20 Drama Movies to Watch in Quarantine

Briana Pugh

20 Drama Movies to Watch in Quarantine: *As a clarification, this is not my top 10 favorite film list for this/or any category. This list is compiled of the movies that are currently available to stream on the most popular streaming services; Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Netflix. Some are favorites, for sure. But the list was limited by what is available to stream online.

Here is my selection of 20 films within the drama category. I did 20 instead of 10 mostly because I couldn’t narrow it down to just 10. There are so many good ones available to stream. I tried to do more positive themed dramas but it’s drama–so, many of the films are just more dramatic or darker in nature. However, these are some great movies to watch…maybe followed by an episode of The Office if you’re feeling too morose after watching these? Otherwise, enjoy!

GOOD WILL HUNTING (R)

A janitor working at MIT, Will Hunting has a surprising gift with mathematics and gains guidance and direction from a Psychologist.

Stream it on: Hulu

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS (PG-13)

A salesman struggling for success and abandoned by his wife gains custody of his son and is now fighting to begin a life-changing career to care for him and his son.

Stream it on: Netflix

WARRIOR (PG-13)

Two brothers of an alcoholic father come to a head as the youngest son trains for a mixed martial arts tournament after returning home.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime, Hulu

LADY BIRD (R)

A classic coming of age film of an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old in Sacramento, California.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL (PG-13)

A story of an unconventional relationship between a delusional man and a doll that he finds on the internet.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

50/50 (R)

A dark comedy inspired by true events chronicles the story of a young 27-year-old guy who discovers he has cancer and his struggle to beat the disease.

Stream it on: Hulu

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (R)

A story of two prisoners who bond over many years and find solace in their acts of common decency and kindness.

Stream it on: Netflix

LOVE & MERCY (PG-13)

Based on the true-life events of the Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson and his struggle with psychosis and the shady actions of his therapist Dr. Eugine Landy — LOVE & MERCY gives a detailed record of the many difficult years of Brian Wilson’s life.

Stream it on: Hulu

MUD (PG-13)

Two young friends discover a fugitive and help him evade police while also trying to help him reunite with his true love.

Stream it on: Netflix

THE FAREWELL (PG)

A Chinese family uses a wedding as a reason to gather the family together to say goodbye to their dying grandmother, who doesn’t know that she is dying.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

LEAVE NO TRACE (PG)

A traumatized military veteran father and his thirteen year old daughter have been living off the grid in a vast urban park in Portland, Oregon. After a small mistake, the life they have known for years is thrown into the unknown and derails their lives forever.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

SHADOWLANDS (PG)

Based on the life of renowned theologian, writer, and professor C.S. Lewis, SHADOWLANDS, shares the beautiful true story of the friendship between Lewis and American poet Joy Gresham. The two form an unlikely friendship and build a love and relationship that changes them forever.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

LIGHT OF MY LIFE (R)

A father and his child travel through the outskirts of society a decade after a pandemic has wiped out half of the population.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

A GHOST STORY (R)

A unique ghost story of a man who, after he passes, returns home to try to reconnect with his wife. This story gives an unconventional look at life, love, and existence.

Stream it on: Netflix

THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (R)

Six different tales of a gunslinger, a bank robber, a traveling impresario, a wagon train, a perverse pair of bounty hunters, and an elderly prospector, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS is a unique and darkly comedic look at life in the Old West.

Stream it on: Netflix

THE PIANIST (R)

Set in the Warsaw Ghetto of World War II, THE PIANIST, chronicles the struggle of a Polish Jewish musician and his survival in the destruction and mass genocide of Jewish descendants.

Stream it on: Netflix

ROOM (R)

After 7 years in captivation, a woman and her young son finally gain freedom, leaving her son who has only lived in isolation, to discover the world.

Stream it on: Netflix

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas — Courtesy of Miramax Films

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS (PG-13)

The story of an unlikely and forbidden friendship between the eight-year-old son of a German concentration camp commandant and a trapped Jewish boy.

Stream it on: Netflix

WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (PG-13)

While attempting to pursue his own happiness a young man in a small midwestern town also struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and his morbidly obese mother.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime, Crackle

HOSTILES (R)

Set in 1892, HOSTILES focuses on a legendary Army Captain who reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory.

Stream it on: Netflix