It’s about that point in the semester where it feels like you’re getting flattened by a semi-truck every time a professor hits you with another assignment. Thanksgiving break, so close yet so far, is basically the only thing keeping you from collapsing in a puddle of tears and coffee. Maintaining your grades, friendships, and a somewhat healthy lifestyle is hard; we all deserve a break every now and then. That’s when Netflix, God’s gift to mankind, comes in clutch. Here are some suggestions to help you de-stress during your next all nighter.
1. Mona Lisa Smile– This may be a movie about college but it will still get your mind off of that midterm grade. Set in the 1950s, it tells the story of Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a female graduate student who takes a job at Wellesley, a women’s college, to teach Art History. Excited to be educating some of the smartest women in the country, she’s disappointed to find that most of her students are just in school to bide time until they find a husband. Katherine makes it her mission to show her students that they are more than who they marry. Smile is beautifully filmed and does a great job of portraying the conflict many women faced to follow societal gender norms rather than seek an education and career.
2. Broadchurch– The joy of finding a new series to binge watch while you should be studying is unparalled. Nothing bad ever happens in the small English town of Broadchurch- until the body of a local 11 year-old boy is found on the beach. Suddenly, everyone becomes a suspect. Long-buried secrets float to the surface as two local detectives question the neighbors they once thought they knew. If murder mysteries are your thing, Broadchurch will keep you guessing till the last second.
3. Little White Lie– Having trouble with your own dysfunctional family? Check out this documentary. Lacey Schwartz grew up in New York, the only daughter of Jewish parents. Her childhood was idyllic. There was always just one small problem: literally no one would acknowledge the fact that she was half-Black. She was raised believing her darker skin tone came from her father’s Sicilian ancestors- a lie that quickly unraveld as she grew older. Not until she went away to college did Lacey begin to uncover her family’s hidden secrets- and discover who she truly was. This emotional documentary delves deep into the role race plays in self-identity and shows how lies never really stay little.
4. You’re Not You– Sometimes a good cry is really all you need. Kate (Hilary Swank) was a classical pianist with a solid marriage before she was diagnosed with ALS. Now, with no control over her body, she feels like a burden to everyone around her. To relieve her husband of his daily duties she hires a completely unqualified caregiver, Bec (Emmy Rossum), and a bond quickly forms. Their friendship becomes the only real source of happiness in both of their lives, but the fear that Kate could be gone at any moment lingers. If Me Before You left you emotionally wrecked, check this one out (you know, if you enjoy pain).
5. Tallulah– You know how it feels when everything goes wrong at once. So does Tallulah (Ellen Page). Homeless and broke, she goes searching for the mother of the boyfriend who abandoned her. She’s turned away immediately and finds herself in the company of an intoxicated trophy wife incapable of caring for her young daughter. Tallulah ends up accidentally abducting the toddler and passing her off as her own daughter to her ex-boyfriend’s mom (Allison Janney). With the police on her trail, she fights a ticking clock before her life completely implodes. You may have 3 exams and an essay this week, but at least you’re not an accidental kidnapper.
6. Practical Magic– If you’re eager to hold on to the Halloween season, check out this late-90s romantic comedy. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman play sisters who come from a long line of witches. They’re not popular with the neighbors and try to keep the use of magic to a minimum. But they cannot escape a deadly family curse: all the men they fall in love with die, which, understandably, becomes a problem. It’s the perfect time of year to return to this classic, which established the tradition of Midnight Margaritas.