Seen on Screen: A Netflix Spy Thriller, an Aussie Christmas Movie, Paul Mescal and Boxing Day Films

It’s a magical time of year for cinema lovers. Film festival favourites are often scheduled to open on Boxing Day, and this year’s line-up includes Paolo Sorrentino’s dreamy A24 flick, Sean Baker’s latest whirlwind ride and Pedro Almodóvar’s first full-length English-language film starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. Prefer to stay home? There’s plenty to stream too, such as the moving, melancholy drama that led to Paul Mescal’s first Oscar nomination. Here’s what we’re excited to see this month.

Continuing to build momentum after the critical success of The Florida Project (2017) and Red Rocket (2021), American independent filmmaker Sean Baker now has a Best Picture frontrunner on his hands with Anora. That’s partly down to Mikey Madison, who is also an Oscar favourite for her wilful star turn as the titular Brooklyn sex worker, who agrees to be exclusive with the son of a Russian oligarch. Their transactional affair leads to a deeper connection. But after the young pair get married, intimidating agents from the groom’s wealthy family arrive to intervene. From there, the whirlwind romance edges into the nerve-shredding freneticism of a Safdie Brothers movie (think Uncut Gems or Good Time), stacking on new layers and surprises as the unusual situation threatens to spiral out of control. Anora took home the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, and it’s finally coming to Australia after opening in the US in October.
In cinemas from December 26.

Kieran Culkin plays the over-the-top cousin of Jesse Eisenberg’s more shy and neurotic protagonist as the two embark on a Holocaust-themed tour of Poland after losing their grandmother. Eisenberg wrote and directed this movie, and you can hear his deadpan comic timing in the pair’s painful exchanges. As Culkin’s character Benji continually pushes Eisenberg’s David out of his (quite rigid) comfort zone, both have to face some harsh truths. While the overall vibe might bring to mind the films of Noah Baumbach – who directed a young Eisenberg so well in The Squid and the Whale – Culkin’s performance in particular is much like his portrayal of Roman Roy in Succession; Culkin makes Benji someone we simultaneously want to strangle and win over.
In cinemas from December 26.

Before 2021, nobody would have predicted that a Korean-made satire of cutthroat capitalism would become Netflix’s biggest hit, outpacing Stranger Things as a global phenomenon. It spawned much-watched re-creations on Youtube, as well as a reality-show spinoff. Now Squid Game is returning, reuniting Player 456 (played by Lee Jung-jae) with the money-fuelled contest of survival. The story starts three years after he took home the top prize. Now he’s back in the fray and there’s an enticing new villain in the mix. The creators have promised a grander scale this season, with our hero devoted to finding the people behind the game (including the mysterious Recruiter). A third and final season has already been confirmed, so expect to see a lot more ominous masks and matching jumpsuits for years to come.
Stream it on Netflix from December 26.

It’s hard not to compare Parthenope to Challengers, another recent movie with a steamy love triangle at the centre. The film spans sun-soaked decades as Parthenope (played by Celeste Dalla Porta and later by veteran Italian actress Stefania Sandrelli) considers two ardent suitors and tries to carve out her own path toward happiness. Directed by Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino (Youth, The New Pope), it features jaw-dropping cinematography of Naples, Capri, the Amalfi Coast and young people being young. A fun addition to the mostly Italian- and Neapolitan-language film is Gary Oldman, who plays an American novelist in a number of English-language scenes.
In cinemas from December 26.

No, it’s not a Fleetwood Mac biopic, it’s something much weirder: a tone-shifting horror comedy about the G7 summit that features a giant glowing brain. The product of three writer-directors and executive producer Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar), Rumours channels both Black Mirror and Cabin in the Woods in its energy. It’s about wealth, power and hypocrisy, but it also has bog creatures and lot of chaotic hijinks. Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance and Alicia Vikander star in the film, among other greats. If the idea of the world’s top leaders being cut off from society and left to fend for themselves appeals to you, then treat yourself to a jumbo-sized bucket of popcorn.
In cinemas.

It’s actually surprising that it took this long for someone to make a movie out of Paul Kelly’s Christmas ballad, which only sounds better and more poignant every year. (Or maybe that’s just ageing.) Like the 1996 song, it’s not about the from-scratch recipe as much as it is about whether a father will be out of prison in time to see his family for the holidays. Nick Waterman’s heartfelt film fleshes out Kelly’s characters while honouring the lyrics to the degree where some characters say them verbatim. That level of earnestness won’t appeal to everyone, but what is Christmas about if not letting down your guard and sneaking in a few tears with the extended family? And for a country that didn’t have that many of its own Christmas songs for so long, it’s nice to see us finally beginning to make our own Christmas movies too.
Stream it on Binge.

If you’ve been hankering for more tiny cardigan joy since Paul Mescal’s Gladiator II press tour, then you’ll be pleased to hear one of his earlier movies has come to SBS On Demand. Mescal plays troubled father Calum in British director Charlotte Wells’s debut film, Aftersun, which won a BAFTA for Outstanding British Film of the Year. It also earned Mescal his first Oscar nomination (which he lost to Brendan Fraser for The Whale). Calum and his 11-year-old daughter Sophie (played by the exceptionally good Frankie Corio) are in Turkey on what turns out to be their last holiday together. It’s a film steeped in melancholy, with ’90s music like Blur’s Tender and Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping, and the whole thing feels like a reflective hazy memory.
Stream it on SBS On Demand.

Pedro Almodóvar’s first full-length English-language film – starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton as old friends who reconnect in emotionally charged (and darkly comic) times – has divided critics. It won the Venice Golden Lion Prize earlier this year, and the on-the-verge-of-a-desperate-situation storyline is very in keeping with the Spanish director’s back catalogue. Swinton plays Martha, a stylish former war correspondent who has cancer and wants to take the end of her life into her own hands, and Moore plays Ingrid, a novelist who is afraid of death but becomes Martha’s only hope for a successful and peaceful end. It is strange watching two leading actors work with such an awkward script, but fans of the director will recognise his absurd style, visually stunning sets, and sorrowful tone. Almodóvar said it was “spiritually Spanish” when he gave his acceptance speech in Venice, and for the most part it translates perfectly.
In cinemas from December 26.

Hugh Grant has successfully ditched his floppy-haired hero days of Love, Actually (he’s a very convincing baddie in Heretic), now it’s Keira Knightley’s turn. Netflix’s action-packed Black Doves is Knightley’s moment to shine in a dark British Christmas-ish spy thriller. She plays Helen Webb, a secret agent to an organisation that works for the highest bidder. Webb has been passing on secrets to the Black Doves but also her secret lover, who is assassinated early on in the show – leaving her in circumstances even murkier than the River Thames. It’s already a winner with fans of series like Happy Valley – and it stars Happy Valley’s Sarah Lancashire as well as the brilliant Ben Whishaw (This Is Going to Hurt). Netflix has already confirmed that Black Doves will return for a second season.
Stream it on Netflix.

This comedy caper is somewhat based on a real-life crime in Canada, when more than 3,000 tonnes of maple syrup were stolen and replaced with water in 2011–2012. It has become known as the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist, and this Prime Video series is a part-fictionalised version of that story with completely fictional characters. The lead is Ruth Landry (Margo Martindale), a maple farmer whose husband is in a coma. In a desperate move to make money, and keep the farm she runs, Ruth finds herself teaming up with a mid-level gangster Mike Byrne (Chris Diamantopoulos) and security guard Remy Bouchard (Guillaume Cyr) who is already stealing from his employer. It’s a bit silly, and an easy watch, with entertaining appearances from Jamie Lee Curtis, who is also an executive producer on the series.
Stream it on Prime Video.

Find more film and TV recommendations in this series.