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Josie Rourke

Josie Rourke

Director · Born September 3, 1976 (50) · Salford, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Josie Rourke is an English theatre and film director. She is a Vice-President of the London Library and was the artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse theatre from 2012 to 2019. In 2018, she made her feature film debut with the Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated historical drama Mary Queen of Scots, starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie. During the 2020 lockdown, she directed the episode "Her Big Chance" of the BBC reboot of Alan Bennett's classic 1980s monologues, Talking Heads, starring Jodie Comer. In summer 2021, she directed and co-wrote the star-studded short film Rhythm of Life, encouraging people to get COVID-19 vaccines. It featured the song "The Rhythm of Life" from the 1966 classic musical, Sweet Charity, and starred Jim Broadbent, Derek Jacobi, David Walliams, Asa Butterfield, Colin Salmon, Don Warrington, Nicola Roberts, Russel Tovey and West End dancers.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 3, 1976 (50)
From
Salford, Greater Manchester, England, UK
Works as
Director
Titles
4 on MovieCove · 9 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 3% in 30 days

What are Josie Rourke's films like?

Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
30%
Power
22%
Society
22%
Morality
18%
Self
7%

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 2 · Serious 0 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 0 · Intense 1

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 2

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
2
Melancholic
2
Warm
2
Absurd
1
Contemplative
1
Other
3

How their films linger

Bittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Josie Rourke's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 4 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Subscription and free streaming for Josie Rourke's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

9 credits, 4 with a MovieCove page.

  • The Nan Movie(2022)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films

  • Alan Bennett's Talking Heads(2020)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows

  • Mary Queen of Scots(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • National Theatre Live: Saint Joan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Stage Director

  • National Theatre Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director · Stage Director

  • The Vote (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director · Creator · Stage Director

  • National Theatre Live: Coriolanus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director · Stage Director

  • Much Ado About Nothing(2011)

    Director · Stage Director

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • The Custom of the Country (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Screenplay

Career shape

A full career of 9 titles, 8 of them dated from 2011 to 2022.

Biggest box office

Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

$47M worldwide

Highest rated

Much Ado About Nothing (2011)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing9 of 9: 2 only directing, 7 with another roleWriting1 of 9: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing1 of 9: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew5 of 9: 0 only other crew, 5 with another role

9 titles, 7 with more than one role — directing and other crew overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

2010s6 · crew2020s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Josie Rourke's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 53rd percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 55th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

49thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

77thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 4 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

1 of their 4 titles is Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · director, producer

The Nan Movie (2022)

75th percentile spread · 39% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Much Ado About Nothing (2011)

Midcredits 99th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 61/100 and the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Josie Rourke's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 54 · moderateMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Josie Rourke work with?

People who share at least 2 of Josie Rourke's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Catherine Tate shares the most, 2.

Actors

Composers