The Downstream: April 2023
10 great movies to watch before they leave streaming this month.
Soon…
But for now, enjoy these 10 movies before they bolt their current streaming home!
Being John Malkovich, Amazon Prime Video
I’m seeing Beau Is Afraid tomorrow night and hear it compared to the wry, surrealistic stylings of Charlie Kaufman. That’s a high bar to clear for me because Being John Malkovich, a deeply odd and achingly human story about our need to connect with others through avatars, is a prescient masterpiece. You may be fully weirded out on first watch if you haven’t seen. But give it a chance to grow on you. It’s deeply perceptive about our nature as people living in a cold world.
Bound, Criterion Channel
Where were you when the Wachowskis invented “be gay do crime”? (Admittedly, I was 4 years old when this movie came out so … that’s where I was.) Bound is a real banger of a neo-noir that featured a rare ‘90s portrayal of a lesbian couple that was fully complicated and human. It satisfies intellectually and viscerally.
Captain Phillips, HBO Max
In 2021, I wrote a big piece for /Film how Captain Phillips kicked off a new phase in Tom Hanks’ career:
These elders must reckon with what they stand for as much as they have to counter what they stand against. Rather than charging offensively forward for their values, they're playing defense and resting on their institutional know-how. Cargo ship captain Richard Phillips spends most of Captain Phillips scanning the situation after Somalian pirates hijack his ship, looking for ways he can turn a volatile scenario to his advantage without endangering his crew.
If you think this is just Tom Hanks playing America’s dad, you’re sorely mistaken.
Citizen Kane, HBO Max
One of these days, I’ll finally publish my long-gestating Letterboxd list “Canonical Films That I Think Are As Good As Their Reputation.” In the meantime, spoiler alert: Citizen Kane is on it. If you think of or remember this is the cinematic equivalent of eating your broccoli, you’re sorely mistaken. Eight decades later, Orson Welles’ debut feature remains as enticing and enigmatic as ever.
Detroit, Amazon Prime Video
Kathryn Bigelow’s most recent directorial effort Detroit walked into a bit of a political trap upon its release in 2017. The film opened up necessary and painful conversation about who gets to represent Black pain on screen. I happened to see the film before the controversy caught steam, so I can’t speak to how I’d view it now. I’d be curious to revisit now with those eyes to see how my initial impressions hold up — because I just experienced this as an unbearably tense standoff during a police raid that ratchets up into unnecessary violence. Bigelow provides a reminder of why she’s one of the best in the game doing what she does.
50/50, Hulu
A cancer comedy doesn’t exactly sound like the most appetizing watch, I’ll admit. But 50/50 wins with humor and heart as it fictionalizes the screenwriter’s own experience battling the disease. It’s a great reminder that tragedy can never entirely separated from the tenderness and levity of life … and that we once thought Joseph Gordon-Levitt was going to be one of the biggest stars in the industry.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Hulu
Every once in a while, we just need something ANGSTY to vent all our pent-up feelings about our pasts. And The Perks of Being a Wallflower provides just such a release valve with its unabashed emotionalism and identification with the characters’ limited conceptualization of their own experience. “We are infinite” goes the film’s slogan, but it works so well because what it’s really saying is we are finite. These are the biggest challenges they’ve ever faced, and the film indulges their myopic sense that it’s the biggest challenges they ever will face.
Southside with You, Amazon Prime Video
The Obamas’ first date might sound like some kind of weird #Resistance fantasy premise output by ChatGPT, but I can assure you the 2016 film Southside with You is very much worth your time. It’s part Linklater-esque ambling talk-a-thon, part Barack Obama superhero origin story as community organizer, and wholly winning.
The Sting, Netflix
Some might argue I did The Sting a little dirty by placing it directly in the middle of my Best Picture rankings at #48. But I can assure you, this is not a mid movie by any stretch of the imagination. This crime caper is solid entertainment and brought down the house at a movie night I hosted. Redford and Newman, what a duo for the ages.
Top Hat, HBO Max
If you’ve ever wanted to see how dance is really done, treat yourself to a Fred and Ginger classic. Top Hat was the dynamic duo’s biggest hit and features their rendition of the beautiful “Cheek to Cheek.” I know “you’ll float too” was literally the slogan of the horror movie It, but as Fred and Ginger move with such an effortless glide across the screen … you’ll feel the levity on a visceral level.
You can always keep up with my film-watching in real-time on the app Letterboxd. I’ve also compiled every movie I’ve ever recommended through this newsletter via a list on the platform as well.
Many of the lessons we can take from Phantom closing apply across the arts — a fascinating listen.
An exceedingly rare profile of the great Rachel McAdams, for Bustle. Read it in preparation for something coming…
For Decider, I gave a hearty “stream it” to Rhino: Ukrainian Godfather (on VOD) and went long on why I think it has one of the best single-take shots in years. I was less charitable to The Offering (on Hulu).
You can keep track of all the freelance writing I’ve done this year through this list on Letterboxd.
A brief newsletter so you have something this week! A few other irons are in the fire that I can’t wait to share.
Yours in service and cinema,
Marshall