20 Best Drama Movies to Watch on Netflix
You’d think we get enough drama from the news and social media, but honestly, that’s what we live for. Netflix has stories about torturous romances; parental struggles; political victories; and all sorts of triumphs and tragedies, either entirely fictional or inspired by real events. Here’s the best Netflix has to offer right now.
The Long Game (2023)
The drama here is subtly understated, although the stakes are very real. Jay Hernandez leads the cast to tell the true story of a group of teenagers in 1950s Del Rio, Texas, who go golfing at an all-white country club called the San Felipe Mustangs. Of course, they could be caddies , but play?! In 1957, the kids won the Texas State High School Golf Championship, where “The Long Game” dramatized the triumphs, failures and extreme racism along the way to that victory.
First Man (2018)
Director Damien Chazelle followed La La Land with this quieter drama starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, an astronaut and later the first man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Chazelle avoids the pitfalls of biopics in several important ways. The film’s visual language is imbued with a gritty, tactile sense of realism that serves as a counterpoint to the grandeur of the story. There’s also a storytelling device: it’s not so much a portrait of Armstrong as it is a story about the early space program, told through Armstrong’s human story. It’s sedate and understated, which contrasts with other space dramas, but the effect is hypnotic.
Snow Society (2023)
The true story of the 1972 Uruguayan rugby team lost in the Andes after a plane crash has been the subject of numerous documentaries and two previous dramas (the most famous of which is almost certainly Frank Marshall’s 1993 cannibalism-ridden film Alive ). For all that Andean crash content, this is the best of the bunch: a thoughtful and tasteful look at what has sometimes been presented as a raunchy drama, with director J.A. Bayona highlighting both the physical dangers the crew faced and the spiritual losses the team faced. survival.
Spectacular Now (2013)
Imagine, if you will, a coming-of-age drama about 18-year-olds acting more or less like 18-year-olds (even if the actors are, of course, a little older). This is the core innovation of The Spectacular Now , and it’s a big one. The plot here is minimal: Sutter Keeley (Teller) is a popular retiree who mostly hangs out and drinks. After the breakup, he gets blackout drunk and wakes up on the lawn of the nerdy and funny Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley), with whom he would otherwise never have interacted, even if they go to the same school. The production isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, but the film feels like a slice of teenage life that’s more real and exciting than usual.
Shirley (2024)
A woman president ? What’s next?! Oscar winner John Ridley (screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave ) directs this much-needed biopic of the sometimes forgotten pioneer Shirley Chisholm. The first black woman elected to Congress (in 1969), Chisolm ran a fiercely progressive campaign for president just three years later. Even if the film is a bit formulaic, as it sometimes is, Regina King (perhaps unsurprisingly) gives a moving and powerful performance as the idiosyncratic trailblazer.
Guernsey Literary and Peel Pie Society (2018)
Adorably unwieldy title aside, Guernsey is a sweet and smart period drama based on the best-selling novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Lily James plays Juliet Ashton (pen name: Izzy Bickerstaff), a writer in 1946 who finds herself fascinated by the titular society formed during the German occupation of the island. As in the previous book, the quirkiness of the story’s characters masks the dark undertones associated with the horrors of the just-ended war, giving the film surprising emotional depth. Directed by Mike Newell ( Four Weddings and a Funeral , Donnie Brasco ).
Anyone but you (2023)
In a loose version of Much Ado About Nothing , Anyone But You, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell play a couple who meet, hit it off for about a minute, and then immediately start getting on each other’s nerves. Until, of course, they need wedding dates and find themselves surrounded by devious friends. As Shakespeare taught us: from such inauspicious beginnings great novels are sometimes born. It’s not as wild as rom-coms, but the film is fast paced and boasts strong chemistry (mandatory) between Sweeney and Powell.
Downton Abbey (2019)
I’m not sure how well it works if you haven’t seen the series that follows it, but the series’ first sequel film impressively highlights everything that worked about the series while avoiding the meandering plotlines and narrative dead ends that plagued Downton (as and any soap). The big news is that King George V and Queen Mary come for a visit, causing all sorts of complications for the family, while the sassy Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) deals with some medical news and butler Barrow (Robert James-Collier) gets involved in some kind of gay drama, very reminiscent of 1927.
Victoria and Abdul (2017)
Speaking of period drama, Victoria & Abdul sees Dame Judi Dench return to the role of Queen Victoria, which she previously played in Mrs Brown . It’s not exactly a sequel, but it ties in well with the 1997 film: in that film, Victoria later in life finds herself enamored with rough Scottish boyfriend John Brown. Here we see Victoria, even later in life, develop a close friendship with Abdul Karim, a Muslim clerk from Agra, whom she finds a welcome contrast to her fawning courtiers (true story!) As their relationship develops, their friendship becomes more relaxed and intimate, it causes a minor scandal among the public and consternation among the royal family, who become increasingly jealous and worried about Karim’s influence.
Scoop (2024)
The gorgeous Gillian Anderson plays real-life British journalist Emily Maitlis, who heads the BBC2 team that secured the disastrous interview with Prince Andrew (Rufus Sewell), exposing his links to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein – and by “catastrophic” I mean it was a disaster for the prince, who seemed unable to stop himself from making matters worse. A compelling and compelling true story. Keeley Hawes and Billie Piper also star.
Passing (2021)
This dazzling black-and-white adaptation of the once-scandalous 1929 novel explores the dramatized story of some light-skinned African Americans trying to pass as white. Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson play old friends who unexpectedly reunite after years apart; one is married to a black man and lives in Harlem, and the other is married to an offensive white racist doctor who has no idea that his wife is not the woman he thinks she is. The consequences both women experience as a result of their chance encounter is an indictment of a society that places so much importance on skin color, yes, but it’s also a complex examination of the choices people will make for self-preservation, and it offers no easy answers.
May December (2023)
Todd Haynes directs this insightful, touching, yet deliberately campy story about an actress visiting the woman she will play in the film. The film’s deft and unexpected blending of tones makes it quite consistently exciting, and the leads from Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton showed that they were all Oscar nomination frontrunners, even if no real nods followed.
Harriet (2019)
From a woman aided by the Underground Railroad system, Harriet Tubman quickly emerged as one of its most effective guides, and is now remembered as the most important name in the entire operation, a leader who approached the quest for freedom with religious zeal (her religious beliefs seemed , really had a direct bearing on her fortitude). She later led soldiers in battle during the Civil War before becoming a leader of the suffrage movement. The point is that she has one of the most dramatic biographies in American history, and Cynthia Erivo gives a nuanced performance in the title role, conveying a sense of Tubman’s strength but also his vulnerability. Director Kasi Lemmons directs the film with a focus on the action and tension that was a constant in Harriet’s life.
Carol (2015)
The chemistry between Mara’s Theresa Rooney and Cate Blanchett’s Carol is palpable from the moment their eyes meet in a crowded department store, but it’s the 1950s and their love doesn’t dare say its name, even to each other. That’s how it was then (fortunately, queerphobia has been completely eradicated). Women suffer for their love in Todd Haynes’s modern classic, but the tears come not when things go wrong, but when it starts to look like maybe things are starting to go wrong for them.
Nyad (2023)
Annette Bening plays the real-life Diana Nyad, who, at age 60, sailed from Florida to Cuba, largely through sheer willfulness. The film’s success is largely due to the acting and chemistry between leads Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, both of whom received Oscar nominations for their work here. The film makes a compelling case that age is inevitably a weakness in many ways, but can also be a source of amazing strength.
Room (2015)
A thoroughly deglamorized Brie Larson stars alongside nine-year-old Jacob Tremblay in this appropriately claustrophobic film, an almost two-hander that gets carried away by their performances. Based on the novel by Emma Donoghue, who also wrote the screenplay, The Room follows Larson’s Joy Newsome, who is trapped in the 10×10 room of her son Jack’s biological father for seven years. In this disturbing environment, Joy tries to create a sense of normalcy for her son, a child who has never encountered the outside world in his life.
Lost Daughter (2021)
This psychological drama, partly inspired by ancient Greek mythology, was probably never destined to please audiences, but it is a truly confident and bold debut from writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal. Olivia Colman (who was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her troubles) plays Leda Caruso, a middle-aged college professor who develops a rather disturbing obsession with a woman and her young daughter while on vacation in Greece. Jessie Buckley also received an Oscar nomination for playing the younger version of Leda, and Gyllenhaal received a nomination for her screenplay.
Rustin (2023)
Colman Domingo gives a stellar performance (he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor) as Bayard Rustin, the gay civil rights leader who planned the March on Washington. Domingo is charming here as a man desperate to promote a movement centered on the color of his skin but less sure of how to feel about his sexuality. Not only is it a cross-cutting corrective to our very straightforward vision of the Civil Rights Movement, but it is a stylish and moving biopic in its own right.
Save the Last Dance (2001)
Sarah (Julia Stiles) moves from a tiny Midwestern town to live with her father on the South Side of Chicago, where a white girl quickly falls in love with Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas), a black kid with a past. Scandal! It’s a predictable high school romance in many ways, but it’s a little smarter than many other examples of the form, with great performances from Stiles and Thomas. Especially with the dance numbers, it was a big hit for MTV in the early 2000s.
Boys in the Band (2020)
An updated version of the 1968 play (previously adapted to the screen by William Friedkin in 1970), The Boys in the Band retains its period setting and premise: Michael (Jim Parsons) throws a very fun birthday party for his friend Harold (Zachary Quinto), who comes to joined by their friends Donald (Matt Bomer) and Larry (Andrew Rannells). Everyone is ready to break free without the pressure of having to act straight – until married Alan (Brian Hutchison) unexpectedly joins them, and everyone must decide how far they’re willing to go back into the closet.