The best movies leaving Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and Max at the end of December 2023

23.12.2023 - 15:31 / polygon.com / Ridley Scott / Toussaint Egan / Russell Crowe / Martin Scorsese / Lily Gladstone / Flower Moon / Best

Greetings, Polygon readers!

December is nearly behind us and the New Year is almost here, which means there’s a plethora of exciting new releases in terms of movies, games, and television to look forward to. Before we jump too far ahead, though, there’s plenty of excellent movies to watch on streaming before they leave their respective platforms at the end of the month. We’ve got an understated classic by Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning historical epic starring Russell Crowe, a hilarious comedy starring the late great Robin Williams, and much more.

Here’s what you should watch this weekend before these titles leave their streaming services.

Enjoy!

Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder
Leaving Criterion Channel: Dec. 31

With the recent release of Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese's Western crime drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone, the discourse regarding which of the director’s films ranks among his best has been rekindled. The Age of Innocence, based on Edith Wharton’s 1920 romance novel, is often conspicuously absent from most of these discussions, which is a shame because the film is incredible.

Set in late-19th-century New York, the film follows the story of an illicit love affair between Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis), a wealthy attorney betrothed to a fellow member of New York high society, and the Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), the cousin of Newland’s fiancée who has fled to America following her disastrous marriage to a Polish count. Newland and Ellen are immediately drawn to one another, but the unspoken protocols of New York aristocracy and the social rigidity of the times forbid them from following their hearts.

A sumptuous portrait of Gilded Age-era excess, frustrated yearning, and barely suppressed emotion,The Age of Innocence is a truly heartbreaking movie in the truest sense of the word. The chemistry between Day-Lewis and Pfeiffer is electrifying, as is the lavish production design, evocative lighting, and pitch-perfect narration by Joanne Woodward. Fans of Scorsese’s works or early-20th-century American literature will have a delightful time. —Toussaint Egan

Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen
Leaving Netflix: Dec. 31

Ridley Scott is set to release the long-awaited sequel to his Oscar-winning epic Gladiator next November, with Paul Mescal (Aftersun) set to star as an adult version of Lucius, the nephew of the villainous patricidal emperor Commodus played by Joaquin Phoenix in the original film. If you somehow haven’t watchedGladiator yet, now’s as perfect time as any to catch up before the sequel hits theaters next year.

Starring Russell Crowe, the