Movies Coming to Netflix this Fall
Reviews of 'His Three Daughters' and 'Will & Harper' among the slate
While I recently published a Fall Festival Preview, I wanted to use this opportunity to showcase some of the movies coming to Netflix this season. I’ve seen two of the newest (and upcoming features on the service) in His Three Daughters and Will & Harper which I’ll review below. After that, you’ll find a list of some of the projects that I find most interesting among the slate, and those sure to be blockbusters on the service.
If you are somehow only interested in what Netflix is going to be showing during the holidays, well the folks at What’s on Netflix put together a fine list showing some of those features.
Review: His Three Daughters
Having premiered last year at TIFF, I’ve been hearing about His Three Daughters for a long time. It’s a familiar story—three women reunite while caring for their father in his final days. It could easily be adapted as a play as it only uses two different locations for most of the action. We’ve probably all seen a dysfunctional family mixed with some kind of terminal illness drama in the last five years. Almost instantly the sisters are arguing with each other and there’s a preordained expectation that they’ll somehow work it out in the end.
I’m happy to report that His Three Daughters is more than the sum of its parts. Directed by Azazel Jacobs and starring the trifecta of Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, and Carrie Coon, His Three Daughters is an excellent example of a family drama. The three women are in a Lower Manhattan apartment to say farewell to their father, Vincent, who’s in hospice care. It’s obvious from the start that the sisters don’t have the strongest relationship.
Carrie Coon plays Katie, the oldest sister who lives in Manhattan with her family but hasn’t been around much to visit her father. Elizabeth Olsen plays Christina, the youngest who lives in California, and conveys a spirit of positivity and calm the other sisters can’t understand. And then there’s Rachel, played by Natasha Lyonne, who has been living with her father for the last few years. She’s like a kid in a grown-up body, often checking out to smoke some weed or seemingly incapable of being helpful. But she has been living in this apartment for the longest and with her sisters in town, it’s almost as if she’s become a guest in her own home.
Part of the interest in the movie is discovering exactly why these sisters can’t seem to get along. The other is the cruel anticipation of death. On one hand, the daughters want to be there to support their father and hope he is peaceful. But on the other hand, saying goodbye is painful and they want to prolong this time with their father before he goes.
I loved how the story feels organic in how it shows each of the sisters struggling during this difficult time. Katie is obsessed with getting a DNR order for her father, even though she could be spending her time thinking about other things. Christina hides her worries through yoga and meditation, so much so, that her sisters become alarmed when they see her need a moment of peace. And Rachel might find that the easiest path forward for her is one of avoidance.
His Three Daughters was humming along fine until a finale that caught me off guard. The father Vincent, played by Jay O. Sanders, appears for the first time and delivers an absolutely winning monologue. It’s here that the movie turned from a fine dysfunctional family drama to something a little more profound. You might’ve seen a movie like this before, but it’s well worth your time. [B+]
His Three Daughters is now playing in theaters. Streaming on Netflix on September 20th.
Review: Will & Harper
Actor-comedian Will Ferrell and renowned writer Harper Steele head on a road trip across the country as two best friends reconnecting in Will & Harper. They’ve been friends for decades with Steele being a constant champion of Ferrell’s work while they were both at Saturday Night Live and beyond. But then the pandemic happened and they didn’t see each other as often as they would’ve liked.
A year into the pandemic, Steele sent an email to Ferrell and came out as a trans woman. Without hesitation, Ferrell supported his friend on her new journey. Then Ferrell pitched an idea, why don’t they take a road trip and discuss what this transition means to them? It would allow them to reconnect, discover what this friendship will be going forward, and revisit places that she used to go to—now as an openly trans woman.
Their adventure starts lighthearted enough, with Steele visiting her children and reconnecting with other SNL stars like Tina Fey. But life for Steele isn’t going to be as easy as it was before her transition. And they quickly discover that this trip isn’t going to be all sunshine.
I enjoyed Will & Harper with the following caveat that Steele herself acknowledges in the movie—Ferrell is shielding her from a lot of uncomfortable situations. His superstardom goes a long way to helping strangers accept Steele and there are even some situations where that isn’t enough. The other thing I found strange, is the insistence on certain brands, almost as if the documentary was sponsored.
Outside of those light reservations, I found a lot of like about Will & Harper. Even though there is a lot of laughter and joy between the two best friends, there’s undoubtedly a lot of shared pain that Steele conveys to her friend. It’s well worth the watch, even if Kristin Wiig almost pulls a Jean-Luc Godard. [B]
Will & Harper is now playing in select theaters. Streaming on Netflix September 27th.
More notable Netflix releases (titles I want to see in Bold):
Rebel Ridge (September 6th)
Rez Ball (September 27th)
The Platform 2 (October 4th)
Woman of the Hour (October 18th) - TIFF 2023
Pedro Páramo (November 6th) - TIFF 2024
Emilia Pérez (November 13th) - Cannes 2024, TIFF 2024, NYFF 2024
Joy (November 22nd) - London Film Festival 2024
Spellbound (November 22nd)
Maria (TBA) - Venice 2024
The Piano Lesson (November 22nd) - Venice 2024, TIFF 2024
Carry-On (December 13th)