If you're looking for something new to watch on Netflix this weekend, then you'll be glad to know that its newest movie addition looks like one to watch, judging by its glowing 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. This high score makes it one of the best Netflix movies to stream right now.
This movie is Our Friend from 2021, which stars Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson and Jason Segel in the lead roles alongside Gwendoline Christie and country singer Jake Owen. It was added to Netflix UK's catalog on Thursday, July 18 (it's not currently on US Netflix, however, you can rent it via Prime Video and other services).
Our Friend is about a couple (Affleck and Johnson) struggling with the latter's terminal cancer, who find aid from a family friend (Segel) who goes above and beyond to help the family even if it affects his own personal life.
The movie is based on a true story, specifically an article written by the husband (Affleck's character) for Esquire about a close friend of his who helped during his wife's cancer. It was lauded for talking about death in a different way than you normally see in the media and you can read it here.
It was directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite who recently released I.S.S but is best known for the SeaWorld documentary Blackfish, which explored the controversies over orcas held captive in SeaWorld Orlando.
When it came out in 2021, Our Friend was something of a box office bomb, making back less than a tenth of its $10 million budget. That does't mean it was unpopular — you can probably remember that people weren't exactly desparate to lock themselves in dark unventilated rooms back in the Covid-19 lockdowns — and the movie fared well amongst the people who did watch it.
As mentioned, Our Friend has an incredibly 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with people applauding it as a great tear-jerker movie. The critics don't disagree, with its 86% rating making it one of the highest-rated movies added to Netflix this month.
If you're looking for something else to watch this weekend, our recent round-up of what's new on Netflix this week includes all the best new Originals added to the streamer including TV shows, movies and documenatries across a range of genres.
