The Best Drama Films Streaming on Netflix
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Must be dramatic movies available on Netflix Instant in the United States.
- 1Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily JamesAn excavator and his team discover a wooden ship from the Dark Ages while digging up a burial ground on a woman's estate.
- 2Kelvin Harrison, Jennifer Hudson, Jeffrey WrightSteve Harmon is a 17-year-old honor student whose world comes crashing down when he's charged with felony murder. He soon faces a complex legal battle that could leave him spending the rest of his life in prison.
- 3Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf, Ellen BurstynA heartbreaking home birth leaves a woman grappling with the profound emotional fallout, isolated from her partner and family by a chasm of grief.More Pieces of a Woman
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- 4
To the Bone
Keanu Reeves, Lily Collins, Alanna UbachEllen is an unruly 20-year-old anorexic girl who spent the better part of her teenage years being shepherded through various recovery programs, only to find herself several pounds lighter every time. Determined to find a solution, her dysfunctional family agrees to send her to a group home for youths, which is led by a non-traditional doctor. Surprised by the unusual rules, Ellen must discover for herself how to confront her addiction and attempt self-acceptance.More To the Bone- #9 of 335 onThe Best Netflix Original Movies Ever
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- 5Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, Jacki WeaverIn Bird Box, Malorie (Sandra Bullock), a woman with a hardened resolve, grapples with an unseeable threat that drives the world to suicide. She embarks on a treacherous journey with her two children, Boy and Girl (Julian Edwards and Vivien Lyra Blair), down a river, blindfolded. The film, a gripping mixture of horror and drama directed by Susanne Bier, takes audiences through flashbacks of Malorie's past, revealing pieces of the apocalyptic puzzle. It was nominated for Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, showcasing its unique blend of suspense and terror.
- 6Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl StreepTwo low-level astronomers must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth.
- 7Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Kurt EgyiawanAs civil war rages in Africa, a fierce warlord (Idris Elba) trains a young orphan (Abraham Attah) to join his group of guerrilla soldiers.More Beasts of No Nation
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- 8Ryan Reynolds, Scott Speedman, Rosario DawsonThe Captive, formerly Queen of the Night and Captives, is a 2014 Canadian thriller film directed by Atom Egoyan. Eight years after the supposed disappearance of Cassandra, police, parents, and Cassandra herself, will try to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.More The Captive
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- 9
Mudbound
Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason MitchellLaura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm, a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not - charming and handsome, but he is haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, now battles the prejudice in the Jim Crow South.More Mudbound- #30 of 85 onGreat Historical Black Movies Based On True Stories
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- 10Kang Ha-neul, Kim Mu-yeol, Moon Sung-keunForgotten is a 2017 South Korean mystery thriller film directed by Jang Hang-jun. A man loses his memory after being kidnapped for 19 days, and his younger brother is determined to seek the truth surrounding the mystery of the kidnapping.
- 11Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln, Jacki WeaverA photographer and his family find hope and solace in an injured magpie chick.
- 12
Deadly Illusions
Kristin Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Greer GrammerFiction and reality begin to blur when a struggling writer hires a woman to watch over her twin children. - 13Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza GonzálezA shady legal guardian lands in hot water when she tries to bilk a woman who has ties to a powerful gangster.More I Care a Lot
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- 14Zendaya, John David WashingtonSmoldering tensions and painful revelations push a filmmaker and his girlfriend toward a romantic reckoning.More Malcolm & Marie
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- 15Hadley Robinson, Lauren Tsai, Josephine LangfordInspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy teenager publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.
- 16
Brain on Fire
Chloë Grace Moretz, Jenny Slate, Thomas MannBrain on Fire is a 2016 American-Canadian-Irish biographical drama film directed by Gerard Barrett, based on the memoir by Susannah Cahalan. A young, capable professional (Chloë Grace Moretz) cannot explain her newly erratic behavior. - 17Ashton Sanders, Jeffrey Wright, Isaiah JohnAll Day and a Night is a 2020 American drama film directed by Joe Robert Cole. After a young criminal, Jahkor Abraham Lincoln (Ashton Sanders), arrives in prison, he takes a look at his past and the circumstances before his arrest to help him determine a way forward.More All Day and a Night
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- 18Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence PughAfter being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce is forced into exile by the English and leads a band of outlaws to help him reclaim the throne.
- 19Alfre Woodard, Blair Underwood, Adam BeachJuanita is a 2019 American drama film, directed by Clark Johnson, based on the novel Dancing on the Edge of the Roof by Sheila Williams. Fed up with her deadbeat grown kids and marginal urban existence, Juanita (Alfre Woodard) takes a Greyhound bus to Paper Moon, Montana where she reinvents herself and finds her mojo.More Juanita
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- 20Kiko Mizuhara, Honami SatoHer abusive husband is dead, killed by her lesbian friend who would do anything for her. Now they're running for their lives.More Ride or Die
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- 21Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Maribel VerdúY Tu Mamá También is a 2002 Mexican drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and co-written by Cuarón and his brother Carlos. The film tells a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys who take a road trip with a woman in her late twenties. It stars Mexican actors Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal and Spanish actress Maribel Verdú in the leading roles.More Y Tu Mamá También
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- 22Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel JeromeSent to live with his estranged father for the summer, a rebellious teen finds kinship in a tight-knit Philadelphia community of Black cowboys.
- 23Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Sally YehMob assassin Jeffrey (Chow Yun-Fat) is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteuse Jennie (Sally Yeh) is blinded in the crossfire of his most recent hit, Jeffrey chooses to retire after one last job to pay for his unintended victim's sight-restoring operation. But when Jeffrey is double-crossed, he reluctantly joins forces with a rogue policeman (Danny Lee) to make things right.More The Killer
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- 24Wagner Moura, Ana de Armas, Brían F. O'ByrneSergio is a 2020 American biographical drama film directed by Greg Barker. Top UN diplomat, Sergio Vieira de Mello (Wagner Moura) hangs in the balance during the most treacherous mission of his career which takes place during the chaotic aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq.More Sergio
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- 25Claire Holt, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michiel HuismanIrreplaceable You is a 2018 American drama film directed by Stephanie Laing. The lives of two best friends and romantic soulmates comes crashing down when one is given a terminal cancer diagnosis.More Irreplaceable You
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- 26Sreymoch Sareum, Kompheak Phoeung, Socheata SvengFirst They Killed My Father is a 2017 American biographical historical thriller film directed by Angelina Jolie and written by Jolie and Cambodian-born American human-rights activist and lecturer Loung Ung, based on Ung's memoir of same name.
- 27Kevin Quinn, Bailee Madison, Sherri ShepherdA troubled teenager takes a leap of faith by attending summer camp, where he finds love, friends and a place to belong.
- 28James Urbaniak, Jacqueline Kim, Yasmin KaziImagining tomorrow’s America today, FUTURESTATES is a series of independent mini-features — short narrative films created by veteran filmmakers and emerging talents transforming today’s complex social issues into visions about what life will be like in decades to come. In Season Three, seven filmmakers imagine America in the not-too-distant future, when what we do, where we live, and who we are will all be dictated by the decisions we make today.Gwen is the spokesperson for a radical technology allowing people to overcome their natural disadvantages and begin life anew. But when her job and family are in crisis, will she undergo the procedure herself?
- 29Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Vanessa HudgensTick, Tick... Boom! is a biographical musical drama directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda that chronicles the life of aspiring composer Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield), as he navigates the days leading up to the crucial workshop performance of his musical "Superbia." Set in the year 1990 in New York, the film captures the pressures faced by Larson amidst the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic. Larson struggles with self-doubt and the fear of turning 30 without having achieved significant success. The film illustrates the resilience of the artistic spirit through the character. Garfield's performance earned high praise and recognition during awards season.
- 30Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, Amy RyanWorth is a legal drama based on true events, chronicling the efforts of attorney Kenneth Feinberg (Michael Keaton), who is appointed Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. The film looks into Feinberg's journey as he battles against bureaucracy and politics, and the grief of the victims' families. The film examines the bureaucratic decisions behind compensation after a national tragedy. Charles Wolf (Stanley Tucci), is a community organizer and widower who challenges Feinberg's methods. The film addresses the themes of the value of human life, morality in law, and the search for justice in the aftermath of tragedy. Worth brings to light the complex emotional and ethical challenges faced in the wake of national grief.
