30 of the Best Movies About Addiction and Alcoholism

There's no right or wrong time to raise awareness of mental health and substance use struggles. But Mental Health Month (May 1-May 31) raises awareness of the possibilities of treatment, other services and fellowship-based programs—and to eliminate stigma. While May 2023 may be over, mental health is important all twelve months of the year. This list of the best movies about addiction and alcoholism tackles the tough topic with grace.

This subject matter isn't easy to translate to the screen. Addiction hijacks and reshapes the brain, making good people behave in a way that's unlike themselves. It's not easy to make something so internal cinematic, or to make audiences connect and sympathize. We've selected films that go above and beyond in their representation of a difficult topic.

This list includes many movies about substance and alcohol abuse, and we've also included pictures about other addictions, like workaholism, gambling and sex addiction. Some of these films actively explore the process of recovery; others do not. The primary requisite for a spot on this list is a truthful, respectful depiction of a complex, often misunderstood disease that affects millions of American families.

Here are 30 of the best movies ever made about addiction and alcoholism. The plots of some films are discussed in detail.

Best Movies About Addiction and Alcoholism

1. The Lost Weekend (1945)

Billy Wilder's classic film noir is a touchstone for addiction on film: highly acclaimed in its day, and the winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture. Ray Milland won Best Actor for his portrayal of an alcoholic New York writer. The Lost Weekend also shared top honors at the inaugural Cannes Film Festival.

2. A Star Is Born (2018)

Melodrama sometimes gets a bad rap, one it doesn't inherently deserve. Something of a spiritual successor to the great pictures of Douglas Sirk—glossy on the outside, and profound the deeper you dig—Bradley Cooper's remake of—well—three movies, centers on a fading rock star (Cooper) who's a depressed mess, and a rising pop star (Lady Gaga) he becomes involved with.

Cooper's pop masterpiece is a grand entertainment—and it's an emotional juggernaut for anyone who's been around mental illness and addiction struggles, one that doesn't hit a false note. The longer you sit with it, the more you're struck by the audacity of the first-time feature filmmaker's achievement. A Star Is Born was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning one for Best Song ("Shallow").

3. Flight (2012)

A titanic turn by Denzel Washington and gripping, ambitious direction from Robert Zemeckis drive this viscerally affecting dramatic thriller. Washington plays Whip Whitaker, an alcoholic airline pilot who's investigated following a near-disaster in the sky. The ending of Flight ties things up in too neat of a bow. It would have been more effective to cut immediately after Whip starts telling the truth, in court. Other than that, this is a virtually perfect piece of work, and a must-see.

Flight received two Oscar nods, for Best Actor and John Gatins' original screenplay.

4. Days of Wine and Roses (1962)

Written by JP Miller (adapted from his own teleplay) and directed by Blake Edwards (Breakfast at Tiffany's), this drama stars Jack Lemmon as a problem drinker who ropes his romantic partner (Lee Remick) into his lifestyle. In 2018, Days of Wine and Roses was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

5. Notorious (1946)

Arguably Alfred Hitchcock's most exquisite film (yes, Notorious really is on the same level as Vertigo), this elegant thriller cast Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman against type as bitter lovers tangled in a post-World War II spy mission in South America. Bergman plays a drunk with a haunted past. Selected by the Writers Guild of America as one of the finest screenplays ever written, Ben Hecht's script succeeds on multiple levels: it's a chilling, enraged response to the horrors of the war that were only just sinking into the public conscious, and it's a note-perfect psychological exploration of a romantic relationship that's toxic in both directions.

Related: The 10 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies Ever, Ranked

6. Krisha (2016)

Trey Edward Shults made his debut feature on a shoestring budget in his parents’ home, using his family as actors. Krisha tells the story of a troubled alcoholic who seeks to make amends with her family over Thanksgiving. Inventively using stylistic choices of horror cinema to heighten the drama, Krisha is a tiny movie that will knock you flat. At its heart, this gut-punch of an indie is about family.

Related: The 15 Best Underrated Movies on Netflix Right Now 

7. Trainspotting (1996) 

Based on a novel by Irvine Welsh, Danny Boyle's iconic adrenaline rush, depicting a posse of heroin addicts in Edinburgh, is all at once hilarious, fun, nightmarishly horrific, and stomach-turningly gross—often all within the same scene. That's what makes it so effective, so true to life and exhilaratingly cinematic. This was the international breakthrough of star Ewan McGregor, and the picture received a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nod. A sequel, T2: Trainspotting, followed in 2017.

8. Clean & Sober (1988)

In a departure from his early work mostly in comedies, Michael Keaton starred in Glen Gordon Caron's drama about a real estate agent whose life becomes unmanageable.

In his positive 1988 review, film critic Roger Ebert (himself a recovering alcoholic) said:

"Although the subject matter of this film is commonplace in our society—for every celebrity who checks into the Betty Ford Center, there are thousands of ordinary people who check in somewhere else, or who pick up the phone and call AA. Everybody knows somebody like this.

But the actual process of surrender and recovery is hardly ever the subject of films, maybe because it seems too depressing."

9. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

Gus Van Sant's harrowing second feature, based on an autobiographical novel by James Fogle, chronicles a network of drug addicts in the Pacific Northwest. Starring Matt Dillon, Drugstore Cowboy long-boasted a rare 100% on Rotten Tomatoes that in recent years has slipped to 97%.

Also worth watching: Van Sant's relatively lighter addiction-themed Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot. Starring Jaoquin Phoenix and based on the life of artist John Callahan, it's somewhat shaggy and meandering, but overall a low-key charmer about the power of forgiveness and strength in community.

10. Smashed (2012)

Leaving an impression in everything from offbeat genre pics (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Final Destination 3) to top-shelf, award-winning dramas (Fargo), Mary Elizabeth Winstead has always been great. She's characteristically terrific (as is co-star Aaron Paul) in this drama about a schoolteacher who decides to surrender after a string of embarrassing incidents. Sometimes funny, and also sad, Smashed is a thoughtful exploration of the emotional resources required to do the work. Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman and Octavia Spencer co-star.

Related: Craig T. Nelson Talks Recovery, Life Lessons and Random Acts of Kindness

11. Traffic (2000)

Based on a British television serial, Steven Soderbergh's epic drama won four Oscars: Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Benicio del Toro), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing. Traffic explores the trade of illegal drugs from several perspectives.