Lollipop Review: Hard Roads & Tender Hearts

Lollipop is a gritty drama about two women fighting for hope, family, and survival within a broken social care system.

Molly (Posy Sterling, of The Outrun) is newly released from prison and desperate to get her kids back. But the world outside hasn’t been waiting for her. She’s broke, directionless, and up against a social care system that treats her like a case number instead of a person. When she runs into her childhood friend Amina (Idil Ahmed), the two women, both struggling in different ways, decide to help each other. It’s not a clean path, but it’s theirs.

From its opening, Lollipop sets the tone: we first meet Molly as she’s making a phone call to her kids from prison. Over the credits, her voice is hopeful. Three days later, she’s out, wandering into a convenience store and immediately trying to reach her children. It’s here we feel the first real blow: she can’t get through. The social worker stands between her and her kids, and it’s clear the road ahead will be long and unforgiving.

The beauty of Lollipop lies in how it balances warmth and realism. When Molly visits her kids in foster care, the scenes are emotionally gutting, one moment her daughter runs to her, smiling, the next, there’s a quiet tension, a sense that this reunion might be temporary. These moments are where Sterling shines. Her performance is unvarnished: Molly is a character who frustrates as much as she inspires. She makes bad decisions, some selfish, some desperate, and Hudson never paints her as a saint. But because Sterling plays her with so much vulnerability, we can’t help but hope she pulls through.

Idil Ahmed, meanwhile, is nothing short of astonishing. Amina is the kind of role that could have easily fallen into “best friend” territory, but Ahmed refuses to be sidelined. She brings steel and soul to the character. There’s a scene, roughly 50 minutes in, where Amina breaks down mid-conversation, a quiet, teary monologue that sneaks up on you and wrecks you. It’s one of the most emotionally honest moments in the film and cements Ahmed as awards-worthy.

Hudson’s direction is patient and immersive. She gives space for scenes to breathe, letting emotions simmer instead of explode. Her script doesn’t preach; it observes. She captures the ways bureaucracy quietly crushes people, the way poverty forces impossible choices, and how friendship can be a lifeline, even when it’s messy and imperfect. What makes Lollipop stand out is its refusal to simplify. There are no clear villains, no neat redemptions. Just people trying to do better in a system that often won’t let them.

Lollipop isn’t easy to watch, but that’s why it works. It’s a grounded, hopeful, and ultimately moving story about two women trying to reclaim their futures. With its standout performances and heartfelt storytelling, this is the kind of indie drama that won’t fail to break your heart. It doesn’t ask you to love its characters, it asks you to understand them. And by the end, you just might.

Lollipop will be released in UK & Irish cinemas on 13 June, 2025.