Priscilla makes a streaming debut on Max while Past Lives lands on Paramount Plus and Netflix
We have good news for fans of premium dramas as two prestige films make their streaming debuts. Stands first Priscilla, the award-winning biopic of Priscilla Presley, coming to Max on February 23 after a successful theatrical run. The second has been nominated for an Oscar Past lives. The film is now available on Paramount Plus in the US and comes to Netflix in the UK and Ireland on February 15.
Both films come from A24, but future releases from the indie studio will arrive differently. The studio has signed a deal with Max, meaning all future A24 releases will be streamed there first after their theatrical screenings in a so-called Pay 1 Output deal. A24 had a similar deal with Showtime, but that has now ended Past lives is the last film to be released there. So our guide to the best Max films will be a lot longer.
Priscilla and Past Lives bring prestige drama to your favorite streamers
Priscilla comes with excellent word of mouth advertising. It also has both a Coppa Volpi award and a Golden Globe nomination for Caliee Speany, who plays Priscilla. The film is based on the memoir Elvis and me and traces their marriage from their very first meeting to their Graceland days, telling a very different story than the average rock ‘n’ roll biopic. The film is directed by Sophia Coppola and, according to many critics, is her best film since the fantastic film Lost in translationwho recently turned 20. Critic Mark Kermode describes it as a “twisted fairy tale” that is neither sensational nor judgmental.
Past lives, also from A24, was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at this year’s Academy Awards. It follows former childhood sweethearts Nora and Hae Sung as they reunite in New York for a fateful week, and the critics dig into their tissues. It’s a film about longing and regret and being human, and it’s also very beautiful. The London review of books says it’s mysterious: “It’s also clear and precise, intimately committed to its strange lyrical sadness. It’s as if we’re watching feelings in slow motion.” And The guard says it’s a must-see. “Past lives is a glorious date movie, and also a movie for any occasion.”