Review of 100 Nights of Hero: love and resistance

100 Nights of Hero is a romantic fantasy film. Released in theaters on June 4, 2026, the production is based on the graphic novel by author Isabel Greenberg. It stars Emma Corrin, Nicholas Galitzine, and Maika Monroe.

The film was written and directed by Julia Jackman, and features singer Charli XCX, alongside established actors such as Felicity Jones, Amir El-Masry, and Richard E. Grant in the cast.

Synopsis

Trapped in a neglectful marriage and pressured to provide her husband with an heir, Cherry lives a suffocating reality. Her only escape valves are Hero, a devoted maid who belongs to a secret organization that rescues the history of women erased by time, and the unexpected arrival of Manfred, a charming friend of her husband.

With her spouse away, Cherry finds herself caught in a dangerous web of desire, torn between forbidden feelings for the visitor and for her confidante.

Official Trailer

The 100 Nights of Hero, by Isabel Greenberg, was released in 2016, expanding the universe of her first graphic novel The Encyclopedia of Early Earth (2013). It is a feminist retelling of the classic One Thousand and One Nights, set in an oppressive medieval world where women are forbidden to read and write. The comic balances cruelty, fantasy, and realism while debating the patriarchy.

The plot follows Cherry and her maid, Hero. When Cherry's husband travels for 100 days, he makes a wager with his friend, Manfred: if Manfred can seduce Cherry before his return, he will win his friend's castle and lands.

To protect the woman she loves and save her honor, Hero takes on the role of a modern Scheherazade. Night after night, she uses the power of storytelling to distract, hypnotize, and delay Manfred from achieving his goal.

The name of the protagonist, Hero, was inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Hero and Leander, which narrates the tragic love story of a young priestess of Aphrodite.

Isabel Greenberg is one of the most acclaimed and original voices in contemporary British comics. Born in London in 1988, the writer and illustrator is recognized for mixing folklore, mythology, feminist retellings, and a striking visual aesthetic that is often compared to traditional woodcuts.

The film directed by Julia Jackman maintains the essence of the comic book, and the dynamic remains the same, changing only the structure and the focus of the narrative.

Narrative focus and the stories

In the graphic novel: The stories have an even greater focus, featuring complex myths about goddesses, moons, and past generations of women. The main story of Cherry and Hero functions as a frame for these other legends.

In the film: The production prioritizes the romantic tension and the dramatic triangle in real-time inside the castle. The stories told by Hero still appear to distract Manfred, but in a very summarized way, serving more as a motor to advance the 100 days.

The romance between Cherry and Hero

In the graphic novel: The love relationship between Cherry and Hero is the heart of the graphic novel, but it is portrayed with the subtlety and melancholy of a classic forbidden love within a hostile medieval universe.

In the film: The chemistry and secret romance between the mistress and her maid gain more dramatic weight, acting as a direct counterpoint to the toxic and manipulative masculinity of the wager made between the husband Jerome and the seducer Manfred.

Characters and Mythology

In the graphic novel: The League of Secret Storytellers and the mythological beings, such as the Bird Woman and the gods of that universe, have deep family tree explanations.

In the film: The iconic characters from the mythology of the graphic novel, like the Birdman and the Moon, appear briefly or only through narrations, simplifying Greenberg's rich work so that the audience does not get lost in the political plot of the castle.

100 Nights of Hero is not just a cheesy period romance. In the first few minutes, the film already wins you over, even if you have not read the original work. Director Julia Jackman knew how to transform Isabel Greenberg's material into a cinematic manifesto that moves us in a very intimate way.

The film succeeds when it uses the "fairy tale" format to portray a raw and naked reality about the patriarchy. Cherry's marriage to Jerome is not just unhappy, it is a political prison. She is treated as property whose only value lies in her womb.

In a medieval dystopia where reading and writing is a crime for women, resistance gains a massive strength. It is precisely this prohibition of female knowledge that transforms their struggle into something heroic and revolutionary.

It is moving to follow the League of Secret Storytellers in a world that tries to erase the past of women. The feminism of the film is not in speeches, but rather in the act of sharing stories, in solidarity, and in mutual support.

The chemistry between actresses Maika Monroe and Emma Corrin is palpable, the kind that makes us long for something similar. Amidst Manfred's mind games and the husband's neglect, the love between the mistress and the maid is born as a space for healing and liberation, avoiding unnecessary clichés.

A forbidden romance that goes far beyond physical desire, it is about finding the mirror of your own soul in another woman when the rest of the world tells you that you are nobody.

While the graphic novel feels like a beautiful celebration of folklore and the power that a good story has to save us, the film chooses a different path, transforming all this fantasy into a super intimate period romance, focusing on the sexual tension and the pain of a forbidden love.

Rotten Tomatoes: 69% approval from critics and 56% approval from the audience.

IMDb: 5.9/10 from 1,600 thousand reviews.

Letterboxd: 3.3/5 (stars) from 26 thousand reviews.

The film uses that beautiful aesthetic of fairy tales and medieval settings to tell a story about oppression. It explores the issue of control over the female body and the prohibition of reading for women, which transforms the film into a revolting and thought-provoking dystopia.

The League of Secret Storytellers is one of the most beautiful points of the plot, showing that feminism and resistance do not need to come in shouted speeches, but rather in acceptance, complicity, and the act of not letting the past of women be erased.

The forbidden romance between the mistress and the maid is born as a healing refuge amidst the negligence of the men around them, and the sexual tension and affection between them are built in a beautiful and sensitive way.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

For those looking for a period drama that subverts clichés and challenges the viewer, it is very much worth watching. A work that perfectly balances an exquisite aesthetic with profound discussions.

Until next time!