Emotional dramas
by inester | created - 19 Jan 2022 | updated - 4 weeks ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Florida Project (2017)
R | 111 min | Drama
Set over one summer, the film follows precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World.
Director: Sean Baker | Stars: Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Rivera
Votes: 128,307 | Gross: $5.90M
2. Short Term 12 (2013)
R | 96 min | Drama
A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton | Stars: Brie Larson, Frantz Turner, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever
Votes: 91,799 | Gross: $1.01M
3. Two Days, One Night (2014)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama
Liège, Belgium. Sandra is a factory worker who discovers that her workmates have opted for a EUR1,000 bonus in exchange for her dismissal. She has only a weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses in order to keep her job.
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée, Baptiste Sornin
Votes: 50,532 | Gross: $1.44M
4. Stepmom (1998)
PG-13 | 125 min | Comedy, Drama
A terminally ill woman must deal with her ex-husband's new lover, who will be their children's stepmother.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris, Jena Malone
Votes: 74,507 | Gross: $91.14M
5. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
PG | 105 min | Drama
After his wife leaves him, a work-obsessed Manhattan advertising executive is forced to learn long-neglected parenting skills, but a heated custody battle over the couple's young son deepens the wounds left by the separation.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry
Votes: 154,676 | Gross: $106.26M
6. Control (2007)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to die by suicide at the age of 23.
Director: Anton Corbijn | Stars: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson, Alexandra Maria Lara
Votes: 68,550 | Gross: $0.87M
7. Half Nelson (2006)
R | 106 min | Drama
An inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.
Director: Ryan Fleck | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Shareeka Epps, Jeff Lima
Votes: 91,913 | Gross: $2.69M
8. Frida (2002)
R | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.
Director: Julie Taymor | Stars: Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Geoffrey Rush, Mía Maestro
Votes: 95,308 | Gross: $25.89M
9. Rust and Bone (2012)
R | 120 min | Drama, Romance
Put in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure, Céline Sallette
Votes: 70,293 | Gross: $2.06M
10. The Greatest (2009)
R | 99 min | Drama, Romance
A drama that is centered around a troubled teenage girl and a family that is trying to get over the loss of their son.
Director: Shana Feste | Stars: Carey Mulligan, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon
Votes: 9,476 | Gross: $0.12M
11. Lean on Pete (2017)
R | 121 min | Adventure, Drama, Sport
A teenager gets a summer job working for a horse trainer and befriends the fading racehorse, Lean on Pete.
Director: Andrew Haigh | Stars: Charlie Plummer, Amy Seimetz, Travis Fimmel, Steve Buscemi
Votes: 13,946 | Gross: $1.16M
12. The Sea Inside (I) (2004)
PG-13 | 126 min | Biography, Drama
The factual story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 28-year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Dueñas, Mabel Rivera
Votes: 85,249 | Gross: $2.09M
13. Please Stand By (2017)
PG-13 | 93 min | Comedy, Drama
A young autistic woman runs away from her caregiver in an attempt to submit her 500-page manuscript to a "Star Trek" writing competition at Paramount Pictures.
Director: Ben Lewin | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Alice Eve, Toni Collette, Lexi Aaron
Votes: 15,224 | Gross: $0.01M
14. Green Book (2018)
PG-13 | 130 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.
Director: Peter Farrelly | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini, Sebastian Maniscalco
Votes: 571,678 | Gross: $85.08M
15. Blue Valentine (2010)
R | 112 min | Drama, Romance
The relationship of a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.
Director: Derek Cianfrance | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, John Doman, Faith Wladyka
Votes: 211,316 | Gross: $9.74M
16. Blue Jasmine (2013)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A New York socialite, deeply troubled and in denial, arrives in San Francisco to impose upon her sister. She looks like a million dollars but isn't bringing money, peace or love.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard, Sally Hawkins
Votes: 212,530 | Gross: $33.41M
17. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
High schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon | Stars: Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman
Votes: 138,262 | Gross: $6.74M
18. 20th Century Women (2016)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama
The story of a teenage boy, his mother, and two other women who help raise him among the love and freedom of Southern California of 1979.
Director: Mike Mills | Stars: Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup
Votes: 49,375 | Gross: $5.66M
19. The Squid and the Whale (2005)
R | 81 min | Comedy, Drama
Follows two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.
Director: Noah Baumbach | Stars: Owen Kline, Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg
Votes: 90,421 | Gross: $7.36M
20. Beginners (2010)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young man is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer and that he has a young male lover.
Director: Mike Mills | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic
Votes: 94,812 | Gross: $5.79M
21. Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama
A free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s Wellesley girls to question their traditional social roles.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Votes: 90,922 | Gross: $63.86M
22. Hunting and Gathering (2007)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Romance
When Camille (Audrey Tautou) falls ill, she is forced to live with Philibert and Franck (Guillaume Canet). A moving trio story.
Director: Claude Berri | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Guillaume Canet, Laurent Stocker, Françoise Bertin
Votes: 12,531
23. The King's Speech (2010)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi
Votes: 707,861 | Gross: $138.80M
24. Manchester by the Sea (2016)
R | 137 min | Drama
A depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.
Director: Kenneth Lonergan | Stars: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges
Votes: 313,638 | Gross: $47.70M
25. Good Will Hunting (1997)
R | 126 min | Drama, Romance
Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård
Votes: 1,067,601 | Gross: $138.43M
26. Seven Pounds (2008)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A man with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy
Votes: 315,175 | Gross: $69.95M
27. Billy Elliot (2000)
R | 110 min | Drama, Music
A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.
Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Jean Heywood, Jamie Draven
Votes: 142,780 | Gross: $22.00M
28. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
Evelyn, an ordinary housewife, visits a nursing home and befriends the old lady Ninny. Together, they bond over stories from the past about two intrepid women of Whistle Stop Cafe.
Director: Jon Avnet | Stars: Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker
Votes: 83,547 | Gross: $82.42M
29. The Terminal (2004)
PG-13 | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An Eastern European tourist unexpectedly finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chi McBride, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 495,167 | Gross: $77.87M
30. The Basketball Diaries (1995)
R | 102 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
Director: Scott Kalvert | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, Marilyn Sokol, James Madio
Votes: 121,009 | Gross: $2.42M
31. The Green Mile (1999)
R | 189 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
A tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt
Votes: 1,406,950 | Gross: $136.80M
32. The Blind Side (2009)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head
Votes: 360,417 | Gross: $255.96M
33. The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama
In 1964, a teenage girl in search of the truth about her mother runs away to a small town in South Carolina and finds a family of independent women who can connect her to her past.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys
Votes: 27,942 | Gross: $37.77M
34. Miss You Already (2015)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The friendship between two life-long girlfriends is put to the test when one starts a family and the other falls ill.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke | Stars: Drew Barrymore, Toni Collette, Dominic Cooper, Paddy Considine
Votes: 19,879 | Gross: $1.16M
35. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama
Charlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.
Director: Stephen Chbosky | Stars: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd
Votes: 547,893 | Gross: $17.74M
36. Gifted (2017)
PG-13 | 101 min | Drama
Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.
Director: Marc Webb | Stars: Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan, Octavia Spencer
Votes: 130,279 | Gross: $24.80M
37. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.
Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan | Stars: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla, Anil Kapoor
Votes: 877,687 | Gross: $141.32M
38. I Am Sam (2001)
PG-13 | 132 min | Drama
An intellectually disabled man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.
Director: Jessie Nelson | Stars: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 155,296 | Gross: $40.31M
39. The Bucket List (2007)
PG-13 | 97 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd
Votes: 259,807 | Gross: $93.47M
40. Wonder (I) (2017)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Family
Based on the New York Times bestseller, this movie tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters the fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
Director: Stephen Chbosky | Stars: Jacob Tremblay, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Julia Roberts
Votes: 178,327 | Gross: $132.42M
41. The Worst Person in the World (2021)
R | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The chronicles of four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
Director: Joachim Trier | Stars: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Hans Olav Brenner
Votes: 97,367
42. Life as a House (2001)
R | 125 min | Drama
When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.
Director: Irwin Winkler | Stars: Hayden Christensen, Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jena Malone
Votes: 45,595 | Gross: $15.65M
43. Ana, My Love (2017)
125 min | Drama, Romance
Toma and Ana meet as students in the literature faculty and quickly fall in love.
Director: Cãlin Peter Netzer | Stars: Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti, Tania Popa, Igor Caras-Romanov
Votes: 2,426
44. CODA (2021)
PG-13 | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her passion at Berklee College of Music and her fear of abandoning her parents.
Director: Sian Heder | Stars: Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant
Votes: 164,850
45. Life Itself (2018)
R | 117 min | Drama, Romance
As a young New York City couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes.
Director: Dan Fogelman | Stars: Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Annette Bening, Mandy Patinkin
Votes: 24,644 | Gross: $4.10M
46. My Policeman (2022)
R | 113 min | Drama, Romance
The arrival of Patrick into Marion and Tom's home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previously.
Director: Michael Grandage | Stars: Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache
Votes: 22,295
47. Stronger (I) (2017)
R | 119 min | Biography, Drama
Stronger is the inspiring real life story of Jeff Bauman, an ordinary man who captured the hearts of his city and the world to become a symbol of hope after surviving the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Richard Lane Jr.
Votes: 49,636 | Gross: $4.21M
48. Frances Ha (2012)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A New York woman apprentices for a dance company and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as the possibility of realizing them dwindles.
Director: Noah Baumbach | Stars: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen
Votes: 94,267 | Gross: $4.06M
49. Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023)
PG-13 | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Corinne convinces Jane, a shy, talented baker, to bring cakes to bars, to help her build confidence. But when Corinne receives a life-altering diagnosis, the pair faces a challenge unlike anything they've experienced before.
Director: Trish Sie | Stars: Yara Shahidi, Odessa A'zion, Bette Midler, Ron Livingston
Votes: 2,941
50. The Life Ahead (2020)
PG-13 | 94 min | Drama
In seaside Italy, a Holocaust survivor with a daycare business takes in a 12-year-old street kid who recently robbed her.
Director: Edoardo Ponti | Stars: Sophia Loren, Ibrahima Gueye, Renato Carpentieri, Iosif Diego Pirvu
Votes: 15,546
51. Walk the Line (2005)
PG-13 | 136 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick
Votes: 265,808 | Gross: $119.52M
52. Wild (I) (2014)
R | 115 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A chronicle of one woman's 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent personal tragedy.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Gaby Hoffmann, Michiel Huisman
Votes: 138,824 | Gross: $37.88M
53. Joyeux Noel (2005)
PG-13 | 116 min | Drama, History, Music
In December 1914, an unofficial Christmas truce on the Western Front allows soldiers from opposing sides of the First World War to gain insight into each other's way of life.
Director: Christian Carion | Stars: Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet, Natalie Dessay
Votes: 31,985 | Gross: $1.05M
54. The Silence of the Sea (2004 TV Movie)
93 min | Drama, Romance, War
In a small town in the west of France, during the German occupation, a room is requisitioned by a Wehrmacht captain, Werner von Ebrennac. The house where he now stays is inhabited by young ... See full summary »
Director: Pierre Boutron | Stars: Julie Delarme, Michel Galabru, Thomas Jouannet, Marie Bunel
Votes: 1,543
55. Teenage Dirtbag (2009)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama
Based on a true story, this high school drama centers on the unlikely friendship between a cheerleader and a bad boy.
Director: Regina Crosby | Stars: Scott Michael Foster, Noa Hegesh, Chris Ellis, Michael Bradley
Votes: 3,044
56. The Kindness of Strangers (2019)
Not Rated | 112 min | Drama
The story of people whose lives intertwine during a dramatic winter in New York City.
Director: Lone Scherfig | Stars: Zoe Kazan, Esben Smed, Jack Fulton, Finlay Wojtak-Hissong
Votes: 5,060
57. Another Mother's Son (2017)
103 min | Biography, Drama, War
Lou lives on the Nazi-occupied Island of Jersey during World War 2. She accepts to hide a young Russian POW at her house at the risk of being imprisoned herself and takes care of him as if he was her own son.
Director: Christopher Menaul | Stars: Brenock O'Connor, Amanda Abbington, John Hannah, Sophie Skelton
Votes: 1,644
58. The Zookeeper's Wife (2017)
PG-13 | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History
Keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Antonina and Jan Zabinski, must save hundreds of people and animals during the Nazi invasion in WWII Poland.
Director: Niki Caro | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Daniel Brühl, Timothy Radford
Votes: 46,565 | Gross: $17.45M
59. Operation Hyacinth (2021)
TV-MA | 112 min | Crime, Drama
Poland, 1985: Not satisfied with the result of a murder investigation, a young officer in communist Warsaw sets out on his own to discover the truth.
Director: Piotr Domalewski | Stars: Tomasz Zietek, Hubert Milkowski, Marek Kalita, Adrianna Chlebicka
Votes: 4,331
60. Their Finest (2016)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A former secretary, newly appointed as a scriptwriter for propaganda films, joins the cast and crew of a major production while the Blitz rages around them.
Director: Lone Scherfig | Stars: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Richard E. Grant
Votes: 21,290 | Gross: $3.60M
61. All of Us Strangers (2023)
R | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbor while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 years ago.
Director: Andrew Haigh | Stars: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Carter John Grout, Jamie Bell
Votes: 43,524
62. One Life (2023)
PG | 109 min | Biography, Drama, History
Sir Nicholas 'Nicky' Winton, a young London broker who, in the months leading up to World War II, rescued over 600 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia.
Director: James Hawes | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Lena Olin, Johnny Flynn, Helena Bonham Carter
Votes: 15,921
63. Memory (I) (2023)
R | 103 min | Drama
Sylvia is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life. This is blown open when Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter will profoundly impact both of them as they open the door to the past.
Director: Michel Franco | Stars: Alan Nehama, Dutch Welch, Aliya Campbell, Donald McQueen
Votes: 3,539
64. Waves (I) (2019)
R | 135 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
Traces the journey of a suburban family - led by a well-intentioned but domineering father - as they navigate love, forgiveness, and coming together in the aftermath of a loss.
Director: Trey Edward Shults | Stars: Taylor Russell, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Alexa Demie, Bill Wise
Votes: 30,729
65. Ordinary Angels (2024)
PG | 118 min | Drama
Inspired by the incredible true story of a hairdresser who single-handedly rallies an entire community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically ill young daughter.
Director: Jon Gunn | Stars: Hilary Swank, Alan Ritchson, Emily Mitchell, Skywalker Hughes
Votes: 4,350
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