Film

The Midnight Library

A woman caught between life and death gets to walk through the infinite lives she might have lived—a chamber of regret and possibility dressed in magical realism. It's meditative and melancholy, asking what we owe ourselves when we can't undo the past. For anyone who's ever wondered if they made the right choice.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like gentle speculative fiction that treats a big question about regret as a series of small, intimate what-ifs, and you don't mind a story that leans earnest and sentimental to get there.

Skip it if you want a sharp, unsentimental take on despair; this one softens its hardest material with earnest reassurance and can feel like a self-help lesson stretched thin.

What it asks of you: Expect a brisk, mostly gentle pace with a wistful mood, and most of the work done by quiet conversation and reflection rather than set-piece action.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Groundhog Day1993

A man relives the same day endlessly until he understands what matters—same engine of second chances and self-discovery, but funnier and more hopeful about human capacity to change.

But The comedy might feel lightweight if you're in the mood for the Midnight Library's quieter, more elegiac tone.

Groundhog Day poster

Arrival2016

Language scientist encounters the impossible and must grapple with what a second chance at life would mean. Gorgeous, contemplative science fiction about choice and consequence.

But Slower than you'd expect, and the ending recontextualizes everything—some find it profound, others feel manipulated.

Arrival poster

Russian Doll2019

Woman trapped in a time loop on her birthday, spiraling through variations of her life until she understands what she's running from. Darkly funny, brutally honest about self-sabotage.

But Much grittier and bleaker than Midnight Library, with heavy addiction and trauma elements. The tone is deliberately abrasive.

Russian Doll poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Midnight Library

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Fountain2006

Both explore whether different iterations of a life can find meaning in the same core relationship or choice, but Fountain commits to formal fragmentation where Midnight Library stays grounded.

Three stories across centuries—past, present, future—following the same love across possible lives and timelines. Visually baroque, formally ambitious, about whether any version of a life matters if the connection remains. Darren Aronofsky at his most maximalist.

But Deliberately cryptic and resistant to easy interpretation. The dense symbolism frustrates some viewers into feeling they're missing something they're not.

The Fountain poster
More like this (8)

Eternals2021

Immortal beings forced to reckon with millennia of choices and inaction. Philosophically ambitious, visually stunning, about the weight of unlived possibilities across centuries.

But A Marvel film with franchise baggage; some scenes feel obligatory. If you hate superhero movies, this won't convert you.

Eternals poster

The Adam Project2022

Man travels back to warn his younger self, exploring what he'd do differently. Lighter and more action-driven than Midnight Library, but shares its core question: what would you tell your past self?

But Sentimentality runs high and sometimes overwhelms the plot mechanics. The emotional beats are calculable.

The Adam Project poster

Undone2019

Rotoscope animation follows a woman discovering impossible powers after a car crash, questioning reality and regret. Haunting, introspective, visually unlike anything else on television.

But The hand-drawn animation is gorgeous but can feel static. Some episodes are slow-burn to the point of frustration.

Undone poster

The Good Place2016

Four people dead and in the afterlife must confront who they actually are versus who they wanted to be. Philosophically generous, incredibly smart, and funnier than it has any right to be.

But The third season loses momentum, and the ending divides fans sharply. Some find it perfect; others feel betrayed.

The Good Place poster

Knives Out2019

A detective untangles a family's lies after a death, exposing the gap between public selves and private truths. Pure pleasure: intelligent, playful, gorgeous to watch.

But It's a mystery, not existential drama—if you're after something weightier or sadder, this will feel like a feint.

Knives Out poster

The Fabelmans2022

Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film about a boy discovering cinema as escape from family fracture. Tender and specific, about how art lets us reframe our own stories.

But Very long, very earnest, and tilted toward film-lover nostalgia. If you're not moved by someone discovering their medium, it can feel slight.

The Fabelmans poster

Afterlife2019

Where Midnight Library offers multiple lives to comfort you, Afterlife argues for staying in your one terrible life and finding reasons anyway—a direct philosophical counterargument.

A grief-hollowed man wanders his small town, carrying the weight of his wife's absence. Ricky Gervais at his most human—mournful, funny in the darkest way, about how we survive when nothing changes.

But Genuinely depressing for long stretches with no magical escape hatch. The comedy is there, but it's the humor of the broken, not the consoling kind.

Afterlife poster

Everything Everywhere All at Once2022

Same premise of infinite alternative lives, but where Midnight Library is contemplative and ordered, this is frantic and anarchic—both reach the same wisdom through opposite moods.

A laundromat owner glimpses infinite parallel universes where she made different choices, each a life unlived. Like Midnight Library's DNA mixed with absurdist maximalism—chaotic, profound, wildly entertaining.

But Sensory overload by design: rapid editing, visual noise, tonal whiplash between absurdity and heartbreak. Some find it exhilarating; others exhausting.

Everything Everywhere All at Once poster

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Recommended by

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things, My Love from the Star, Thirty But Seventeen, Angel's Last Mission: Love, Clean with Passion for Now, The Bride of Habaek 2017, Someday or One Day, Gogh, The Starry Night, Melting Me Softly, Cafe Funiculi Funicula, Ancient Mysteries