You’re probably looking for a movie about a small-town girl, a disappearance, and a lot of tension. It's called The Exception. But here is the thing: if you go searching for it, you’re going to get hit with a wall of confusion because Hollywood loves this title. Seriously. There’s the 2016 Lily James flick about Nazis and a Kaiser. There’s a 2017 short film. But you’re likely hunting for the 2022 indie thriller directed by Andrius Lekavicius. It’s a scrappy, localized piece of filmmaking that has been bouncing around regional streaming platforms, making it a bit of a headache to pin down depending on where you are sitting in the world.
Honestly, the "where to watch" game is getting exhausting. One day a movie is on Netflix, the next it has vanished into the digital ether of a "premium" add-on channel you’ve never heard of. For The Exception (2022), the distribution wasn't handled by a massive studio like Warner Bros or Disney, so it doesn't have a permanent home on a platform like Max or Disney+. It lives in the world of Video on Demand (VOD) and specific regional licensing deals.
The Best Ways to Stream The Exception Today
Right now, your best bet is going to be the "Big Three" of digital rentals. If you want to watch The Exception without a massive headache, you should check Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV (the iTunes store side of things), and Google Play. It’s almost never "free" with a subscription. You’re looking at a rental fee, usually around $3.99 to $5.99.
Prices vary. A lot. Sometimes it’s cheaper on Vudu (now Fandango at Home) if they’re running a weekend sale on indie thrillers. It is worth checking. I’ve seen people find it for $1.99 on a random Tuesday.
If you are outside the United States, things get weird. The movie had a specific push in Eastern Europe and parts of the EU. If you're in the UK, you might find it on Sky Store. In Australia? Check out platforms like Telstra TV Box Office. The movie hasn't landed a "global" streaming home like a Netflix Original would, so it’s fragmented. This is the reality of modern indie cinema. It's a patchwork. It's annoying.
Why Finding This Movie Is So Confusing
People get the 2016 film and the 2022 film mixed up constantly. The 2016 version of The Exception—the one with Christopher Plummer—is much easier to find because it had A-list backing. You can usually find that one on Showtime or Paramount+. If you see a poster with a guy in a military uniform and a palace in the background, you’ve got the wrong one. You want the one with the darker, more modern, gritty vibe.
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The 2022 version is often listed under its original title or categorized specifically as an "International Thriller." Because it’s an indie production from Lithuania, the metadata on some TV apps is just plain bad. I’ve seen it listed without a thumbnail or with the wrong description entirely. If you’re searching on your smart TV and nothing comes up, try searching for the director, Andrius Lekavicius. Sometimes the algorithm recognizes the person behind the camera better than the title itself.
Is It on Netflix or Hulu?
The short answer: No.
The long answer: It might have been for three months in a specific country like Poland or Germany, but as of early 2026, it is not on the major US-based "all-you-can-eat" subscription services. These platforms are pivoting. They want "owned" content. Buying the rights to a mid-budget foreign thriller just isn't their priority anymore. They’d rather spend that money on Stranger Things season five or another reality show about people dating in pods.
Don't go looking for it on Disney+ or Peacock either. This isn't their brand. This is a movie for people who like tension, subtitles (usually), and a story that doesn't feel like it was written by a committee of marketing executives in Burbank.
Dealing With Regional Blocks
If you are a traveler or live in a region where the "Rent" button is greyed out, you know the drill. Licenses are legally bound by borders. It’s a relic of the old TV days that makes no sense in a digital world. You might see the movie listed on a site, click it, and get that "This content is not available in your region" message. It’s a soul-crushing moment when you’ve already got your popcorn ready.
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Some people use a VPN to bounce their location to a country where the movie is available. It works, sure. But keep in mind that many streaming services like Amazon or Apple TV require a credit card issued in that specific country to complete a purchase. You can’t just hop to London and buy a movie with a Nebraska-based Visa card. It's a hurdle.
Physical Media and the "Lost" Movie Problem
Is there a DVD? Surprisingly, yes, but it’s mostly for the European market. If you are a collector, you’re looking at importing a PAL-format disc. Don't do this unless you have a region-free player. Most US players will spit that disc right back at you.
We are entering an era where movies like The Exception are becoming "digital ghosts." If a movie doesn't stay on a major platform, and its VOD rights expire, it just... disappears. This is why if you see it available for purchase for $10 or $15, and you think you’ll want to watch it again in two years, you might actually want to buy it rather than rent it. Licensing is fickle.
Watching Experience: Subtitles vs. Dubbing
Since this is an international production, you have a choice to make. Most platforms offer the original audio with English subtitles. Do that. Seriously. The dubbing on smaller indie films can be—to put it politely—distracting. The emotional weight of a performance is in the actor's actual voice. When you swap that out for a guy in a booth in Los Angeles who hasn't seen the whole script, you lose the magic.
Check your settings before you hit play. Sometimes the default is "English Dubbed," and you have to manually switch it back to the original language. It makes a world of difference for the pacing and the atmosphere.
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Why You Should Even Bother
Why go through all this trouble for a movie that’s hard to find? Because the mid-budget thriller is a dying breed. We are stuck between $200 million superhero movies and $50,000 TikToks. Films like The Exception occupy that middle ground where directors can actually take risks. The cinematography is moody. The stakes feel real because the characters aren't invincible. It’s a tight 90-minute or 100-minute experience that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Summary of Where to Look
Stop scrolling through Netflix. It’s a waste of time. Instead, follow this order of operations:
- Search Prime Video: This is the most likely spot for VOD.
- Check Apple TV/iTunes: They often have the highest-quality 4K or HD stream for indies.
- YouTube Movies: People forget YouTube sells movies. It's often the most stable player.
- JustWatch or Reelgood: Use these "meta-search" apps. They track these licenses daily. Just make sure you’ve selected the 2022 version.
The landscape of streaming is messy. It’s a fragmented disaster of "exclusive" rights and expiring contracts. But for a movie like The Exception, the hunt is part of the process. It’s not "content." It’s a film.
Next Steps for Your Movie Night
First, verify which version of The Exception you’ve actually found by checking the release year in the metadata—look for 2022. If you're on a budget, use a price tracker like CheapCharts to see if the rental price is about to drop. Finally, ensure your playback settings are set to the original language with subtitles to get the intended experience. Grab it while it’s still licensed, because in the current streaming climate, today’s "available" is tomorrow’s "404 Not Found."