralds an acting career in film which is now under way. Although the tale told unfolds episodically, it is another effective denunciation of a patriarchal world and shows how Rosa is misunderstood by her husband and branded a witch.
Although the film is fanciful by design, the opening sequence featuring Birdman is so over-the-top that it feels silly rather than surreal (the role provides a cameo for Richard E. Grant who appears to have been encouraged to overact). Thereafter, however, the structure works reasonably well even if flashbacks involving Hero’s mother feel almost shoe-horned in to introduce the concept of The League of Secret Storytellers, a group formed of women who will tell their own stories to ensure that they are heard. For much of the time the light touch makes this an engaging offbeat work but, having established that as the character of the piece, one does rather question if it was right to let both tales – the one narrated by Hero and the film's own story about Cherry and Hero – lead to a downbeat conclusion. Any uncertainty as to this is only added to when late on we are asked to believe that Manfred undergoes a change of heart for Galitzine, who has the right looks for the role, cannot find enough depth in the character to make it believable. However, there is a last-minute rescue bid by referring once again to The League of Secret Storytellers as a means of striking a positive note. The film always looks good and despite any reservations, I found it far more entertaining than I had expected after reading some rather hostile reviews (its current rating on IMDb is only 5.9). The role of Prince Jerome provides limited opportunities for that reliable actor Amir El-Masry but Emma Corrin is well cast as Hero. However, it is Maika Monroe who carries off the top honours here always capturing the tone of the film but also achieving a sense of real emotion and concern underneath the surface.
Cast: Emma Corrin, Nicholas Galitzine, Maika Monroe, Amir El-Masry, Charli XCX, Richard E. Grant, Felicity Jones, Safia Oakley-Green, Varada Sethu, Zaris-Angel Hator, Markella Kavenagh, Tom Staunton, Olivia D’Lima, Kerena Jagpal, Jeff Mirza, Clare Perkins.
Dir Julia Jackman, Pro Stephanie Aspin, Helen Simmons and Grant S. Johnson, Ex Pro Emma Corrin, Nicholas Galitzine, Julia Jackman, Felicity Jones and Maika Monroe, Screenplay Julia Jackman, from the graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg, Ph Xenia Patricia, Pro Des Sofia Sacomani, Ed Oona Flaherty and Amelie Labreche, Music Oliver Coates, Costumes Susie Coulthard, Sound Samuel Gagnon-Thibodeau.
Erebus Pictures/a Project Infinity production/Piecrust Pictures-Vue Lumière.
91 mins. UK. 2025. US Rel: 12 December 2025. UK Rel: 6 February 2026. Cert. 12A.
