We hear your cries of indecision as you look for the perfect film to watch on Netflix this weekend, and we are happy to throw our hats into the ring to try and make your weekends easier. One of the great things about Netflix is the plethora of brand new and original content. When you add this to the extensive range of classic films and series it holds within its cyber shelves, then the act of choosing a particular movie is nigh-on impossible to complete.
Of course, you could use the many cheat codes the platform provides as a guiding hand, but, in reality, they just offer more choice. Instead, we’re committing to bringing you five interesting films you can stream on Netflix every single week.
Below, we’ve got five of the most interesting and relatively newer titles available on Netflix right now. Of course, we have some brilliant performances from the big names in Hollywood like Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Daniel Day-Lewis and all.
So, while the world around us feels ever more oppressive and the need for a bit of entertainment grows once more, below we’ve got five must-see movies available on Netflix.
5 interesting films to watch on Netflix this weekend
5. The Adam Project (Shawn Levy, 2022)
The film has quite an ensemble cast, namely Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Walker Scobell, Jennifer Garner and Zoe Saldana. Reynolds said it was a “very personal story” as it deals with the journey of redemption and discovery for the titular Adam who travels back in time to team up with his past self to find answers to questions that finally bring him closure.
With plenty of sci-fi elements, the film has moments of raw and delicate vulnerability that is beautifully emoted by the actors in their respective roles. Adam’s journey of self-acceptance and realisation is indeed cathartic and the wonderfully curated playlist deserves a thump on the back for blending in beautifully with the individual mood of every scene.
4. The Lost Daughter (Maggie Gyllenhaal, 2021)
Yet another Netflix Originals with umpteen Oscar nominations, Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut is an adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel. Starring Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson and Jessie Buckley, the film subverts the usual tropes associated with motherhood, namely care, warmth and nurture. It introduces the idea of the “unnatural mother” and examines the anxieties and insecurities that come with motherhood.
Colman plays a middle-aged professor whose getaway to a quiet Greek island is upturned by the arrival of Johnson and her family. Johnson’s interactions with her daughter jog Colman’s memory down to her days as a young mother as she struggled to find a balance between responsibility and freedom.
3. Passing (Rebecca Hall, 2021)
Based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 eponymous novel, the film stars Tessa Thompson, Andre Holland, Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Alexander Skarsgard, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy. The film was robbed at the Oscars by not receiving a nomination hinting at the blatant racism at the Academy selection.
In her directorial debut, Hall’s film hints at a larger sociological issue where the realities of life are tested when two black women are trying to “pass” as white women in 1920s New York at the height of Harlem Resistance, showing the truth of life on the opposite side of the spectrum.
2. The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion, 2021)
Based on Thomas Savage’s eponymous novel, Campion created an alternative western that explores themes of internalised homophobia, toxic masculinity, jealousy and anger. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee, the film has won numerous nominations at the Oscar due to its tense and grave narrative.
The film revolves around two brothers who own the 1920s Montana ranch. When one of the brothers marries a woman with a teen son, the other begins to make fun of the younger boy before growing unusually fond of him. This leads to a homosocial odyssey that has a brilliant climactic ending.
1. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
Quentin Tarantino said that this was “one of the best movies made in this decade”. This Academy Award-winning film is Paul Thomas Anderson’s magnum opus as it takes the viewers on a harrowing and remorseless journey that is made further daunting by Johnny Greenwood’s haunting original compositions in the backdrop. The film is a brilliant and intimate exploration of ambition and extreme hunger for success.
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Dillon Freasier and others, the film is based on Upton Sinclair’s 1927 Oil!. Day-Lewis portrays a ruthless mercenary oilman whose relentless drive for success compels him to move forward. He does not stop his quest to become an oil mogul on anything, even at the cost of manipulating his own adopted son.
