The beginning of the “-ber” months brings with it an array of exciting new releases. Here are the September movies to watch for in Philippine theaters and in streaming platforms.
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At the cinemas
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) on 14 September. Based on one of the “best-selling novels of all time,” this is definitely on most people’s watchlist. The murder mystery novel, by Delia Owens, topped the New York Times Fiction Best Sellers in 2019 and 2020 — and by 2022 it had sold over 15 million copies.
I’ve read the first few riveting chapters, and let’s hope I finish the novel before the movie adaptation hits theaters. The tale follows an abandoned girl from the marshlands in North Carolina who is suddenly the prime suspect of a high-profile murder. This is directed by Olivia Newman, and co-produced by Reese Witherspoon.
Don’t Worry Darling (2022) on 28 September. Set in the 1950s, within an experimental community, a housewife begins to suspect that her husband’s glitzy company is keeping dark, disturbing secrets. Actress Olive Wilde goes behind the camera as the director of this psychological thriller with an exciting cast—Wilde herself, Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, and Gemma Chan.
It will first premiere on 5 September at the Venice Film Festival before hitting our local theaters. This is Wilde’s second film, after her directorial debut Booksmart (2019).
God’s Creatures (2022) on 30 September. Emily Watson stars in this critically lauded psychological drama (with a whopping 95 percent Fresh score over at Rotten Tomatoes). Set in a fishing village, it follows a mother who resorts to lying to protect her beloved son. It premiered just last May at the Cannes Film Festival. Arthouse film lovers, rejoice!
On streaming
Love in the Villa (2022) on 1 September on Netflix. In the mood to fall in love? A rom-com set in Verona, Italy (the city in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet), it follows an interracial duo who start out as enemies but end up falling in love with each other. The guy, by the way, is the cute Tom Hopper, who played Dickon Tarly in the Game of Thrones.
Do Revenge (2022) on 16 September on Netflix. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, the dark comedy is chiefly interesting for its cast that we’ve loved (or hated) on TV: Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner, Riverdale’s Camila Mendes and Walking Dead’s Austin Abrams. Two high school girls set out to take revenge on their bullies — one, who leaked the one girl’s sex tape, the other, well, it’s a mystery.
Belfast (2021) on 17 September on HBO Go. Kenneth Branagh’s coming-of-age drama set during The Troubles in 1969 Northern Ireland received seven nominations at the 94th Oscar awards, including Best Picture, and it won Best Screenplay. This semi-autobiographical black-and-white film puts the viewers in the shoes of a nine-year-old boy from a working-class Ulster Protestant family in the midst of an ethno-nationalist conflict.
Last Night in Soho (2021) on 24 September on HBO Go. Thomasin McKenzie and Anna Taylor-Joy star in this stylish psycho-thriller from acclaimed director Edgar Wright. The British film premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival and earned nominations at the BAFTA Film Awards. Set in the 1960s, it follows an aspiring fashion designer from the future who meets an aspiring singer. Their glamorous lives, however, begin to turn eerie.
Sidney (2022) on 23 September on AppleTV+. A documentary on the iconic Sidney Poitier, from producer Oprah Winfrey. Understand the legendary actor and civil rights activist through interviews that include other greats, such as Denzel Washington, Winfrey, and Quincey Jones. Directed by Reginald Hudlin, the documentary features mostly film experts and historians who pay tribute to the great Poitier in Hollywood, who also worked as a filmmaker during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Blonde (2022) on 28 September on Netflix. This is perhaps the most highly anticipated movie to stream in September. Andrew Dominik’s biopic Blonde is a fictionalized take on the life of Marilyn Monroe, played by Ana de Armas (Knives Out), when she rose to fame until her legendary demise. Based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates of the same title, the film will first premiere at the 79th Venice Film Festival on 8 September before hitting Netflix. The trailer alone will make you gasp.