The People vs. Larry Flynt

The People vs. Larry Flynt has built a devoted audience in the US on Criterion Channel, and in the UK on Netflix among viewers who want their drama to earn its emotional beats. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. Its 7/10 TMDB score, built from 1,270 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Woody Harrelson's performance alone is worth the time investment. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Criterion Channel.

There is a reason The People vs. Larry Flynt keeps coming up in conversation. The People vs. Larry Flynt takes its time building the world its characters inhabit, and the patience pays off. Larry Flynt is the hedonistically obnoxious, but indomitable, publisher of Hustler magazine. The film recounts his struggle to make an honest living publishing his girlie magazine and how it changes into a battle to protect the freedom of speech for all people. Woody Harrelson and Courtney Love lead a cast doing genuinely serious work here. It hit screens in 1996. The People vs. Larry Flynt resists tidy resolutions in a way that respects how messy real consequences actually are. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, The People vs. Larry Flynt delivers. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Woody Harrelson is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.