New to Streaming: The Brutalist, The Room Next Door, The Last Showgirl, Companion, and More

      Each week, we showcase the remarkable titles that have recently debuted on streaming platforms in the United States. Take a look at this week's picks below and previous compilations here.

      **The Brutalist (Brady Corbet)**

      Brady Corbet’s long-anticipated architectural epic is as meticulously crafted as its lead character’s elaborate designs. Although László Tóth’s (played excellently by Adrien Brody) creations are stark and minimalist, they deliver a striking, enigmatic, and sometimes enlightening impact, mirroring Corbet’s intricate three-and-a-half-hour narrative (which includes a built-in intermission!) about a Hungarian architect who emigrates to New York after WWII, only to become mentally and emotionally entangled in a massive, decades-long undertaking led by a merciless Pennsylvania mogul. Its scale is immense—almost impossible to dismiss. A sense of looming gravity gives this film a real-world weight, as if we are witnessing history unfold. Cinematographer Lol Crawley captures expansive green hills, shining Italian marble mines, impervious caves, and grand structures in a dark, richly textured VistaVision that draws your attention, while composer Daniel Blumberg, in his second-ever score, keeps The Brutalist moving at a brisk pace, with radiant floating pianos that evoke empathy for the characters. – Luke H.

      **Where to Stream:** VOD

      **Companion (Drew Hancock)**

      Successfully mimicking the cold, precision-oriented styles of David Fincher and Steven Soderbergh, director Drew Hancock's mise-en-scène effectively portrays the sterile near-future we may already inhabit, yet it struggles with low stakes and thrills. To elaborate on the tension in Companion: it is not unintelligent, tedious, or poorly made per se, but rather unappealing and rather self-satisfied for something lacking in genuine insight or surprise. The numerous occurrences of Josh articulating his modern male psyche of entitlement and abandonment issues highlight that no January New Line Cinema genre film can merely be termite art anymore. – Ethan V. (full review)

      **Where to Stream:** VOD

      **The Last Showgirl (Gia Coppola)**

      Pamela Anderson lands the role of a lifetime in Gia Coppola’s captivating (if simplistic) character study, The Last Showgirl, portraying a glamorous showgirl who must consider her future when her show abruptly ends after a 30-year run. Christopher Schobert remarked in his TIFF review, “‘I’m older—I’m not old,’ says Shelley, the longest-serving performer in a fading Las Vegas revue. Portrayed by Pamela Anderson, the international icon has never played a role like this. At 57, Shelley lives paycheck to paycheck, is estranged from her daughter, and is profoundly vulnerable. Clearly, we are far from the beaches of Baywatch and the action spectacle that was Barb Wire. Anderson is one of the key reasons why Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl stands out. This is not just a stunt casting; it’s a genuine performance, and Shelley is among the more memorable Vegas characters in contemporary cinema.”

      **Where to Stream:** VOD

      **Love Me (Sam and Andy Zuchero)**

      A cosmic love tale spanning 13.7 billion years about a drifting buoy and a satellite orbiting Earth, Love Me can be best described as a domestic drama in lockdown. The light, introspective, and occasionally repetitive debut feature from Sam and Andy Zuchero unfolds in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has become extinct. All that remains—at least as far as we know—are two machines bobbing and drifting, equipped with A.I. operating systems and a virtual archive of the entire history of humanity on the Internet. Without social interaction or physical contact, the pair strives to form some type of connection—trying to figure out what that might even look and sound like. – Jake K. (full review)

      **Where to Stream:** VOD

      **Nosferatu (Robert Eggers)**

      A sensual, classically gothic reimagining of both Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the 1922 silent film, Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu marks the director's return to his horror roots and his fascination with historical accuracy. Featuring a strong, career-defining performance from Lily-Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgård as a monstrous figure whose presence becomes less repetitive due to the gravitas he brings, Nosferatu is grand, operatic, and somewhat self-serious. It also signifies another bold attempt by a director leveraging his creative credibility to exquisitely reinterpret one of the most frequently adapted texts of our era. – Christian G.

      **Where to Stream:** Peacock

      **The Quiet Ones (Frederik Louis Hviid)**

      Having premiered at TIFF last fall, Frederik Louis Hviid’s gripping The Quiet Ones recounts the group responsible for the largest heist in Danish history back in 2008. Jared Mobarak noted in his TIFF