3 Hidden Gems to Watch on Hulu This Week
Hulu has a sneaky good collection of movies on its platform. While the streamer has plenty of well-known and widely beloved classics in its film library, though, it has just as many under-appreciated, oft-forgotten gems. These include a recent docudrama that turns the story of a 2000s tech relic into a cinematic tragedy and a 1950s-set love story that will make you lean in and — in all likelihood — swoon, as well as a contemporary noir thriller that is as tender as it is hard-hitting.
Here are three hidden gems you can stream on Hulu this week.
“BlackBerry” (2023)
A true-story dramedy that makes nary a single misstep, director Matt Johnson’s “BlackBerry” is one of the most striking big-screen docudramas of the past few years. A dramatized account of the spectacular rise and fall of the BlackBerry phone line, Johnson’s film offers an absurd, tragic and ultimately searing portrait of corporate greed and arrogance.
“BlackBerry” tells its story with enough control and clarity to keep you thoroughly engaged at all times. It is, frankly, worth seeking out just for Glenn Howerton’s scene stealing turn as one of its leads, Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie. Howerton has one third-act line reading, in particular, that is guaranteed to make your jaw drop.
“Decision to Leave” (2022)
It took six years for South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook to direct another film after his 2016 masterpiece “The Handmaiden.” Fortunately, 2022’s “Decision to Leave” proved to be worth the wait. Directed and co-written by Park, the neo-noir romance follows an obsessive police detective (Park Hae-il) as his investigation into a man’s mysterious death draws him closer to the victim’s widowed wife, who also happens to be his No. 1 suspect (an unforgettable Tang Wei).
An unexpected romance blooms between the two, which Park renders onscreen in ways that are sometimes playful (an interrogation session that doubles as a dinner date) and sometimes achingly beautiful (a nighttime rendezvous on the side of a snowy mountain). Constructed with astonishing style, “Decision to Leave” uses its genre premise to explore not just the beauty of love, but also its destructive power. It is a romance full of jagged, sharp edges — and they leave just as much of a mark on you as they do the film’s leads.
“Brooklyn” (2015)
Here is a love story that may not be as cutting as “Decision to Leave,” but is no less insightful. Based on a 2009 novel by Colm Tóibín and adapted by “High Fidelity” author Nick Hornby, 2015’s “Brooklyn” is a sweeping, profoundly moving drama about a young Irish woman (Saoirse Ronan) who immigrates to Brooklyn in the early 1950s and finds herself torn between the comfort of her distant Irish home and the immense unknown of her new American life.
Anchored by Saoirse Ronan’s stunning central performance, “Brooklyn” paints a stirring portrait of not only an immigrant’s journey but also of the affirming joy and terrifying uncertainty that comes with trying to find your own place in the world. Yves Bélanger’s swoon-worthy cinematography is just the cherry on top of a film that asks what it is that actually makes a place feel like home.
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