Netflix is more committed than ever to pushing original content, with the streaming giant set to release a brand new movie every single week for the duration of 2022. Among the big-name releases lined up are Knives Out 2, the sequel to the hugely successful detective drama, The Gray Man, a starry spy thriller with Ryan Gosling, Ana De Armas and Chris Evans, and Spiderhead, a dystopian thriller led by Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller.
Alongside its own work, Netflix is still reliant on other providers for the bulk of its movies, however, those films come and go from the platform, with a big tranche leaving Netflix at the end of every month.
We will always keep you up to date on what’s coming to Netflix and what’s leaving Netflix, but, right now, we wanted to make sure you don’t miss out on some top-quality movies before they skip the platform at the end of March.
Here are three movies you need to see before they leave Netflix:
Lawless
John Hillcoat’s starry, stylish Western has a lot going for it. It has a brilliant cast that includes Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke and Guy Pearce. The script is by none other than Nick Cave, adapted from Matt Bondurant's historical novel The Wettest County in the World, as well as the score (with regular collaborator Warren Ellis). And it wowed critics upon release, with a nearly 10-minute standing ovation when it debuted at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
Lawless is set in 1916 and tells the story of the three Bondurant brothers who run a successful moonshine business in Franklin County, Virginia, using their gas station and restaurant as a front.
U.S. Marshal Charley Rakes, a new arrival in his post, demands the brothers pay him in exchange for turning a blind eye. When they refuse, a bloody conflict breaks out that threatens to tear the family apart.
A proper drama, it’s bloody, violent, stark and extremely gripping. It’s also done and dusted in under two hours, so you’ve no excuse not to fit it in before the end of the month.
When is it leaving?
March 27
Braveheart
It’s been 27 years since the world first bore witness to Mel Gibson, in a kilt,covered in warpaint, and with sword-raised riding across the battlefield towards the English army, but it remains a cinematic touchstone.
It chronicles the life of William Wallace, the much-revered Scottish warrior. It follows him through a war-torn childhood, exile, marriage, and tragedy. Finally, swearing vengeance he is placed at the head of the Scottish army in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England.
Gibson, who also produced and directed the film, goes all in with his performance and was rewarded with both Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars. Co-starring alongside Gibson are Sophie Marceau, Catherine McCormack, Brendan Gleeson and Patrick McGoohan, who delivers a particularly fine turn as the dastardly English King, Edward ‘Longshanks’.
An epic with an epic running time just shy of three hours, you’ll probably have to save this for the weekend. Set aside a Friday or Saturday before the end of the month.
When is it leaving?
March 31
Blood Diamond
An explosive, big-budget action drama that pulls absolutely no punches, Blood Diamond might be 15 years old, but it’s still a must-watch.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou, the film is set in 1999 in Sierra Leone. The nation is in the midst of a terrible civil war, with rebel factions led by vicious warlords terrorizing the country's more rural parts.
Honsou's Solomon Vandy has been enslaved by Captain Poison, a particularly ruthless warlord. While his family has escaped the conflict, Vandy has stayed behind and is now tasked with harvesting diamonds to help Poison and his allies fund the conflict. One morning, while mining a river, Vandy discovers an enormous pink diamond. Initially, Poison tries to take it, but the area is then attacked by enemy forces, and, in the chaos, Vandy buries the diamond.
Vandy is captured and jailed, where he finds himself serving alongside DiCaprio's Danny Archer, an unscrupulous smuggler and mercenary. Hearing of the pink diamond, Archer arranges for himself and Vandy to be freed from detention. After their release, Archer offers to help Vandy find his family if he will help recover the diamond. Vandy agrees, but that's just the start for the pair, now bound together by a diamond that's drenched in blood.
If you’re the least bit squeamish, it’s probably best to avoid this one as its portrayal of armed conflict, and, in particular, the effect it has on children, is very hard to watch. But if you can stomach that, then make sure you check this one out before it leaves Netflix.
When is it leaving?
March 31
