Via Negativa Tribeca Review: Standard Indie Fare With a Great Lead Performance

After her feature debut, The Graduates, was one of the highlights of Tribeca in 2023, Hannah Peterson returns to the festival in 2026 with Via Negativa. Although its star-studded ensemble and talented director do their best to elevate the material, Via Negativa is unfortunately never able to be more than a run-of-the-mill indie drama.

What is Via Negativa about?

Via Negativa is adapted from Daniel Hornsby’s 2020 novel of the same name, following a priest who goes on a road trip with a wounded coyote and a wounded pistol, having a mission to avenge his recently deceased friend. Although the novel might have been able to flesh things out a little more thoroughly in over 200 pages, the film’s 100-minute runtime doesn’t give it enough room to be anything more than a pretty conventional road movie.

Via Negativa Review

It becomes pretty clear early on that Via Negativa is not your typical “crisis of faith” movie. It has an even deeper, darker theme on its mind than spiritual self-reflection, and considering that Peterson’s previous film, The Graduates, dealt with the heavy topic of school shootings, it should be no surprise that the subject matter of Hornsby’s novel was a drawing point to her.

Because of this structure, the character arc also feels somewhat underwhelming. For much of the first hour of the film, it feels like we are waiting for the protagonist to open up and finally reveal his true motivations; then for the last act, you’re frustrated that it has been withholding the meat of the story for so long.

That being said, the main reason that Via Negativa works is the lead performance by Young Mazino (The Last of Us). He was obviously very well-cast in his breakout role, but here he gets to show a sensitive side. Although the final minutes veer into melodrama, Mazino manages to rein things in in a way that keeps the movie feeling mostly grounded.

Along his trip, Mazino comes across a variety of characters, many of whom are having their own crises they need the protagonist to guide them through as he discovers himself. The most impactful is probably Zoë Winters, who has the most emotionally impactful, deeply sad scene of the film. Other highlights include Keith Kupferer (Ghostlight), who is quietly affecting in the climax, and MiMi Ryder, who has one of the bigger supporting roles, making up a longer stretch of the protagonist’s journey. More recognizable actors who appear in the movie but don’t have much to do include Tony Hale, Mamoudou Athie, Jee Young Han, and Hacks’s Carl Clemons-Hopkins.

Like many road movies, Via Negativa is a relatively well-made film with strong cinematography that takes advantage of its setting. The protagonist journeys through the American heartland, which lends the movie plenty of picturesque, soothing sights. That being said, the style isn’t particularly flashy, allowing the emotional aspects to carry the heavy lifting.

Is Via Negativa worth watching?

Ultimately, Via Negativa is your very stereotypical festival indie: the main character, brought to life well by a star on the rise, goes on a road trip where he encounters a band of recognizable B-listers who help him along his internal journey. Still, while it doesn’t add much to the formula, it’s well-acted and well-made, allowing it to meet expectations even if it never exceeds them.

Via Negativa premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from June 3-14, 2026.

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