On leave during the holidays? Here are some ideas from the Netflix catalog to watch in your pajamas.
Maestro
This is a film that some will say is calibrated for the Oscars (I predict many nominations for it). The fact remains that there is enough momentum, dazzlingness, and inventiveness in the dream sequences – nods to old Hollywood – for this “Oscar film” to transcend the genre.
Marc Cassivi
Leave the World Behind
Adapted from the novel of the same name, Leave the World Behind (The world after us) depicts an end of the world that perhaps awaits us where nothing has meaning and everything leads to our downfall. Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, directed by Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot, Homecoming), this psychological thriller keeps the viewer intrigued from start to finish. If we ultimately obtain some of the answers to the questions that the film sows, it is above all the reflection provoked that remains with us.
Marissa Groguhé
May December
Criticism of the media and moral authority, May December enjoys confusing the cards without judging his characters. Gracie, Elizabeth and Joe are all trapped in their illusions. In the tradition of Bergman and Losey, Todd Haynes delivers a dark and hushed film, psychologically disturbing, and carried by a duo of extraordinary actresses.
Luc Boulanger
Rustin
If Rustin deals with an important element of black history that has been buried for too long, the film also offers its lead actor the opportunity to deliver an extraordinary performance! Colman Domingo (Ma Rainey’s, Zola, Euphoria) embodies a complex man. Both strong and vulnerable, brilliant and tormented, supportive and lonely. This moving performance will undoubtedly earn Domingo an Oscar selection in the category of best actor in a leading role.
Luc Boulanger
The Killer
Director David Fincher creates a very particular cozy atmosphere, to which the music of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is no stranger. Andrew Kevin Walker’s screenplay distils irresistible humor, courtesy of the pseudophilosophical mantras and pearls of wisdom of motivational gurus that the killer repeats to himself constantly, during often hilarious interior monologues.
Marc Cassivi
El Conde
Larraín’s staging, meticulous and careful, dictates the rhythm of a story that is less contemplative than the Chilean filmmaker’s previous, more traditional filmed biographies, about Jackie Kennedy or Lady Diana Spencer, in particular. The symphonic and lyrical soundtrack lends itself wonderfully to this particularly cynical dystopia, coupled with a family fable about corruption, avarice and greed.
Marc Cassivi
Beckham
For the honesty of the words, for the quality of the research and for the images where the former professional athlete talks about his new hobby as a beekeeper, Beckham achieved its goal. This miniseries, generous with archives and interviews, will satisfy sports enthusiasts and gossip fans alike.
Hugo Dumas
Till Murder Do Us Part
This four-episode miniseries is chock-full of archival footage from the trial and, be warned, includes a frightening amount of blood-soaked photos from the crime scene. You watch it all at once and the last episode, it’s a classic, does not provide all the answers to this murky affair, which interested, at the time, as much Larry King as Geraldo Rivera.
Hugo Dumas
The Fall of House Usher
Divided into eight one-hour segments, The Fall of House Usher revisits the work of American novelist Edgar Allan Poe in an inventive, modern and chilling way. Think of a series alloy Succession And Painkillerbut coated in morbid hallucinations and gruesome murders.
Hugo Dumas
Bodysuits
The credible historical reconstruction and the adapted visual designs give the impression of watching four dissimilar series: one Peaky Blinders in 1890, a Maltese Falcon in 1941, a Homeland in 2023 and a Years and Years in 2053. Surprisingly, all these disparate pieces form a coherent and harmonious story, without a break in tone. It is a complex, fun and original work, which entertains while stimulating several areas of our brain.
Hugo Dumas