The Death of Bunny Munro Review

Nick Cave’s The Death of Bunny Munro comes to our screens with two compelling lead performances and a smart balance between smut and sentiment.

As made clear in the first two episodes of the new mini-series that were screened at the BFI London Film Festival, this story of a man addicted to sex, alcohol and general hedonism is tailor-made for an actor who wants to shed a nice boy image, but who also wants to retain the charm and mutate it into something more primal and dangerous.

Smith is front and centre in The Death of Bunny Munro, but the most prominent name on its call sheet is songwriting maestro Nick Cave. The series is adapted from Cave’s 2009 novel, a rage-infested portrayal of a man plunged into an inevitable crisis by personal tragedy. The themes and narrative turns are necessarily dark, but Cave’s prose is energetic, pinballing between confrontational sexual imagery and moments of surprising tenderness. Episode 1 shows this pull between yin and yang hasn’t been lost in the translation from page to screen. Pete Jackson’s script is faithful to Cave’s plot, keeping the 2003 setting. 

As Brighton Pavillion burns down, so too does Bunny’s world and he doesn’t even know it. He comes home from one of presumably multiple affairs to find his wife Libby (Sarah Greene) has suicided. It’s a startling setup, not least because our sympathies are being demanded for an oversexed toerag. It’s a testament to Smith that we stick with Bunny as funeral preparations begin. In those sunken eye sockets like deep dark pools of emotion that constantly threaten to bubble up with some combination of rage and bitter regret, contrasting with his boyish looks and giddy limb-flailing. It’s a mix that helps keep us onside with him, even when he’s telling his in-laws what he thinks of them at his wife’s funeral.

Of course, Bunny isn’t the only one in mourning. There is also Bunny Junior (Rafael Mathé), an 8-year-old conjunctivised walking trivia machine with a bowl cut. As played by newcomer Mathé, Bunny Junior is the sweet centre of The Death of Bunny Munro, a remedy to his father’s amoral and increasingly desperate antics. Episode 1 deals with the immediate fallout of Libby’s death, with Bunny beginning a particularly hedonistic dive into pleasure-seeking. A post-wake coke binge with some mates is just the start of his adventures, as Bunny decides to take his son on a trip around the beach towns of England’s south coast, peddling his wares on the way as a door-to-door makeup salesman.

Overseeing the chaos that is the life of Bunny Munro is director Isabella Eklöf, best known for her bloody feminist thriller Holiday. She brings a bright peppy energy to this potentially sordid tale, shooting southern England in summer sunshine, and allowing Bunny to undertake his roadtrip with his convertible roof down. The Death of Bunny Munro has every reason to be dour, but Eklöf keeps the pace moving steadily. If Episode 1 set up Bunny’s aggressively forward-moving momentum, Episode 2 dives deeper into this relationship with his son as they begin their travels. Smith and Mathé have a believably sweet chemistry that gives both Bunny Sr. and the show an anchor as the debauched lothario threatens to get out of control. Through all his hijinks, Smith is able to bring any skeptical audience members around with little more than a flip of his floppy quiff.

These first two episodes demonstrate faithfulness to Cave’s text, albeit while necessarily toning down some of the harder sexual edge of the prose. It also sets up an inevitable downward spiral for its lead, but already The Death of Bunny Munro sets up some possibilities for where it’s going to go, from vengeful lovers to a serial killer stalking the area in devil’s horns and a pitchfork. All this combines to add to The Death of Bunny Munro’s sense of gentle anarchy. As father and son barrel around in their quest for chaos and meaning, with Mum’s ghost and an array of scandalized citizens following behind, there’s fun and meaning to be found, and it all stays just tasteful enough to entice the curious viewer to see what comes next.

The Death of Bunny Munro had its World Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, where the first two episodes were screened on 13 October, 2025. The series will be released on Sky and Now on November 20, 2025.