Best On Netflix

The 20 Best Drama Movies On Netflix

By Jade Budowski @jadebudowski

Published April 25, 2017, 8:00 a.m. ET

Crime flicks, war dramas, and coming-of-age stories are among the diverse selection available for viewing on the streaming giant.Photos: Everett Collection ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps

**Schindler's List**
**IMDb Rating:** 8.9
Steven Spielberg's stunning telling of Oskar Schindler's efforts to save refugees from the Nazis during the Holocaust is one of the most riveting films ever made. Starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Raph Fiennes, and a stellar ensemble cast, this gut-wrenching black and white film is necessary viewing.
[Stream Schindler's List ] Everett Collection

**The Prestige**
**IMDb Rating:** 8.5
Starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and David Bowie, Christopher Nolan's masterful tale of mystery and deception follows two rival stage magicians in 19th century London. Willing to go to any length to one-up the other, a series of tragic and terrifying events ensue.
[Stream The Prestige ]

**Sunset Boulevard**
**IMDb Rating:** 8.5
This classic noir film from Billy Wilder follows a screenwriter who falls into a dangerous relationship after he begins to a job reworking a script for a fading silent film star. This bizarre, thrilling film crosses genres and establishes itself as a classic from the very first shot.
[Stream Sunset Boulevard]Everett Collection

**Braveheart**
**IMDb Rating:** 8.4
Mel Gibson directs and stars in this epic war film chronicling William Wallace's fight in the First War of Scottish Independence. Gripping, thought-provoking, and unexpectedly moving, this film is a sweeping, modern drama classic.
[Stream Braveheart] Everett Collection

**The Third Man**
**IMDb Rating:** 8.3
This 1949 film-noir finds a pulp novelist investigating the mysterious death of his friend in postwar Vienna after he arrives to discover that no one can give him a consistent story about what happened to his friend. This unnerving film features a slew of incredible performances and surprises at every turn.
[Stream The Third Man] Everett Collection

**To Kill a Mockingbird**
**IMDb Rating:** 8.3
Based on the classic novel by Harper Lee, this 1932-set film follows lawyer and widower Atticus Finch as he defends Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. In the meantime, Finch's children come of age and learn that monsters aren't real and their father might be a real hero.
[Stream To Kill a Mockingbird]Everett Collection

**Good Will Hunting**
**IMDb Rating:** 8.3
The late, great Robin Williams stars as therapist Sean Maguire in this beautiful indie drama about a young genius (Matt Damon) who is seemingly wasting his potential by working as a janitor at MIT. Sean helps guide him to find direction in his life, learning about love and forgiveness along the way.
[Stream Good Will Hunting]Everett Collection

**Spotlight**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 97%
This harrowing film tells the true story of The Boston Globe's team of journalists who exposed the epidemic of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Boston and around the world. This star-studded, necessary film took home the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2016.
[Stream Spotlight] Everett Collection

**No Country for Old Men**
**IMDb Rating:** 8.1
Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Woody Harrelson star in this superb drama from the Coen Brothers. When a hunter happens to come by a drug deal gone wrong (and more than $2 million in cash) near the Rio Grande, complete chaos and violence ensues.
[Stream No Country for Old Men] Everett Collection

**Million Dollar Baby**
**IMDb Rating:** 8.1
Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her portrayal of Maggie Fitzgerald, a determined young boxer who works hard with her trainer (Clint Eastwood) to become a professional. While her career evidently skyrockets, the events that ensue are absolutely heart wrenching.
[Stream Million Dollar Baby ] Everett Collection

**The Imitation Game**
**IMDb Rating:** 8.1
This stunning untold story of World War II follows gay mathematician Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), the man who helped crack the German enigma code and win the war. Moving and more relevant than ever, this film is a showcase for Cumberbatch and this incredible true story.
[Stream The Imitation Game] Everett Collection

**Mulholland Drive**
**IMDb Rating:** 8
This mystery from the mind of David Lynch stars Naomi Watts and Justin Theroux and depicts a young actress who moves to Hollywood and encounters a woman who has narrowly escaped murder. Now suffering from amnesia after a car crash, they embark on a quest to solve what happened to her. Sexy, surprising, and completely weird, this modern classic is a must-see.
[Stream Mulholland Drive]Everett Collection

**Patton**
**IMDb Rating:** 8
This war epic features a performance by George C. Scott that earned him an Academy Award - but he refused to accept it. The biographical film depicts the career of controversial American general George S. Patton during World War II and the way his temper and unorthodox methods led to his downfall.
[Stream Patton]Everett Collection

**Boyhood**
**IMDb Rating:** 7.9
There's honesty to this film that's rarely seen on screen; Richard Linklater shot this gorgeous coming-of-age drama over 12 years with the same actors and edited the final result into a feature-length film that follows Mason's life from early childhood to his arrival at college. Genuinely moving and featuring a career-best performance from Patricia Arquette, *Boyhood* truly understands what it means to grow up.
[Stream Boyhood]Everett Collection

**E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial**
**IMDb Rating:** 7.9
A lonely suburban boy dealing with the divorce of his parents befriends a friendly alien he dubs 'E.T.' and tries to help him get back home. Things aren't as easy as he hopes, however, as the government is intent on apprehending E.T. for their own experiences. Emotional, funny, and resonant, this coming-of-age story from Steven Spielberg remains a classic for a reason.
[Stream E.T. The Extra Terrestrial] Everett Collection

**Nightcrawler**
**IMDb Rating:** 7.9
Jake Gyllenhaal is at his bonkers best in this neo-noir crime thriller. Gyllenhaal stars as Louis Bloom, a very determined man who will do just about anything to get what he wants. When he fights his way into the world of Los Angeles crime journalism, he begins to overstep his boundaries and endanger the lives of those around him to get the perfect shot.
[Stream Nightcrawler]Everett Collection

**Glengarry Glen Ross**
**IMDb Rating:** 7.8
ALWAYS. BE. CLOSING. This star-studded 1992 flick (Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Jack Lemmon, and Kevin Spacey star, among others) depicts just how hard it is to lead a life in the world of high-pressure sales. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and these men are willing to do whatever it takes to produce results for their company.
[Stream Glengarry Glen Ross]Everett Collection

**Beasts of No Nation**
**IMDb Rating:** 7.8
Cary Fukunaga's riveting drama follows Agu, a child soldier fighting in a civil war in a fictional West African country. He fears the men around him and tries to make sense of his war-ravaged world as he's forced into a life of death and violence. Equally devastating and fascinating, the film also stars Idris Elba as the menacing commander.
[Stream Beasts of No Nation]Everett Collection

**The Longest Day**
**IMDb Rating:** 7.8
This classic war epic famously combined the efforts of multiple famed directors and the biggest names of the time (John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Richard Burton, and Sean Connery among them). The film intricately depicts Normandy on D-Day in World War II and the five invasion points that were part of the operation.
[Stream The Longest Day]Everett Collection

**Atonement**
**IMDb Rating:** 7.8
Keira Knightley and James McAvoy are star-crossed lovers Cecilia and Robbie in this breathtaking war film from Joe Wright. When young Briony (Saoirse Ronan) makes an unfounded accusation, the implications of her claims affect Robbie's life and his romance with Cecilia forever.
[Stream Atonement]Everett Collection

The right drama film can take audiences to incredible places; battlefields, courtrooms, even outer space. Dramas encompass the largest category available to stream on Netflix; there’s so much crossover that it’s nearly impossible to classify dramas as just dramas. Romantic dramas, science fiction dramas, war dramas, crime dramas, you name it – just about anything you’re looking for can be categorized as a drama. They sweep the Academy Awards every year, and it’s not hard to see why. These powerful stories pack exactly the right punch.

Netflix’s “Dramas” category houses classic dramas like The Third Man and Patton, biographical dramas like Hands of Stone and The Butler, teen dramas, sports dramas, social issue dramas, and a slew of other sub-genres. Your drama of choice is just waiting to be watched; the streaming material here is seemingly endless.

Lost on how to sort through it all? We’ve gone through the streaming platform’s massive catalogue to find the best of the best. These are the 20 best dramas on Netflix, ranked by their IMDb ratings.

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