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Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

About Endlessness (Roy Andersson)

“What should I do now that I have lost my faith?” is the question that animates About Endlessness; this being the new film by Roy Andersson, it is delivered in a doctor’s waiting room, over and over again, in a creaky voice, by a dumpy man in late middle age who continues his plaint even after the doctor and his receptionist gruntingly force him outside into the hallway, from whence they can hear him scratching at the door like a zombie. About Endlessness is Roy Andersson’s fourth film of this century; it looks much like the previous three, and nothing like anything else ever made. – Mark A. (full review)

Where to Stream: Hulu

Candyman (Nia DaCosta...

With the TIFF world premiere The Mad Women’s Ball (Le Bal des folles), Mélanie Laurent proves again to be an equal force in front of and behind the camera. There are the deeply memorable performances in Inglourious Basterds, Le Concert, Beginners, Enemy, and Alexandre Aja’s Oxygen. She also released a lovely album, En t’attendant, in 2011; the title track features one of the most positively glorious screams ever recorded. In the last decade, Laurent has directed six films—2011’s The Adopted, 2014’s Breathe, 2015’s Tomorrow (co-helmed with Cyril Dion), 2017’s Diving, 2018’s Galveston, and now The Mad Women’s Ball. Her latest is without question her most ambitious, finest film.

The Mad Women’s Ball is an inspired spin on a familiar trope—the individual institutionalized against her will. Two elements elevate this material, from a novel by Victoria Mas (about which more here). First is the setting: Paris 1885. The...

Let’s say you come across gritty desperadoes-on-the-run thriller “Galveston,” maybe flipping channels or because you decided to take a gamble and buy the Ben Foster-Elle Fanning drama on-demand. Watching the tough, Gulf of Mexico road movie unfold — burning slow and even from Louisiana to its title Texas destination like a lit cigarette in a dead man’s hand — you’d never guess who directed it.

Adapted from a novel by “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto, the movie is a muscular slice of Southern noir, fashioned in the mode of such downbeat ’70s crime classics as “Night Moves” and “The Drowning Pool,” where characters you like wind up dead, and evil isn’t necessarily punished in the end. That’s a style that has appealed to the manliest of male directors over the years, and one whose regional authenticity tends to rely on native-born filmmakers, so it may...

The first trailer has been released for the upcoming thriller Galveston, which is based on the novel written by the creator of True Detective, Nic Pizzolatto. The film stars Ben Foster and Elle Fanning as two individuals who end up on the run together after a crime job goes wrong. Both actors look like they give incredible performances. Here’s the synopsis:

After a violent encounter with his boss' men, Roy finds a prostitute and sees something in her frightened, defiant eyes that prompts a fateful decision. He takes her with him as he flees to Galveston, an action as ill-advised as it is inescapable.

The movie was directed by French actress Mélanie Laurent (The Adopted, Breathe) and it looks like a solid film worth check out. It looks like a dark, intense, and brutal movie. The cast includes Lili Reinhart, María Valverde, Beau Bridges, Robert Aramayo, Ck McFarland, and Adepero Oduye.

"Only thing we can do now is get as far out of town as possible." Rlje Films recently debuted another new official Us trailer for the the indie thriller Galveston, the latest feature film directed by French actress Mélanie Laurent. This originally premiered at the SXSW Film Festival earlier this year, and is Laurent's first American film. Ben Foster stars as Roy, a man on the run after a violent encounter with his boss goes awry. He picks up a prostitute named Raquel, played by Elle Fanning, and decides to take her with him as he tries to escape to Galveston, Texas. The cast includes Lili Reinhart, María Valverde, Beau Bridges, Robert Aramayo, Ck McFarland, and Adepero Oduye. Looks like it gets really intense and brutal, with plenty of darkness and emptiness creeping in. Still not sure about this. Here's the official Us trailer (+ Us/French posters) for Mélanie Laurent's Galveston,...

"Are you going to kill me?" "No." The Jokers distribution out of France has debuted the first teaser trailer for an indie film titled Galveston, the latest feature directed by French actress Mélanie Laurent. This originally premiered at the SXSW Film Festival earlier this year, which makes sense considering it's set in/around Texas and it's also Laurent's first American film. Ben Foster stars as Roy, a man on the run after a violent encounter with his boss. He picks up a prostitute named Raquel, played by Elle Fanning, and decides to take her with him as he tries to escape to Galveston, Texas. The cast includes Lili Reinhart, María Valverde, Beau Bridges, Robert Aramayo, and Adepero Oduye. This really looks like a very dark, intense, moody action-thriller more than a drama, with some slick cinematography. Here's the French teaser trailer (+ French poster) for Mélanie Laurent's Galveston, direct from YouTube...

★★★☆☆ The directorial debut of Mélanie Laurent, star of Beginners (2010) and Quentin Tarantino's 2009 Nazi romp Inglourious Basterds, The Adopted (Les Adoptés, 2011) sees the alluring French actress adapt her own screenplay for the big screen. Whilst displaying a keen eye for character-based drama and visual direction, Laurent's film falls foul of the kind of self-conscious quirks that befall many projects of a similar ilk.

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Mélanie Laurent, known up to now as that-girl-from-Inglourious Basterds, makes her directorial debut with The Adopted (Les Adoptés), a story of the ties that bind us in life and love. While it might not be breaking any moulds any time soon, The Adopted is a generally promising if occasionally flawed feature-length debut from first-time director Laurent, with a strong visual imprint and some top performances.

Reserved wallflower and lover of English literature Marine (Marie Denarnaud) has been inseparable from her adoptive family – alcoholic matriarch Millie (Clementine Célarié), frustrated musician Lisa (Laurent) and unreasonably cute son Léo (Théodore Maquet-Fouchet) – since her own parents died when she was young. But this tight family unit is shaken up when Marine meets charming bachelor Alex (Denis Ménochet) and a tentative relationship blossoms between the two. Jealousy and thoughtlessness begin to take their toll as the family struggle to adapt to the new status quo.

Omar Sy, Maïwenn Best Film L'Apollonide – Souvenirs de la maison close / House of Tolerance by Bertrand Bonello * The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius L'Exercice de l'État by Pierre Schoeller Le Havre by Aki Kaurismaki Intouchables / Untouchable by Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache Best Director Bertrand Bonello for House of Tolerance Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist Aki Kaurismaki for Le Havre * Maiwenn for Polisse Pierre Schoeller for L'Exercice de l'État Best Actress * Bérénice Bejo in The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni in Les Bien-Aimés / Beloved by Christophe Honoré Valérie Donzelli in La Guerre est déclarée / Declaration of War by Valérie Donzelli Marina Fois, Karin Viard in Polisse by Maïwenn Clotilde Hesme in Angèle et Tony / Angèle and Tony d'Alix Delaporte Best Actor Jean Dujardin in The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius Olivier Gourmet in L'Exercice de l'État by Pierre Schoeller Joey Starr in Polisse by Maïwenn * Omar Sy in Untouchable d'Eric Toledano,...