Netflix’s award-winning catalog has picked up a few interesting additions lately, including two dramas that had strong runs at this year’s awards and an older blockbuster that still holds its charm. If you usually end up circling the same handful of decorated movies, this week’s picks give you a little more variety.
All three are streaming on Netflix U.S. right now, but my top pick is the newest of the bunch and definitely the one to save for when you’re prepared for something emotionally heavy. Here’s all you need to know.
3
I Swear
Life has no filter
Few films have handled a difficult subject with as much warmth as I Swear. Set in 1980s Scotland, this biographical drama tells the true story of Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson. His symptoms began during his teenage years, a period during which the condition was poorly understood, leaving the people around him to mistake his tics and involuntary outbursts for bad behavior. John is bullied and isolated before eventually receiving a Tourette syndrome diagnosis.
The story follows him into adulthood, where simply finding work and moving through everyday life is a Herculean task. Things begin to shift when John meets Dottie, a mental health nurse who treats him with an understanding he has rarely received, and Tommy, who allows John to work at a community center. Those relationships give John some stability, while his experiences lead him toward campaigning for greater awareness of Tourette syndrome.
Robert Aramayo plays the adult Davidson, and the film gives him space to be funny, vulnerable, and everything in between without reducing the character to his diagnosis. His performance won the BAFTA for Leading Actor this year, with casting director Lauren Evans also taking home the BAFTA for Casting.
2
King Kong
An epic adventure from 2005
Not many movies stay with us for years, but this is one of my personal favorite monster films from my childhood. Peter Jackson’s King Kong takes us back to Depression-era New York, where struggling actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) is recruited by filmmaker Carl Denham (Jack Black) for an ambitious new production. Denham takes his cast and crew far from New York to the mysterious Skull Island, which turns out to be home to far more than the new movie and its scenic shots.
The island’s inhabitants kidnap Ann and offer her to Kong, the enormous ape living outside of the village. Surprisingly, Ann and Kong’s relationship takes an unexpected turn. Meanwhile, Denham and the rest of the crew head into the jungle after her, eventually setting in motion the events that take Kong from Skull Island all the way to New York.
At just over three hours, Jackson gives the story plenty of room for monster encounters, large-scale action, and the heart of the film — the bond between Ann and Kong. The visual effects were a major achievement for 2005, particularly Andy Serkis’ performance as Kong, and the technical side of the movie was rewarded heavily at the Oscars. King Kong earned four nominations and won three Academy Awards for Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing.
1
Hamnet
The tragedy behind a tragedy
My top pick this week is Hamnet, Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s historical novel, and one of the most talked-about films of the year. Set in 16th-century England, the story begins with Agnes Hathaway (Jessie Buckley), a young healer whose unusual ways have earned her a reputation around town. She meets Will (Paul Mescal), a Latin tutor with dreams of becoming a playwright, and the two fall in love, marry, and start a family while Will eventually leaves for London to pursue his ambitions.
Life changes completely after a tragedy strikes. Agnes and Will scramble to put things back together, but the distance between them increases as their grief swallows them whole. The film then draws a fictional connection between loss and Shakespeare’s Hamlet, imagining how something this personal may have found its way onto the stage.
Buckley does a stellar job in her pivotal role as Agnes, a performance that earned her the Academy Award for Leading Actress. Buckley also rocked this award season, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and the BAFTA Award for Leading Actress. Additionally, Hamnet received eight Oscar nominations overall, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Find some of Netflix’s best titles
If Netflix’s homepage keeps sending you back to the same movies, award winners can be a good place to discover new titles. And they don’t all have to be Big 3 winners, either; acting, casting, sound, and visual effects awards can lead you toward very different (and interesting) movies.
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Yes, $8/month
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Two or four
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