My second freebie list entry (though these are in no particular order) is Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the English actress who broke out in 2014 with excellent performances in the underrated films Belle and Beyond the Lights. Mbatha-Raw is back this holiday season playing the wife of Will Smith’s character in Concussion, a film about the NFL’s coverup of serious medical issues.
I caught up with writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Beyond the Lights on NetFlix a couple of months back and was thoroughly impressed. It’s the sort of adult drama that’s been pushed off of movie screens by reboots and superhero films in recent years.
Don’t get me wrong, I love me a Marvel movie, but I don’t think film lovers should concede that all of the small, smart, character-driven stories now happen only on TV.
Meet Me In Montauk 