Gia

Gia has built a devoted following in Australia on Foxtel Now and HBO Max, and in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and YouTube TV among viewers who want their romance taken seriously. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. The chemistry Angelina Jolie brings to it is the real engine here. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Foxtel Now.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Gia earns its spot. Gia treats its central relationship as something worth taking seriously. Gia Carangi meteorically rises to modeling fame in the late 1970s but becomes overconsumed by persistent loneliness and drug addiction. Angelina Jolie and Elizabeth Mitchell lead a cast whose chemistry carries the emotional beats. It was released in 1998. Romance lives or dies on chemistry, and Gia has it in the cast combination that the writers chose to put at the centre of everything. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Gia is the kind of thing you watch without apology. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Angelina Jolie is the anchor, and the work here is one of the more understated achievements in their career. The kind of thing you finish and immediately want more of.