Parkland

Parkland is currently streaming in Australia on Amazon Prime Video, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, and it rewards the patience it asks of you. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. Its 6/10 TMDB score, built from 393 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Zac Efron's performance alone is worth the time investment. Available now on Amazon Prime Video — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Parkland arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Parkland takes its time building the world its characters inhabit, and the patience pays off. November 22nd, 1963 was a day that changed the world forever — when young American President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. This film follows, almost in real time, a handful of individuals forced to make split-second decisions after an event that would change their lives and forever alter the world’s landscape. Zac Efron and Marcia Gay Harden lead a cast doing genuinely serious work here. Parkland came out in 2013. The performances in Parkland do a lot of work in the silences between the dialogue. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, Parkland delivers. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Zac Efron's work here is the kind that gets referenced in career retrospectives. It makes everything else feel thin by comparison.