Pike River is a 2025 New Zealand drama film. Directed by Robert Sarkies, it stars Melanie Lynskey and Robyn Malcolm.
Based on the Pike River Mine disaster of 2010, the story follows the subsequent, years-long battle for justice led by Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse, two friends whose respective husband and sonâÂÂalong with 27 other workersâÂÂwere killed during an underground explosion.
Pike River was shot on location in Greymouth, New Zealand, between November and December 2023. Speaking to Variety in May 2024, producer Vicky Pope described the film as "Erin Brockovich meets Norma Rae â New Zealand's own version, gutsy and real", and said of the casting, "We are so thrilled about the powerhouse partnership of [Lynskey] and [Malcolm] ... two incredible actresses playing two incredible women".
The film premiered at the Sydney Film Festival on 7 June 2025, ahead of its theatrical release in New Zealand later in the year.
Writing for RogerEbert.com, Cortlyn Kelly commented, "Pike River excellently explores the nonlinear experience of grief and how, as a result, relationships can be rocky, going through hills and valleys", adding that the "magnificent performances from Melanie Lynskey and Robyn Malcolm" are strengthened by their "magnetic chemistry". In a positive review for The Guardian, Cath Clarke wrote, "The story is told with restraint, in meticulous detail [...] without any Erin Brockovich-type feelgood emotion, never losing sight of the heartbreak and devastation".
Richard Phillips of the Trotskyist website World Socialist Web Site criticised the film, claiming that director Robert Sarkies did not consult with all the Pike River miners' families during production. He also criticised it for failing to acknowledge the Sixth Labour Government's aborted re-entry of Pike River Mine in 2021.