Check out Sundance Now in December to stream star-studded films, fascinating documentaries, and the bingeable British romantic thriller Gold Digger starring Julia Ormond and Ben Barnes. Plus, four new exclusive premieres are set to debut this month –
- The timely and gripping new drama The Commons starring Joanne Froggatt (Liar, Downton Abbey – premieres on Thurs., Dec. 3
- The cunning, award-winning political drama Total Control created by and starring Oscar®-nominated actress Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under, Brothers and Sisters, Dead Lucky) as well as AACTA winner Deborah Mailman (Jack Irish, Mystery Road) premieres on Thurs., Dec. 17
- The glamorous foreign language period spy drama Shadow Lines premieres on Thurs., Dec. 24
- The high-stakes insider trading British drama Cleaning Up starring Sheridan Smith (Doctor Who) premieres on Thurs., Dec. 31
Here’s what’s new on Sundance Now in December
Tuesday, Dec. 1
THE VIRGIN SUICIDES
The cult classic and Sofia Coppola’s feature directorial debut based on the bestselling novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. In an ordinary suburban house, on a lovely tree-lined street, in the middle of 1970s America, lived the five beautiful, dreamy Lisbon sisters, whose doomed fates indelibly marked the neighborhood boys who to this day continue to obsess over them. A story of love and repression, fantasy and terror, sex and death, memory and longing. It is at its core a mystery story: a heart-rending investigation into the impenetrable, life-altering secrets of American adolescence. Starring James Woods (Vampires), Kathleen Turner (Romancing the Stone), Kristen Dunst (Spider-Man), Josh Hartnett (Lucky Number Slevin) and Danny Devito (Matilda), with voice narration by Giovanni Ribisi (Boiler Room). (1999)
Thursday, Dec. 3
THE COMMONS, Ep 1 (Sundance Now Exclusive) (U.S. / Canada Premiere)
Set in a gripping vision of the near future, gifted neuropsychologist Eadie Boulay (Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey, Liar – INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE) is desperate to conceive a child. Faced with next level climate change, the question of bringing a child into the world is a whole lot more complicated than it used to be. Also starring Rupert Penry-Jones (MI-5, Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears), David Lyons (ER, Eat Pray Love, Revolution) and Dominic Ona-Ariki (One Lane Bridge).
RIVIERA, Season 3, Ep 5 (Sundance Now Original)
A new episode of the glamorous Sundance Now Original thriller starring Julia Stiles (Hustlers, 10 Things I Hate About You, Bourne franchise, Dexter). Alex is angered to learn that Georgina and Gabriel are on the run. In Buenos Aires, Victor and Dario are delighted to have Cesar back in one piece.
Monday, Dec. 7
WHO WE ARE NOW
Recently released from prison, Beth (Julianne Nicholson, August: Osage County) is working with her public defender to get her son back from her sister, who was awarded legal custody while Beth was incarcerated for 10 years. Soon after, Beth forms an unlikely alliance with Jess (Emma Roberts, We’re the Millers), an idealistic young protégé of the public defense team who decides to take on Beth’s cause whether she likes it or not. Also starring Zachary Quinto (Star Trek), Lea Thompson (Back to the Future trilogy), Jason Biggs (American Pie) and Jimmy Smits (The West Wing). (2017)
HURDLE
A visceral look at the lives of Palestinian youth living under military occupation. (Documentary, 2019)
Thursday, Dec. 10
GOLD DIGGER
On her 60th birthday, Julia (Emmy® winner Julia Ormond, Mad Men, Legends of the Fall) hits it off with handsome young Benjamin (Ben Barnes, The Chronicles of Narnia films, Westworld). But their whirlwind romance is marred by the disapproval of Julia’s adult children. Does Benjamin truly love her, or is he the gold digger her family believes him to be? (6 EPS, available all at once)
RIVIERA, Season 3, Ep 6
It’s election day, and Victor has one last chance to persuade the city to vote for him. Meanwhile, Georgina confronts Daphne.
THE COMMONS, Ep 2
Eadie’s desperation to conceive leads to a dangerous bargain with Shay. Her offer to take his National Service days at one of the city’s Resettlement Centers will seem a small price to pay for the chance to have a child.
Monday, Dec. 14
HOW TO START A REVOLUTION
A BAFTA Award-winning documentary about Nobel Peace Prize nominee and political theorist Gene Sharp, described as the world’s foremost scholar on nonviolent revolution. The film describes Sharp’s ideas, and their influence on popular uprisings around the world. (2011)
ROAD TO REVOLUTION
The crucial accompanying backstory to one of the most current and important films of our time. The film follows charismatic filmmaker Ruaridh Arrow on his dramatic journey, from funding difficulties to facing death threats in Tahrir Square to produce his documentary, How to Start A Revolution. Winner of Raindance Best Documentary award, Arrow’s film gives an exclusive insight into the man, Gene Sharp, who has aided dozens of revolutions with his handbook on over-throwing dictatorships. (Documentary, 2011)
Thursday, Dec. 17
TOTAL CONTROL, Ep 1 (Sundance Now Exclusive) (U.S. / Canada Premiere)
Rachel Anderson (Rachel Griffiths, Six Feet Under, Brothers and Sisters, Dead Lucky) is the embattled but cunning Prime Minister of Australia. Alexandra “Alex” Irving (AACTA winner Deborah Mailman, Jack Irish, Mystery Road) is a charismatic Indigenous woman who finds herself the center of media attention following her admirable actions in a high-risk situation. Rachel wants to use Alex to boost her popularity and further her own agenda and recruits her as a senator. Also starring Harry Richardson (Dunkirk, Poldark), Celia Ireland (Wentworth), David Roberts (Bad Mothers, The Matrix Reloaded) and Aaron Pedersen (Mystery Road).
RIVIERA, Season 3, Ep 7
The fallout from the drive-by shooter on the red carpet at Victor’s party is revealed.
THE COMMONS, Ep 3
Eadie’s deception runs deeper as the pregnancy progresses and she needs to make good on her offer to take Shay’s National Service days at one of the city’s emergency Resettlement Centers.
Monday, Dec. 21
MY ENEMY, MY BROTHER (U.S. Premiere of Feature-Length Movie)
Feature-length movie inspired by the 2016 Oscar® shortlisted documentary. In 1982, Zahed was an Iranian boy who ran away from home to join the army. Najah was a 29-year-old Iraqi with a wife and son when he was conscripted to fight. When they meet on the battlefield, Zahed risks his life to save Najah. Twenty-five years later they meet again by sheer chance in Canada. (Documentary)
THE MAN WHO SHOT NEW YORK
A prodigious talent, Harold Feinstein photographed life in all its forms, when and where he wished. Whether this was as a draftee in the Korean War, in a Bebop infused Manhattan loft or rural hippy enclave in upstate NY, Harold’s 35mm black and white photographs captured the essence of life with a with a uniquely humanist eye. The re-discovery of Feinstein’s vast and diverse body of work came in his final years and the film meets him then; in his early 80s and with a zen-like appreciation for the life he lived. (2019)
THE LADY IN NUMBER 6: Music Saved My Life
The Academy Award-winning documentary tells the story of Alice Herz-Sommer, a German-speaking Jewish pianist from Prague who was, at her death, the world’s oldest Holocaust survivor. In the documentary, she discusses the importance of music, laughter, and how to have an optimistic outlook on life. (2013)
Thursday, Dec. 24
SHADOW LINES (Nyrkki)(Sundance Now Exclusive) (U.S. / Canada Premiere)
In the 1950’s, the hottest spot of the Cold War is not Washington or Moscow, but Helsinki, where the KGB and the CIA vie for control of Finland, a small Nordic country wedged between East and West powers. Helena (Emmi Parviainen, Secret Lives, Games People Play) , a student freshly returned from the United States, is recruited by her godfather to join a top-secret Finnish task force in its ongoing missions: preventing the two global powerhouses meddling in the presidential election and keeping their homeland independent. But as she begins to discover the truth about her past, her personal and professional life collide. With long kept secrets and political agendas coming to a head, the team must overcome the lies and distrust if they have any chance of succeeding. (Finnish/English language) (10 EPS, Available all at once)
RIVIERA, Season 3, Ep 8 – FINALE
It’s a race against time for Georgina and Gabriel, who must use all their strength and cunning to escape. What does their future hold?
TOTAL CONTROL, Ep 2
Alex proves her worth to the government, brokering a difficult deal between native title holders and the government. Meanwhile, JC hitchhikes across the country in an effort to meet Alex.
THE COMMONS, Ep 4
Eadie’s drive to help Rachel find her family lost in the storm gives her a front row view of what people are experiencing further out in the hot zones.
Monday, Dec. 28
MADAME BOVARY
Based on the 1856 novel of the same name by Gustave Flaubert. Bored in her marriage to a country doctor and stifled by life in a small town, the restless Emma Bovary (Mia Wasikowska, Stoker, Alice in Wonderland) pursues her dreams of passion and excitement, whatever they may cost. Also starring Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man), Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Logan Marshall-Green (The Invitation), Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Killing Eve), Laura Carmichael (The Secrets She Keeps, Downton Abbey) and Paul Giamatti (Sideways). (2014)
THE DAUGHTER TREE
In the Village of Men, a girl hasn’t been born for the past 20 years as the locals abort the child the moment they determine its gender. In another tiny village, residents view girls as goddesses and plant a tree whenever a baby girl is born. (Documentary, 2019)
Thursday, Dec. 31
CLEANING UP, Ep 1 (Sundance Now Exclusive) (U.S. / Canada Premiere)
Sam Cook (Sheridan Smith, Doctor Who, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps) is a cleaner at Kramer Lowe, a financial company in Canary Wharf. Struggling to get by on her zero-hour contract with Xenco Clean, she is drowning in debt, addicted to gambling, and faces her ex-husband trying to get full-time custody of their two daughters. After overhearing a stockbroker who is being blackmailed into insider trading, she plunges herself into a shady world of finance. Also starring Jade Anouka (Turn Up Charlie), Robert Emms (Chernobyl, His Dark Materials) and Matthew McNulty (Deadwater Fell).
TOTAL CONTROL, Ep 3
Alex deals with the fallout back in Winton while having to face up to some consequences of her past actions. Meanwhile back in Canberra, Jonathan tries time track down Jess and an attempt is made to head hunt him on Capital Hill.
THE COMMONS, Ep 5
As Ivy stares down an uncertain future, her mood hits the skids and Lloyd looks to Shay to step up into his godfatherly role and help her find her feet