Philadelphia

Philadelphia has built a devoted audience in Australia on Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel, and in the US on Hulu among viewers who want their drama to earn its emotional beats. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. With 4,674 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Watch it for Tom Hanks — one of the stronger performances out there right now. Put it on tonight on Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel and see for yourself.

Philadelphia arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The writing in Philadelphia treats its characters as people first, plot devices second. Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries. The performances from Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington give it more weight than the premise alone would suggest. It was released in 1993. Philadelphia resists tidy resolutions in a way that respects how messy real consequences actually are. It rarely drops the ball, and when it does, it recovers fast.

Philadelphia is what you recommend to people who say they do not really watch much. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Tom Hanks carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.