WATCH: Netflix’s “The White Tiger” is among top movie streaming options.
Also worth streaming: ‘No Man’s Land,’ ‘Breaking Fast’
Your best streaming bets this week include a fourstar Netflix release, a gay romance, a likely Oscar nominee for best international film and two killer-diller horror films.
Here’s our weekly recommendations.
“THE WHITE TIGER” >> Ramin Bahrani’s fierce satire rips into India’s caste system, showing how socalled “nice” rich folks betray and mistreat the “help” even though they consider themselves woke. Sound familiar? Funny and never dull, “Tiger” makes a star out of newcomer Adarsh Gourav, who taps into the dark comic spirit of Aravind Adiga’s 2008 awardwinning novel. Gourav plays Balram, the likable narrator hired as a driver for two silver-spooned lovebirds (Rajkummar Rao and Priyanka Chopra Jonas — absolutely perfect in the role). When a tragic incident happens (avoid the trailer, it gives away too much), Balram discovers just how dispensable he is to his employers. “Tiger ” is a beast of a drama, especially when it lets it claws out.
DETAILS >> ; available Friday on Netflix.
“NO MAN’S LAND” >> There’s a fear early on that this border drama will be a whitewashed affair, focusing exclusively on the handsome, cocky college-bound Jackson
(Jake Allyn) and his odyssey after he accidentally shoots dead a young boy crossing the border. While the screenplay by Allyn and David Barraza does focus on Jackson, “No Man’s Land” balances the white man’s angst with the pain and desire for blood vengeance of the boy’s father (Jorge A. Jimenez). No one comes out a winner, certainly not Jackson’s parents (Frank Grillo and Andie MacDowell). Director Conor Allyn tells a potent story for our times, one made all the sharper by George Lopez in a supporting role as a no-nonsense Texas Ranger. One complaint: At just a shade under two hours, “No Man’s Land” feels too long.
DETAILS >> available Friday on various platforms.
“IDENTIFYING FEATURES” >> Like “No Man’s Land,” Fernanda Valadez’s bold award winner is a border-themed tragedy, but delivers more of a blow. It’s about a mother’s risky journey to find her bound-for-America son who vanished near the border. The wrenching screenplay from Valadez and Astrid Rondero follows the perspective of determined Magdalena (Mercedes Hernandez), who leaves her home in Guanajuato to uncover the truth. Valadez’s artistic, disturbing drama grows in intensity as Magdalena confronts a mother’s ultimate nightmare.
DETAILS >> \*\*\*/* ; available Friday as part of the Virtual Cinema series at the the Roxie Theatre; www.roxie. com.
“BREAKING FAST” >> Director-writer Mike Mosallam prefers sweet over saccharine and “Breaking Fast” is all the better for it. His first feature is a warmhearted charmer about a romance between two West Hollywood men, one of whom is Muslim. Mossallam gets tender performances from leads Haaz Sleiman and Michael Cassidy and creates conflicts that avoid cliches. There are many simple joys to behold, from a welcoming Muslim family to the romantic chemistry between
the two leads. “Breaking Fast” is a lovely antidote to the disharmony of these times, a soothing, comforting story about the importance of connection and understanding.
DETAILS >> \*\*\*; available Friday to rent and stream on demand.
“BROTHERS BY BLOOD” >> Tough-guy author Pete Dexter wrote the novel it’s based on. Joel Kinnaman, Matthias Schoenaerts and Ryan Phillippe give it their all. So why does this Philly gangster drama feel so uninspired? Maybe it’s because we’ve traveled down this road too many times already — to the destination where sins of fathers and age-old family vendettas destroy lives generation after generation. Everyone’s miserable in “Brothers,” and this joyless exercise from stylish director Jérémie Guez has nothing new to say. DETAILS >> available Friday on various platforms.
“BLOODY HELL” >> Actor Ben O’Toole deserves a medal for spending about 50% of this gonzo freaky horror show from director Alister Grierson dangling from a basement ceiling. His fit Rex is no easy prey for a team of Finnish crackpots who have abducted him and want to carve more than a few pounds of flesh out of the disgraced viral sensation. Grierson’s maniacal, hyperactive work certainly lives up to its title, thanks to O’Toole’s engaging demeanor and comic timing and one hell of a screenplay from Robert Benjamin. This is bloody good stuff.
streaming on various platforms.
“HUNTED” >> Here’s one for the artsy crowd that loves a good scare — a moody takeoff of the Little Red Riding Hood fable that will give you night sweats. Director and co-screenwriter Vincent Paronnaud’s surreal reinvention finds Eve (Lucie Debay) meeting a predator (Arieh Worthalter) and a twitchy sidekick (Ciaran O’Brien) at a bar. The night rapidly descends into a night of terror in the woods. By film’s end it’s not clear who was the hunted and who was prey. This is a horror film festering with outrage over toxic men. DETAILS >> available on Shudder.