This week we have an offbeat black comedy with Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone, and Elisabeth Moss in a lesser-known starring role in Shining Girls. Elsewhere, there’s a charming Oscar-winning documentary in the shape of My Octopus Teacher, the Finnish crime drama Arctic Circle and a conman assumes a new identity after leaving prison in Sneaky Pete.
My Octopus Teacher
Available on Netflix in the UK and the US
Despite winning an Oscar in 2021 for best documentary feature this beautiful, life-affirming one-off Netflix production is still one that many people haven’t seen — but really should. It follows Craig Foster, a freediver based in False Bay near Cape Town, South Africa, as he explores the kelp forests of the region. During this time he meets and builds a relationship with an octopus. The film follows the pair across a year as he observes and learns from the octopus. It might sound odd, but it’s a beautiful piece.
The Curse
Available on C4 Streaming in the UK and Paramount+ in the US
A superb satirical black comedy from Nathan Fielder (a Canadian comedian perhaps best known for The Rehearsal) and Benny Safdie (an American film-maker and actor who often collaborates with his brother Josh). This show will make you cringe and laugh in equal measure. Starring an always superb Emma Stone alongside the creators, the show explores how a perceived curse disturbs the lives of a newly married couple who are trying to conceive a child while also launching a reality TV show.
Shining Girls
Available on Apple TV in the UK and the US
If you are missing Elisabeth Moss from your screens after the end of The Handmaid’s Tale last year, why not take a look back to this dark 2022 sci-fi thriller based on Lauren Beukes’s 2013 novel? Moss stars as Kirby Mazrachi, an archivist at a newspaper who is still traumatised by a brutal attack several years before when she was left for dead. With her life in turmoil still and her perceived reality in flux, she enlists the help of a reporter to look deeper into the unsolved crime and begins an investigation into the mysterious Harper Curtis (played by Jamie Bell).
Arctic Circle
Available on C4 Streaming in the UK
Available via Prime Video in the US
Fancy a nordic noir gem? Try this Finnish crime drama starring Iina Kuustonen as a detective in the frozen landscape of Lapland. Deep in the wilderness, she finds an abducted woman in a basement. So far, so crime drama. The twist is that she’s been infected with a deadly virus. Soon the police officer is on a mission to find out what really happened to her, while the various agencies around her fall out. This is a great watch, for the stunning landscape shots alone.
Sneaky Pete
Available on Prime Video in the UK and the US
The comedy drama is based around the life of Marius Josipovic (Giovanni Ribisi), a con artist released from prison who assumes the identity of his former cell-mate Pete Murphy so that he can hide from a dangerous gangster who wishes him harm. He “reunites” himself with Pete’s estranged family, who have no reason to believe that he’s not who he says he is — as you might expect, the journey is far from a simple one for Marius/Pete.
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