Poor Things: 141 minutes. Beau Is Afraid: 179 minutes. Oppenheimer: 180 minutes. Killers of the Flower Moon: a whopping 206 minutes. Guys, Hollywood is out of control. What parent has time to sloth out in front of a glowing rectangle for three hours in the name of film buffing?
Obviously, shredding a desert wave with Zendaya and Timothee Chalamet in the planet-hopping saga that is Dune sounds like 321 minutes well spent. And, yes, the aforementioned films are all mesmerizing, well done, and worth every inch of their lengthy reels. But let’s get serious here: You want really good movies under 90 minutes you can watch while the kids are down.
Short movies may be relics of the past, but their versatility can’t be understated. Perfect for consuming when you have time to yourself, when you’d rather watch a movie instead of the last three episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm you’re saving to watch with your partner, or when you’d like to get through a whole movie without a hundred bathroom breaks, these quickies are a godsend. Ahead, 15 of our favorite movies under 90 minutes that should win an editing award.
Once
John Carney’s musical about the brief but life-changing connection between an Irish street busker and a Czech pianist who make beautiful music together hits all the right notes. The soundtrack is brilliantly constructed, the love story is gut-wrenchingly believable, and the indie’s brief runtime is deftly reflective of the protagonists’ relationship.
86 minutes
Watch it on Prime Video
Enemy
Dune’s Denis Villeneuve is The Director of the moment, but before he was world-building with big-studio bucks, he was crafting an impressive resume with stylish indies. One of them is this thrilling puzzler starring The Character Actor of our times, Jake Gyllenhaal. He plays a professor who spots his exact look-alike in a movie. Curious, he searches for the man, and things get dark.
90 minutes
Watch it on Hulu/Cinemax
Rye Lane
Unlike every romantic comedy you’ve ever seen—in a good way—Rye Lane follows a guy and a girl who meet in the most unromantic way: He’s crying in a public bathroom stall; she spots his pink tennies from under the stall door. Meeting officially in a museum shortly after, the two embark on a colorful, joyous, and eye-opening trek across South London you won’t want to end.
82 minutes
Watch it on Hulu
Palm Springs
What do you get when you combine a Lonely Island star, a time-loop narrative, and a wedding? This bonkers comedy starring Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, and J.K. Simmons made a killing at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival when it set the record for the biggest deal ever made in Park City. The rest of the plot is better left in the dark if you haven’t seen the movie already. Trust us.
90 minutes
Watch it on Hulu
Love at First Sight
Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy star in this Netflix Original about two strangers who spark up a romance while waiting for their flight to London at JFK International Airport. Once aboard, they get closer. Once they land, they lose track of each other. A charming adaptation of Jennifer E. Smith’s novel, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, this one is short, sweet, and swoon-worthy.
90 minutes
Watch it on Netflix
My Octopus Teacher
You never know where your next life-changing lesson will come from. For Craig Foster, a cold-water free diver who has spent eons under the ocean surface, this comes in a kelp forest off the coast of Cape Town. The teacher? A curious octopus who after nearly a month of Foster slowly earning her trust invited him into her world. The tender bond they form will touch your soul.
85 minutes
Watch it on Netflix
Fruitvale Station
Ryan Coogler, the director of Black Panther, made his directorial debut with a raw and unflinching indie film that tells the story of Oscar Grant, the 22-year-old Black man who was shot and killed in a subway station in Oakland on New Year’s Eve 2009 by a police officer. Rather than approach the film with a wider lens, Coogler keeps his focus narrow, painting a picture of who Oscar was—a son, a father, a boyfriend, a human being—on the day he died.
85 minutes
Watch it on Max
Brief Encounter
Just as its title suggests, this David Lean classic charts the ever-so-brief romance between two married commuters who meet at a railway station and fall in love. Every Thursday, their affection deepens as they spend time together at the nearby cafe, knowing a future together is impossible. One of Greta Gerwig’s favorite films, it also had a profound impact on Sofia Coppola‘s Lost in Translation.
86 minutes
Watch it on Prime Video Freevee
Frances Ha
Greta Gerwig and Mickey Sumner (whose father is Sting, BTW) star in this black-and-white comedy helmed by Noah Baumbach. Like Barbie, Baumbach and Gerwig co-wrote the script, so the pair’s humor quirks are on glorious display throughout. This movie under 90 minutes is about a dreamer (Gerwig) who lives in New York and won’t allow the reality of life to sour her delusional optimism.
86 minutes
Watch it on Netflix
Shiva Baby
Emma Seligman, whose most recent campus comedy, Bottoms, was an instant hit, made her directorial debut with Shiva Baby, a funeral riot that also stars Rachel Sennott. She plays Danielle, a student who attends a shiva with her family and while there, runs into her ex-girlfriend, as well as the cheating husband she’s having an affair with. It all makes for a hilarious hot mess.
77 minutes
Watch it on Hulu
Gravity
More a movie you experience, Gravity is a gorgeous and thrilling action ride with Sandra Bullock at the helm. She plays an engineer cosmonaut who fights to survive in space after a debris storm sends her flailing off into the black abyss. Battling not only extreme tangible elements, she’s forced to confront her inner demons if she wants any chance of putting her foot on the ground again.
90 minutes
Watch it on Prime Video
Zola
One of the best movies of 2020, Zola is the cinematic retelling of a string of tweets that went viral in 2015. They were posted by a professional dancer named Aziah “Zola” King and included profane details of a gonzo road trip she took to the seedy underbelly of Tampa. Stripping, suicide, bad actors: She was lucky to make it out alive. Colman Domingo, Taylour Paige, and Riley Keough star.
86 minutes
Watch it on Tubi
Before Sunset
In Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, Before Sunset falls in the middle; it picks up nine years after Jesse and Celine meet in Vienna (Before Sunrise) and nine years before their trip to Greece (Before Midnight). Watch the entire series at some point, but if pressed for time, the 2004 film, which sees the pair charm the pants off each other in Paris, is the concise watch you’re after.
80 minutes
Watch it on Prime Video
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Unless you’ve been living under your pet rock, then you know about this adorable little shell. He goes by Marcel and is the subject of a pseudo-documentary that includes an effort to find his family, a chat with Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes, and a whirlwind brush with fame. Experienced through the single eye of our mini marvel, it’s so charming that your heartstrings don’t stand a chance. They will be tugged.
90 minutes
Watch it on Netflix
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Don’t let the animation fool you; this Roald Dahl classic brought to stop-motion life by Wes Anderson, the maestro of quirk, is a grown-up’s witty playground. About a sly fox whose food raids have farmers on his tail, Anderson’s rendition is brimming with dialogue so clever and crafty, that it can only land with adults. Watching it without the intermittent, “Why’s that funny?” makes this movie under 90 minutes a real treat.
87 minutes
Watch it on Max
