(IN SELECT THEATERS NOV. 22 AND DEC. 8 ON NETFLIX)

Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali star in this apocalyptic thriller based on the novel by Rumaan Alam about two families’ fight for survival amid an inexplicable blackout. The story opens with Amanda (Roberts) and husband Clay (Hawke) on a weekend family getaway in a gorgeous rental house on Long Island with their children when their idyll is interrupted by the arrival of two strangers— G.H. Scott (Ali) and his daughter ( Myha’la Herrold).

“Amanda’s just a wildly challenging character,” says the Oscar-winning Roberts, 56. “She’s complicated and surprising, and the main reason I took on this role—aside from wanting to work with [writer/director] Sam Esmail again—was the challenge. There are a lot of fine lines in making her understood, but not too unlikeable.”

Roberts said it was wonderful to work with Mahershala. “He really is one in a million and he did such a beautiful job bringing such nuance to his character. It’s mesmerizing to watch him.”

This is the third project for Roberts and Esmail, having previously collaborated on the TV limited series Homecoming and Gaslit. “I felt such a creative kinship with him from the day we met,” she says. “He’s become such a great friend. He has such incredible depth and an eye for detail, and an ability to unearth things that I had never thought about.”