HBO Max has added more than a few great films to view in May, including two marquee attractions — Margot Robbie’s Wuthering Heights and Charli XCX’s The Moment.
The streamer also added a handful of excellent biographical dramas to its library this month, with a trio of good-to-great films about complicated men who rebelled against their respective societies.
Using IMDb ratings as our barometer, Watch With Us has ranked three new HBO Max must-see movies streaming in May. If you have the time, all three are worth watching.
3. ‘The Story of Louis Pasteur’ (1936)
In 1860s Paris, doctors still used leeches to cure ailments, and no one washed their hands before overseeing major surgery. Radical chemist Louis Pasteur (Paul Muni) wants to change this medieval approach, and he has the facts to back him up. Unfortunately, the medical establishment isn’t ready for Louis’ maverick ways, and he experiences widespread ridicule and even threats to his life. But his research and findings can save many lives, and he’s determined to prove he’s right — even if it costs him everything he holds dear.
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A huge hit for Warner Bros. in 1936, The Story of Louis Pasteur was nominated for Best Picture and earned Muni — that era’s Daniel Day-Lewis — an Oscar for his convincing portrayal of the rogue scientist. Seen with modern eyes, the film is dated, with some shallow observations about Pasteur’s personal life and a Parisian locale that looks like a studio backlot. Still, the story of The Story of Louis Pasteur is riveting to watch, and the movie is surprisingly short (it’s only 87 minutes long) and fast-paced for a Depression-era biopic.
2. ‘A Complete Unknown’ (2025)
Hindsight is 20/20, because how the hell did Timothée Chalamet not win an Oscar for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown? The Marty Supreme actor is brilliant as a young Bob Dylan, who arrives in New York City in 1961 with nothing but a guitar, a dream and a voice that personifies his generation. As he ingratiates himself with the early ‘60s New York City folk scene by befriending Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), Dylan’s star quickly rises. But Dylan wants to be more than a folk singer, and his willingness to experiment — specifically with an electric guitar — causes many of his supporters and some of his fans to turn their backs on him.
It was a smart decision by director James Mangold and co-writer Jay Cooks to focus on this early stage of Dylan’s career, since Dylan’s life could fuel about two or three more movies. A Complete Unknown faithfully conjures the brief period when the counterculture became the culture, and when beatniks like Dylan were idolized as soothsayers who held more wisdom than they actually possessed.
As Dylan, Chalamet goes beyond impersonation and embodies the essential mystique of the “Like a Rolling Stone” singer. As the film’s title suggests, it’s Dylan who is a complete unknown, and any attempts to define him as anything else would miss the point of his appeal.
1. ‘Walk the Line’ (2005)
Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) lived a hard life — that’s what made his music so compelling to listen to and his legend so great. It is also a great source material for a biopic, and Walk the Line embodies all the hillbilly romanticism and rebel swagger that made “The Man in Black” so interesting in the mid-to-late 20th century. A large part of his appeal was his professional and personal relationship with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), a relatively innocent country western singer who can’t help but be drawn to Cash’s bad boy mystique. But as they grow closer, June realizes Johnny has some major problems getting in the way of their romance, including an out-of-control drug habit and a neglected wife he can’t seem to divorce.
Walk the Line faithfully captures the 1960s and 1970s era when both Johnny and June flourished, portraying a Nashville music scene that allowed Cash to become an endearing rebel with a cause. Witherspoon deservedly won an Oscar for her portrayal of June, who isn’t as soft and vulnerable as she appears, while Phoenix is just as good as a man who almost loses himself to his worst instincts.
