50 of the Best Drama Movies of All Time

1

Aftersun (2022)

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In this 2022 coming-of-age drama, Paul Mescal earned his first-ever Oscar nomination for his performance as Calum, a 30-year-old dad suffering from depression who takes his 11-year-old daughter (Frankie Corio) for holiday at a resort in Turkey. Memories play a critical role in the film; the gap between what we remember and what is reality holds weight, and it has the power to transform or distort our relationships with those we love most dearly.

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2

May December (2023)

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Inspired by the real-life Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau, this Netflix film explores the relationship of Gracie (Julianne Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton), who have been fodder for tabloid headlines ever since Gracie was exposed at 36 years old for having sex with her student and then 13-year-old Joe. Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) has recently been cast to portray Gracie in an independent film, and to prepare for the role, she heads to their Savannah, Georgia home to meet the family. But, her arrival quickly turns into an intrusion, with Elizabeth’s tainted presence dredging up old wounds that have long been thought to be buried.

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3

Oppenheimer (2023)

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Christopher Nolan examines the dark underbelly of ambition and hubris by bringing the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist instrumental to the invention of the atomic bomb, to the big screen. Cillian Murphy delivers an Oscar-winning performance as the titular scientist, starring opposite a bevy of other A-listers like Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr.

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4

Spencer (2021)

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Bordering somewhere between a psychological horror and a historical biopic, Spencer is a movie about the British royal family unlike any other that has been made before it. Kristen Stewart plays Princess Diana at a pivotal moment during her fractured marriage with Prince Charles, during which she struggles with her eating disorder and the pressures of the Crown. The entirety of the film takes place over the Christmas holiday in 1991, but it also alludes to Diana’s past before she was confined to the title of the Princess of Wales.

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5

The Zone of Interest (2023)

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Based off of Martin Amis’s 2014 novel of the same name, The Zone of Interest follows the idyllic Höss family as they build a life for themselves just outside the walls of the Auschwitz concentration camp. By depicting the Nazi family as ordinary people, director Jonathan Glazer shows the dangers of apathy in the face of wicked brutality. It’s these themes that make the film arrive at a critical conjuncture for modern audiences, warning us that oblivion from everyday citizens laid the path for history’s greatest tragedies.

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6

Arrival (2016)

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If ever there were a perfect movie, it’s this Amy Adams gem from Dune director Denis Villeneuve. The narrative is based on Story of Your Life, a Nebula-winning novella written by Ted Chiang, its themes exploring language barriers and bridging the gap between humanity and things we don’t understand. It’s heavy stuff for an alien drama, but trust us when we say it’s so, so worth your time.

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7

Girlhood (2014)

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Céline Sciamma, whose essential-viewing films include Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Petite Maman, and this glorious drama, is proving to be not just one of cinema’s best French directors, but a vital voice in all of film. One of her earlier works, Girlhood can be considered a coming-of-age film about a teen girl trying to fit it, but with Sciamma behind the lens, we get so much more.

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8

Little Women (2019)

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Any adapted version of Louisa May Alcott’s classic is time well spent, but for us, it’s Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet, and so many more faces perfectly cast for a 19th-century period piece, the romantic drama unfolds through the March family and is a mighty take on the timeless sisterhood tale.

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9

Malcolm X (1992)

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There’s nothing Denzel does that we don’t watch; Equalizer 3? Sure, why not? But in our honest opinion, Washington’s embodiment of Malcolm X in Spike Lee’s 1992 joint is tippety-tops. A monumental tour-de-force that sheds light on the civil rights icon’s life and transformation from small-time gangster to assassinated leader, the film is a blaze of truth, empowerment, and peak-form Denzel.

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10

Minari (2020)

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The farmlands of Arkansas’s Ozarks are alive with the American Dream in Lee Isaac Chung’s Oscar-winning charmer. Starring Walking Dead and Beef favorite Steven Yeun, Chung’s story, which pulls from his own life, follows the Yi family from California to Arkansas, where they hope to grow and sell Korean produce. Subtle, tender, rich in culture: Minari will grow roots in your heart.

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11

Past Lives (2023)

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One of 2023’s best films, Celine Song’s Past Lives is a marvel. Song shares an achingly personal story so specific to her, you’d think you couldn’t relate. But guess again. A tapestry of interconnected destinies and missed love connections, the film stars Greta Lee as the mesmerizing Nora, an NYC playwright who confronts her past and tugs at every heartstring along the way.

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12

Short Term 12 (2013)

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Before Brie Larson was zipping up Captain Marvel’s four-way stretch suit, she was starring opposite LaKeith Stanfield in this indie fave about a 20-something navigating the challenges of running a treatment facility in L.A. It comes from director Destin Daniel Cretton, and it’s a gold mine of talent, with Rami Malek, Kaitlyn Dever, and Stephanie Beatriz all giving superb early-career performances.

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13

Till (2022)

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Chinonye Chukwu’s poignant true-story film is more than a drama about rampant racism in the South; it’s a powerful testament to a mother’s fight for justice. In 1955, Mamie Till-Mobley’s son, Emmett Till, was kidnapped, tortured, killed, then tossed in a river. Vowing to pursue accountability, Mamie helps to galvanize the civil rights movement and bring justice to her boy.

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14

12 Years a Slave (2013)

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The incredible true story of one man’s survival, this film follows a free Black man from upstate New York who is kidnapped and sold into the slave trade in the Antebellum South. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon. Already enslaved when the story begins, he relives his past through a series of flashbacks.

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15

A Star Is Born (2018)

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It might be the remake of a remake of a remake, but Lady Gaga is flawless in this modern adaptation of A Star Is Born. She plays Ally, a singer-songwriter whose talent impresses famous musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) when he encounters her at a small bar. She goes on tour with him, they fall in love, and as her success soars, their relationship is tested time and again by his struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.

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16

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

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Emotionally fragile Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) arrives at her sister Stella’s apartment in New Orleans to start a new life. But she is soon tormented by her brutish brother-in-law, Stanley (played by Marlon Brando), and cracks in her perception of reality begin to form. The legendary film is based on the equally iconic play by Tennessee Williams.

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17

Almost Famous (2000)

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There’s probably not a soul alive who didn’t want to become a rock journalist after seeing this movie. A teenage boy is given the assignment of a lifetime: to profile an up-and-coming band for Rolling Stone magazine on their tour of the United States. A dynamic cast of characters, the paradoxical realities of fame, and Philip Seymour Hoffman: What more could you want?

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18

Atonement (2007)

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Set during the 1930s in Britain, Briony (Saoirse Ronan) mistakenly believes she’s witnessed her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), being raped by Robbie (James McAvoy). He’s arrested and later released from prison on the condition he serves in the military during the Battle of France. This award-winning film is about the naivety of childhood, love torn apart by conflict, and how to cope with lifelong regret.

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19

Beautiful Boy (2018)

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Based on two memoirs from the same family, Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff, this film is a moving portrayal of a father-son relationship as the two navigate the challenges of drug addiction.

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20

Before Sunrise (1995)

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Walking and talking have never been more interesting. When Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meets Céline (Julie Delpy) in Vienna the night before he’s due to return home to the United States, he convinces her to spend the night roaming the city, getting to know each other, and sharing pieces of themselves.

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