For "Red Rocket" protagonist Mikey Saber, there are only two types of people: the ones he’s used and the ones he’s going to use. Simon Rex is terrifically oily as a washed-up Los Angeles porn star who returns to his small-town Texas haunts, not so much to lick his wounds as to plot his comeback.

Building off the scrappy beauty of "Tangerine" and "The Florida Project", director Sean Baker again trains his sights on a vivid milieu and a fascinatingly singular character, and much of this well-observed gem’s pleasures derive from watching what scheme Mikey will concoct next — and whether he can get away with it.
The film is included among the Oscar favourites for the best film of the year.

Tim Grierson, Screen International