DAISY JONES AND THE SIX (2023, AMAZON PRIME)

Itruly never expected Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, to be such a great actress, but she is. She fits the role of the lead, Daisy Jones, to the tee. Riley Keough is Daisy Jones.

Based on a New York Times bestselling book, this series, set in the 1970s is focused on an up-and-coming rock band helmed by singer/songwriter Billy Dunne (played by Sam Claflin), a former alcoholic, now sober, who is forced to partner up with an incredibly talented, yet troubled female singer-songwriter called Daisy Jones.

Both, through some very unhealthy means, try to cope with their individual childhood traumas — traumas that make them great artists but wreak havoc in their lives as they engage in more and more risky behaviour — drinking, drugs and sex — to escape their crushing internal pain.

These Eid holidays, take time out to watch our recommendations: some brand new content which can seem eerily familiar and some older content that you might have missed

Daisy acts out like a free spirit but longs for connection and Billy Dunne is lucky to have ended up with a woman (Camila Alvarez, played by Camila Morrone, Leonadro di Caprio’s last girlfriend) who gives him the stability, grounding and reality check that he so desperately needs. And she does it without being preachy or annoying.

Halfway through though, you kind of feel like the show may have a resemblance to the Bollywood hit film Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai. And it does! Just in the sense that [spoiler alert!] there are two souls that are meant to be, the man ends up with the ‘good girl’ (who knows he and the other girl are probably soul mates) and moves on with his life. His wife dies, and his daughter tries to unite her father with his lost love. The end.

This is a film about a rock band and the music does not disappoint. I guarantee, at the very last, you’ll look up one of the main tracks on Spotify. There are already talks that there might be a second season.

THE WOMAN KING (2022, NETFLIX)

I’d watch anything by Viola Davis, one of the very few people on this planet who is an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winner, but The Woman King is definitely worth it.

For those missing the colours, vibrancy and cultural perspective from Black Panther should definitely watch The Woman King. This is a beautifully filmed, seemingly authentic re-telling of a part of African history that we normally never get to see and, in that sense, it’s very refreshing.

Inspired by true events, The Woman King is the story about an all-female warrior unit led by Agojie (played by Viola Davis) who protect the African kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s. These women are deadly, highly skilled and fierce. They are also at a painful truce with a neighbouring tribe that engages in a slave trade of their own. Agojie wants to put an end to that.

There’s a line in Rotten Tomatoes that describes Viola Davis’ character perfectly: “Viola Davis is a force unleashed, heading up a full-blooded tale of conflict set against the backdrop of the slave trade that offers both a twist on the traditional male-dominated warrior-epic and a look at a part of history Hollywood typically ignores.”

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2020, NETFLIX)

This one is dark but one that keeps you engaged until the very end. Carey Mulligan was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Cassie, the lead character in this film.

Cassie (Carey Mulligan) tries to right a wrong from her past by taking revenge on predatory men and the woman that never believed the truth when it was told. Bordering on the almost psychopathic, feigning intoxication and letting “nice guys” take her home, Cassie turns the tables on the creeps (which includes the likes of Adam Brody and Christopher Mintz-Plasse) taking advantage of incapacitated women.

The film has been written and directed by Emerald Fennell who is the showrunner of Killing Eve Season Two. Emerald Fennell won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Promising Young Woman. This is definitely worth a watch.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 23rd, 2023