What if you could almost literally get a look at the path not taken? What if you could consider the differences between the teen you and the adult you in stark contrast? Would you regret the choices you made? Would you change your life? “Blue Jay” is a gentle, genuine trip down memory lane that features one of our best actresses in the kind of role she doesn’t get to play that often, and another great turn in the arc of an independent film icon. It’s a two-hander through and through (there’s only one other speaking role at all and it’s minor) and the two leads are more than up to the challenge, giving so much to one another that we fill in the history of their relationship and the years they’ve spent apart. The final act has a twist that doesn’t particularly work for me (mostly in that I wish there was no revelation in that moment at all) but the performances are so truthful that it doesn’t really matter.
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Clockwise from top left: Blue Jay (Photo: The Orchard); Howards End (Screenshot); Always Be My Maybe (Photo: Netflix); She’s Gotta Have It (Screenshot); Stardust (Screenshot); Kicking And Screaming (Screenshot); Safety Not Guaranteed (Screenshot)
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The A.V. Club. That’s why we’re scouring both the menus of the most popular services and our own archives to bring you these guides to the best viewing options, broken down by streamer, medium, and genre. Want to know why we’re so keen on a particular movie? Click the title at the top of each slide for some in-depth coverage from