It's a good week for underrated women's roles: Annette Bening didn't win the Oscar for Istvan Szabo's "Being Julia," and Audrey Tautou sings and dances her way through Alain Resnais' overlooked musical comedy "Not on the Lips." Also new on DVD this week: "Finding Neverland" with Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, the Turkish drama "Distant," and the erotic drama "Open My Heart."
1. Being Julia
Annette Bening's performance in "Being Julia" really shouldn't missed. She earned her third Oscar nomination for the delicious title role. Based on W. Somerset Maugham novel "Theatre," Istvan Szabo's costume drama also costars Jeremy Irons, Shaun Evans, Bruce Greenwood, Miriam Margolyes, and Juliet Stevenson.
2. Not On The Lips
Alain Resnais (Hiroshima, Mon Amour) does a twenties operetta in style: lush colors, sparkling diamonds, swell tunes, and a glittering cast including Audrey Tautou, Lambert Wilson, and Sabine Azema. For some inscrutable reason, this terrific film never received distribution in the States.
3. Finding Neverland
Family friendly, heartwarming, Oscar nominated "Finding Neverland" boasts a cast you don't want to miss: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Radha Mitchell, Julie Christie and Dustin Hoffman. Marc Forster directs this biographical story of the real life playwright James M. Barrie his friendship with the sons of a young widow.4. Distant
Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Distant" chronicles the numbing loneliness, longing, and isolation in the lives of two men who are consumed by their own problems. The critically acclaimed film won the Grand Prix and two acting awards at Cannes. The New Yorker Film DVD release includes Ceylan's 1995 short film "Koza," an interview with the director, and behind the scenes footage.5. Open My Heart
Writer-director-star Giada Colagrande makes her debut in the noirish erotic drama "Open My Heart" (Aprimi Il Cuore), a tale of two unusual, intimately close sisters.