Shady pasts, new romance and chess
November trends on Netflix suggest we’re all looking for a challenging change of pace
Maybe it’s the unseasonably warm temperatures or the hint of the holiday season in the air — whatever it may be, the Netflix Top10 barometer tells us that we have left the twisted tales of October behind only to be seduced by stories of adventure, romance and intrigue. And the latest three “Netflix originals” that have been tracking in the Top 10 collectively cover it all.
The runaway hit this month is the midcentury, chess spectacular starring Anya Taylor-Joy, “The Queen’s Gambit.”
Based on a 1983 novel by Walter Tevis, and named after a popular chess move, this seven-part miniseries is a comingof-age story following Elizabeth Harmon, an orphan who grows up to be a world-class chess phenom. She meets each match head on, yet retreats from her past by diluting and deluding herself in drink and downers.
Impressively, “The Queen’s Gambit” has drummed up a lot of excitement in this zero-sum game. This might inspire you to seek out some other films based on real-life players, like the classic Steven Zaillian directorial debut “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” Mira Nair’s “Queen of Katwe” or the new-to-VOD release “Critical Thinking,” about the Miami Jackson high school chess team, directed by John Leguizamo.
This recommendation for further watching will focus on the addiction element that sees our heroine running from her past. Just like another character from a novel (or series of novels): Patrick Melrose.
“Patrick Melrose” (2018) Five-episode Showtime miniseries, available on Crave
Like Harmon, Patrick Melrose is trying to forget a past that has cruelly chased him all his life — a past that, in the first episode of the series entitled “Bad News,” comes for him when he learns of his father’s death.
What ensues is a drug-induced phantasmagoria that sees Patrick, played by Benedict Cumberbatch in a head-turning performance, travel from London to New York to fetch his dead father’s ashes.
Patrick Melrose is the alter-ego of author Edward St Aubyn, whose series of novels is a semi-autobiographical account of his own drug-addled life. His first book, “Never Mind,” is portrayed in the second episode of the television series and sees a young Patrick traumatized forever at the hands of his monster of a father, terrifyingly portrayed by Hugo Weaving.
Despite the dark subject matter, the story of an addict who just can’t quit his vices, is also uncompromisingly hilarious. In spite of his most tragic circumstances, the one thing Patrick will never give up on is his steadfast sense of irony.
No Netflix Top 10 highlight reel would be complete without a rom-com and so far this November there are two to indulge in. And they’re holiday-themed at that.
The first one to enter the Top 10 was “Holidate,” with Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey playing a lonely hearts duo who are tired of attending holiday parties solo. Inspired by her aunt’s antics, Sloane (Roberts), agrees to be a platonic plus-one for a year when Jackson (Bracey), a handsome stranger she meets at a mall, proposes the idea. Who knew you needed a date for St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo? Now you know.
The “we’re just friends” genre is tried and true. In 2019, the Tribeca Audience Award went to an indie film that showed that even those film festival types can fall head over heels for a heartfelt romcom.
“Plus One” (2019) On Hoopla (access for free with your Toronto Public Library card)
You’re single. Everyone you know is married or getting married. And, surprise: you’re invited to all the weddings. What do you do?
For old college friends Alice (Maya Erskine, “PEN15”) and Ben (Jack Quaid, “The Boys”), you make a pact to go together and faithfully be each other’s wing person.
This is not your sugar-coated sort of rom-com, but it is sincere and wistful — recalling a time in your life when the spontaneity of your youth is slipping away but you are still willing to jump into a pool in formal attire, without hesitation.
Written and directed by first-time feature film directors Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer, the co-writers of the comedy series “PEN15,” “Plus One” is the indie rom-com that might brighten your next wedding season (post-COVID, of
course) and satiate that sweet tooth if you fell in love with “Holidate.”
The latest “Netflix originals” addition to the Top 10 landed securely in the No. 3 spot when it entered the list. “Operation Christmas Drop” is on the other side of the “we’re just friends” trope.
In fact, at first, Erica, a legislative aid, and Andrew, an air force captain, are at odds. She arrives at his air force base ready to write the report that will shut it and its yearly humanitarian airlift tradition, in the hopes of getting a big promotion. Will Captain Andrew be able to change her mind? You know the answer.
Starring Kat Graham (“The Vampire Diaries,” “Cut Throat City”) and Vancouver-born Alexander Ludwig (“Vikings,” “Bad Boys for Life”), the Guamset Christmas story is based on real-life missions that the U.S. air force has been conducting since the ’50s.
Themes of pride, prejudice and class-culture clashes are classic rom-com staples. They resonate because they are usually about so much more than just romance. These stories are embedded with social commentary.
The options for your next watch are endless. To keep the Christmas connection and add a spoonful of creativity to this choice, consider a classic bromance for your next watch.
“Trading Places” (1983) On Tubi (free service)
You may not remember this box-office hit as a Christmas movie, or a bromance for that matter, but “Trading Places” is both of those things. And so much more.
This John Landis classic stars Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd as Billy Ray Valentine, a down-on-his-luck hustler, and Louis Winthorpe III, an uppercrusty commodities broker, respectively.
After Winthorpe’s two bosses — the diabolical Duke brothers — hatch a plan to put a crude “scientific theory” to the test, the fortunes of Valentine and Winthorpe are reversed.
They are at odds with each other until they learn about the oh-so-politically incorrect social experiment (the HR department would implode in this day and age) and uncover some of the other criminal activities that the Dukes are wrapped up in. They team up to defeat the Dukes in an epic trading-floor scene that was shot in the World Trade Center, during trading hours, with real traders.
Arguably, this film is still relevant, aside from one or two gags that might not make it through an edit today. But its commentary on poverty, wealth and those who yield power is even more compelling in the current climate.
And, not unlike “Operation Christmas Drop,” Valentine and Winthorpe become friends after they learn what life is like from each other’s point of view.
“Trading Places” is not without any true romance. Jamie Lee Curtis plays Winthorpe’s love interest in a star-turning performance as the original hooker with a heart of gold and a head for financial planning. Merry Christmas.