The fantastic thing about Netflix is that the streaming service has a wealth of style choices at your disposal. If you wish to get your motion repair on, you’re free to take action. If you’re within the temper for a comedy, thriller, or straight-up horror film, they’ve received these as properly. But generally it’s exhausting to beat a genuinely nice drama, and boy does Netflix have a wealth of choices on this explicit style. To assist whittle down your selections, we’ve gone forward and curated an inventory of the perfect dramas on Netflix proper now, which run the gamut from interval items to relationship dramas to little-known gems. There are films from huge, well-known filmmakers on this record, and there are additionally movies from up-and-comers which are completely price testing.
So peruse via our record of the very best drama films on Netflix beneath, and get to watchin’. But beware: a few of these might require a tissue or seven.
For extra suggestions, try our record of the very best films on Netflix or the very best comedies, thrillers, or horror movies on the platform.
Editor’s observe: This article was up to date February 2023 to incorporate All Quiet on the Western Front.
Rebecca (2020)
Run Time: 2 hr 3 min | Director: Ben Wheatley
Cast: Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Keeley Hawes, Ann Dowd, Sam Riley
It could seem sacrilegious to remake an Alfred Hitchcocktraditional (notably one which took residence Best Picture), however Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of the beloved Daphne du Maurier novel actually takes the tormented romance in a distinct path. While Hitchcock’s model was hauntingly restrained, Wheatley captures perpetual anxiousness inside an exaggerated melodrama. Wheatley is understood finest for his endeavors within the horror style, so seeing him do a gothic romance is an fascinating change of tempo. There aren’t a number of actresses who may have lived as much as Joan Fontaine, however Lily Jameswas as much as the problem. Kristin Scott Thomas provides a standout efficiency because the scheming, embittered Mrs. Danvers. — Liam Gaughan
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Run Time: 2 hrs 23 min | Director: Edward Berger
Cast: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer
Based on Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front is an explosive conflict movie tailored by director Edward Berger. Set within the closing days of World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front follows a younger, idealistic soldier’s misery because the realities of battle weigh on him. Diverging from the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front builds a parallel storyline to disclose the armistice negotiations that ended the conflict. Through the eyes of Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer), All Quiet on the Western Front explores how a perfect of heroism will be shattered by grim reality and insufferable experiences. – Yael Tygiel
Horse Girl (2020)
Run Time: 1 hr 44 min | Director: Jeff Baena
Cast: Alison Brie, Molly Shannon, Goldenite, Debby Ryan, Paul Reiser
Directed by Jeff Baena, Horse Girl was co-written by him with star Alison Brie(GLOW). The movie follows a candy misfit named Sarah (Brie), who is mostly socially remoted, in addition to hyper-focused on her pursuits, which embrace arts and crafts and horses. Supported by Molly Shannon (I Love That For You) and Paul Reiser (Reboot), Horse Girl is an unexpectedly twisted movie from Brie, however her excellent efficiency grounds the psychological drama – particularly when the story reveals that Sarah’s intensely surreal goals start to bleed into her life, altering her notion of actuality. – Yael Tygiel
Emily the Criminal (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 33 min | Director: John Patton Ford
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Bernardo Badillo, Gina Gershon
Written and directed by John Patton Ford, Emily the Criminalstars the normally dry-witted Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus) in a spectacularly surprising function. Plaza performs Emily, the down-on-her-luck titular character who, determined for work, finds herself concerned in a harmful rip-off that lures her deeper into the felony underworld. Set in Los Angeles and co-starring Theo Rossi (Luke Cage), the cat-and-mouse chemistry between Rossi and Plaza is obvious of their scenes, taking part in off one another triumphantly via your entire movie. Presenting ambiguous values and interesting philosophical implications, Emily the Criminal is an interesting and suspenseful crime drama. – Yael Tygiel
The Swimmers (2022)
Run Time: 2 hrs 14 min | Director: Sally El Hosaini
Cast: Manal Issa, Nathalie Issa, Matthias Schweighöfer
Inspired by the unbelievable true story, The Swimmers follows two sisters, Sara and Yusra Mardini, performed by Manal Issa and Nathalie Issa, as they embark on a harmful journey to freedom. While the Mardinis would finally make it to the Olympics, The Swimmers, directed by Sally El Hosaini, explores the exceptional bravery and energy these two youngsters summoned to outlive their escape from a war-torn nation. El Hosaini’s potential to seize the huge openness of the ocean in The Swimmers supplies audiences with the heart-pumping concern these younger ladies felt as they risked their lives to swim for 3 hours within the treacherous Aegean Sea earlier than finally making their strategy to security on the shores of Greece. – Yael Tygiel
The Good Nurse (2022)
Run Time: 2 hrs 1 min | Director: Tobias Lindholm
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Jessica Chastain, Denise Pillott
Directed by Tobias Lindholm (Mindhunter), The Good Nurse locations a few Oscar winners in a tense circumstance. Jessica Chastain(The Eyes of Tammy Faye) co-stars as an ICU nurse who turns into cautious when her colleague (Eddie Redmayne) is suspected of inflicting the premature deaths of sufferers within the hospital the place they work. With a script from Krysty Wilson-Cairns, The Good Nurse relies on true occasions, unraveling drama with excessive stakes for these two medical professionals. Chastain and Redmayne’s thrilling cat-and-mouse sport is charming as they play via the labyrinth of lies and mysteries folded into The Good Nurse. – Yael Tygiel
Lou (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 49 min | Director: Anna Foerster
Cast: Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett, Logan Marshall-Green
Allison Janney and Jurnee Smollett teaming up and kicking ass to save lots of a younger lady – want I say extra? Okay, okay, in case you’re not bought fairly but, right here’s a extra in-depth synopsis. Set within the 80s, Lou revolves round Hannah (Smollett), a mom who enlists the assistance of her loner neighbor Lou (Janney) to assist get her daughter again after a harmful man kidnaps her in the course of a big storm. Endlessly thrilling and filled with twists, Lou is a enjoyable, suspenseful trip that permits Janney to flex her motion chops. – Taylor Gates
Disobedience (2017)
Run Time: 1 hr 54 min | Director: Sebastián Lelio
Cast: Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessandro Nivola
Disobedience is filled with angst and keenness, a love story that tears your coronary heart out of your chest. Ronit (Rachel Weisz) returns to the Orthodox Jewish group that shunned her for her attraction to a feminine childhood buddy (Rachel McAdams). Once again, their passions reignite as they discover the boundaries of religion and sexuality. From Sebastián Lelio, Disobedience brings this melancholy to the display screen, which lives via Ronit and Esti’s ardour and love for one another. Forbidden love is portrayed on-screen with such an intense feeling {that a} breath is held each time they’re onscreen collectively. It’s a love story that breaks you, one which showcases the very best and worst in individuals, and one which deserves to be witnessed repeatedly. – Arianne Binette
Purple Hearts (2022)
Run Time: 2 hr 2 min | Director: Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum
Cast: Sofia Carson, Nicholas Galitzine, Chosen Jacobs, John Harlan Kim
You know what they are saying: opposites entice. Purple Hearts proves this concept true, because the story facilities on a romance between two very totally different individuals. On one hand, there’s Cassie (Sofia Carson), a progressive singer; on the opposite, you might have Luke (Nicholas Galitzine), a conservative navy man. Both up towards the wall with insurance coverage and debt points, the 2 resolve to get married for monetary advantages, and a traditional fake-relationship-turned-real-one trope begins. Purple Hearts combines passionate romance with tear-jerking drama and even some wonderful comedic beats, making for a extremely watchable flick. – Taylor Gates
Beauty (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 35 min | Director: Andrew Dosunmu
Cast: Gracie Marie Bradley, Niecy Nash, Aleyse Shannon
Written by Lena Waithe, the thoughts behind TV hits like The Chiand Twenties, Beauty facilities round a younger lady named Beauty (Gracie Marie Bradley), a gifted singer on the point of stardom. When she’s provided a formidable recording contract, she struggles to remain true to herself and her identification whereas additionally navigating an oppressive spiritual surroundings. In addition to being a riveting household drama and movie in regards to the worth of fame, there’s additionally a ravishing queer love story between Beauty and her girlfriend Jasmine. The movie is closely impressed by the lifetime of Whitney Houston, so in case you’re a fan of The Voice, you’re positive to search out Beauty to be a compelling watch. – Taylor Gates
Hustle (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 57 min | Director: Jeremiah Zagar
Cast: Adam Sandler, Juancho Hernangomez, Queen Latifah
A movie that after once more proves that Adam Sandler has the appearing chops to tackle extra critical roles, Hustle is a sports activities drama that’s as honest as it’s sturdy. Sandler performs Stanley Sugarman, a struggling basketball expertise scout who aspires to be a coach. After a profession setback, he’ll hitch his hopes and cash on a gifted unknown participant named Bo Cruz. Played by real-life participant Juancho Hernangómez, Cruz should go away residence and start coaching with Sandler for an opportunity at making a profession within the NBA. It is an underdog story via and thru, charming with out being cloying in a way that greater than wins you over. Even because it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, Sandler is nearly as good as he has ever been in melding his comedic and critical sensibilities into one measured efficiency. The montages, bonding, and emotional growth all work fairly properly, making it a movie that by no means fails to win you over even when its characters usually lose. – Chase Hutchinson
Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Run Time: 1 hr 52 min | Director: Boots Riley
Cast: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick
It’s finest to enter the completely bonkers film Sorry to Bother You as chilly as potential, but when you’ll want to know the temporary synopsis, it follows Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield), a younger black man who discovers he’s a wiz at telemarketing when he places on his “white voice”, however as he begins turning into extra profitable, he begins to compromise his values. But that’s simply the fundamental premise of Boots Riley’s scathing satire on race, capitalism, artwork, masculinity, and commerce. It’s not a movie that works 100% of the time, however its ambition is simple and the movie is at turns hilarious, damning, and utterly insane. – Matt Goldberg
Okja (2017)
Run Time: 2 hr 1 min | Director: Bong Joon Ho
Cast: Seo-hyun Ahn, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal
A fantastical but heartfelt story of a younger lady and her pig, Okjais writer-director Bong Joon Ho at his most sentimental with out sacrificing any of his elegant sense of craft. It follows Mija (Seo-hyun Ahn), one in every of a number of teams of people that have been tasked with elevating an excellent pig for an enormous company that intends to make use of them for meals. Known as Okja, when the company comes to gather, it units off a sequence of high-stakes makes an attempt to get her again. The movie finds a darkish humorousness in all the things, from jokes about language to no matter is happening with one in every of Jake Gyllenhaal’s most eccentric performances. As Mija travels on her method, she additionally meets up with Jay (Paul Dano) and Okay (Steven Yeun), who’re a part of an animal rights activist group that additionally desires to liberate Okja. All of this increasing solid is excellent, hitting each the comedic and critical notes when the movie wants them to. It is a extra hopeful movie than many of the director’s works, although it nonetheless stays dedicated to discovering extra tragic truths amidst the brilliant colours and vibrant visuals we see alongside the best way. – Chase Hutchinson
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
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Run Time: 2 hr 14 min | Director: Charlie Kaufman
Cast: Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, David Thewlis
A exceptional work of adaptation from the most effective to ever do it, Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things takes an already exceptional e-book and makes it a lot extra. It facilities on Jessie Buckley,who performs a girl who is meant to finish issues along with her boyfriend, Jesse Plemons’ Jake. However, she nonetheless decides to make a journey to fulfill his dad and mom earlier than doing so. Conversations on the drive really feel just a bit bit off, as there are interjections and unusual disruptions that every one start to get below your pores and skin. It solely will get extra reflective from there, breaking down the narrative boundaries set out for itself to disclose one thing much more resonant. The much less you already know about it, the higher, as it’s a movie the place each lower and every line packs a significance. This makes it a wealthy textual content that solely will get extra so every time you see it, making it an everlasting piece of labor that solely will get extra intriguing with every subsequent rewatch. – Chase Hutchinson
Operation Mincemeat (2021)
Run Time: 2 hr 8 min | Director: John Madden
Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Johnny Flynn, Kelly MacDonald, Johnny Flynn
There had been many inspiring World War II tales which have been buried within the archives for many years. The particulars of a 1943 Allied deception operation had been largely unreported, however Operation Mincemeat lastly provides these heroes the popularity that they deserve. In order to stop a possible bloodbath, Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth) and his ally Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew Macfadyen) plant false data on the corpse of a vagrant. They decide that if the Nazis intercept the papers, they are going to be led to attract the fallacious conclusions. Although Ewen and Charles aren’t instantly within the line of fireside, they know that their failure may spell sure doom for the British forces. –Liam Gaughan
The Half of It (2020)
Run Time: 1 hr 45 min | Director: Alice Wu
Cast: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire and Collin Chou
One of these movies that seem like a easy romantic coming-of-age movie however is definitely about a lot extra, Alice Wu’s coming-of-age film is likely one of the most delicate and considerate movies of the final decade. Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) begins writing love letters on behalf of the inarticulate Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) to his – and her – crush, Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire). A contemporary retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, The Half of Itis Wu’s at her strongest. Creating visuals that elevate the narrative and a narrative that brings you all of the emotion and pairing it with the coming-of-age facet of Ellie’s sexuality makes it into a movie that’s layered and ideal for a number of rewatches. – Arianne Binette
The King (2019)
Run Time: 2 hr 20 min | Director: David Michod
Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Robert Pattinson
David Michod might not be a family identify but, however the Australian writer-director has already crafted a various filmography that features satirical biopics (War Machine), crime thrillers (Animal Kingdom), and stirring post-apocalyptic neo-westerns (The Rover). Leave it to a filmmaker this versatile to make some of the gripping, violent Shakespearean epics of the previous decade. The Kingexplores the coming-of-age story of the younger Prince Hal (Timothee Chalamet) as he’s uncovered to the realities of fight. Hal inherits the English throne after his father, King Henry IV (Ben Mendeslohn), all of a sudden passes away. Chalamet does a exceptional job making the beloved textual content really feel vibrant once more, and Joel Edgerton provides a efficiency as Halstaff worthy of Orson Welles. — Liam Gaughan
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Run Time: 2 hr 6 min | Director: Jane Campion
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee
A mesmerizing work from one in every of cinema’s best administrators, Jane Campion, The Power of the Dogis a movie that you’ve doubtless heard a number of reward about. I’m right here to let you know that not solely does it deserve it and all of the awards it has gotten, it’s price experiencing for itself because it defies all expectations. A slow-burn of a Western, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch because the menacing Phil Burbank. A cowboy with a imply streak, he turns into bitter when his brother George (Jesse Plemons) marries Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst). Masking his fears of abandonment, Phil begins to torment Rose and her younger son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). The numerous dynamics between the characters are all totally realized due to the uniformly excellent performances, making a household drama that’s small in scope although huge in ambition. It is a movie the place you finest go in understanding as little as potential because it sneaks up with you with each its magnificence and quiet dread that would not be extra completely executed. — Chase Hutchinson
tick, tick…BOOM! (2021)
Run Time: 1 hr 55 min | Director: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Vanessa Hudgens
The biographical musical drama tick, tick…BOOM! tells the attractive and heartbreaking true story of Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield), a younger, formidable composer, playwright, and lyricist (who would later write the legendary rock musical Rent), who’s riddled with insecurity and the insurmountable odds towards him to make it as an artist in New York City. When he’s not feverishly jotting down lyrics or cold-calling different artists, he’s ready tables on the Moondance Diner, balancing his work life along with his romantic life, and coping with the cruel actuality of the AIDS disaster. Garfield soars within the lead function and carries a superb ensemble solid via stellar musical numbers you gained’t wish to miss. — Emily Bernard
Passing (2021)
Run Time: 1 hr 39 min | Director: Rebecca Hall
Cast: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, André Holland
Based on the 1929 novel of the identical identify by Nella Larsen, Passing,as its title suggests, chronicles the inequality and ranging levels of racism African Americans within the Twenties confronted based mostly on the tone of their pores and skin. Shot in black and white, this historic drama follows the delicate relationship between two highschool associates who, due to their gentle pores and skin, are capable of “pass” as white. Clare (Ruth Negga) married John (Alexander Skarsgård) a rich white man from Chicago who loathes African Americans and is oblivious to the truth that his spouse is one. Irene (Tessa Thompson) married a black physician and lives in Harlem, and lives in fixed concern of being “outed” as black when in white-only institutions. Irene and Clare’s reunion years later sparks dialog and reflection, in addition to the questioning of identification. Negga and Thompson give trustworthy, BAFTA-nominated performances within the movie. — Emily Bernard