Crime backdrop

Crime movies

A deep dive into the underworld of gangsters, detectives, and heists where the line between right and wrong blurs.

Subgenres include: Organized Crime, Heist, Con Artist Crime.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

441. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Crime Drama Detective Mystery Crime Tragic Drama
8.1

20171h 55min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Martin McDonagh

Overview

After seven months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at Bill Willoughby, the town's revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Jason Dixon, an immature mother's boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing's law enforcement is only exacerbated.

Themes

Small town pressure, Billboard protest ethics, Police brutality tensions, Arson as retaliation, Molotov cocktail risk

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Forgotten

442. Forgotten

Thriller Mystery Crime Mind Game Thriller Unreliable Perspective Mystery
7.4

20171h 48min

South Korea

Director: Jang Hang-jun

Overview

As days vanish and his brother returns from a 19-day abduction a different man, Jin-seok races to prove his own memories before his family erases them. Each new lie, each impossible detail, pushes him closer to the locked room’s past—and to a truth that will destroy whoever reaches it too late.

Themes

Memory manipulation, Family secrecy, Dissociative amnesia, Revenge through crime, Deception and unreliable memory

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

In the Fade

443. In the Fade

Drama Crime Tragic Drama Organized Crime
7.1

20171h 46min

Germany, France

Director: Fatih Akin

Overview

Katja's life collapses after the deaths of her husband and son in a bomb attack. After a time of mourning and injustice, Katja seeks revenge.

Themes

Revenge and consequences, Trauma and coping, Racism and violence, Political extremism and fear, Vigilantism versus justice, Social fragmentation in cities

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

444. Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Drama Crime Thriller Legal Drama Political Thriller
6.5

20172h 2min

United Arab Emirates, United States

Director: Dan Gilroy

Overview

Hard-nosed liberal lawyer Roman J. Israel has been fighting the good fight forever while others take the credit. When his partner – the firm's frontman – has a heart attack, Israel suddenly takes on that role. He soon discovers some unsettling truths about the firm – truths that conflict with his values of helping the poor and dispossessed – and finds himself in an existential crisis that leads to extreme actions.

Themes

Ethical compromise under pressure, Civil rights advocacy, Justice system reform, Professional ambition vs civic duty, Class and access to justice, Power dynamics in law

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

You Were Never Really Here

445. You Were Never Really Here

Crime Drama Thriller Organized Crime Psychological Drama
6.7

20171h 29min

United Kingdom, France

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Overview

A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, his nightmares begin to overtake him, and a conspiracy is uncovered—leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.

Themes

Institutional corruption, Family obligation and care, Protecting the vulnerable, Trauma and vigilantism, Violence as coping, Memory of abuse, Cover-ups and secrecy

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Murder on the Orient Express

446. Murder on the Orient Express

Mystery Drama Crime Whodunit Detective Mystery Crime
6.5

20171h 54min

United States

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Overview

During an urgent journey aboard the Orient Express, the famous detective Hercule Poirot becomes involved in the mysterious murder of one of the passengers. The investigation is complicated by the fact that almost everyone on the train has a motive for the crime.

Themes

Class tension, Moral ambiguity, Deception and complicity, Collective guilt, Justice under constraint, Family tragedy

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

My Friend Dahmer

447. My Friend Dahmer

History Drama Crime Biographical History Serial Killer Crime
6.2

20171h 47min

United States

Director: Marc Meyers

Overview

Jeffrey Dahmer struggles with a difficult family life as a young boy. During his teenage years he slowly transforms, edging closer to the serial killer he was to become.

Themes

Trauma and coping, Divorce impact, High school pressures, Serial killer label, Social outcast pressures, Obsession and belonging

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Girl in the Fog

448. The Girl in the Fog

Mystery Thriller Crime Investigation Mystery Investigation Suspense
6.8

20172h 8min

France, Italy

Director: Donato Carrisi

Overview

A gripping and chilling thriller that brings us to a hazy mountain village where an enigmatic detective is investigating the sudden disappearance of fifteen-year-old girl.

Themes

Community pressure, Media attention, Family involvement, Resource escalation, Procedural discipline, Timeline reconstruction

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

See You Up There

449. See You Up There

Drama Crime War Historical Drama World War I
7.4

20171h 53min

Canada, France

Director: Albert Dupontel

Overview

In November 1918, a few days before the Armistice, when Lieutenant Pradelle orders a senseless attack, he causes a useless disaster; but his outrageous act also binds the lives of two soldiers who have nothing more in common than the battlefield: Édouard saves Albert, although at a high cost. They become companions in misfortune who will attempt to survive in a changing world. Pradelle, in his own way, does the same.

Themes

Comradeship under stress, War profiteering, Bereaved manipulation, Postwar deceit, Hero worship dynamics, Memory commodification

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Wheelman

450. Wheelman

Action Crime Thriller Vehicle-Driven Action Heist
6.4

20171h 22min

United States

Director: Jeremy Rush

Overview

A getaway driver for a bank robbery realizes he has been double crossed and races to find out who betrayed him.

Themes

Family protection under threat, Pursuit and escape, Urban crime networks, Professional isolation under pressure, Money as motive and risk, Betrayal and double-cross

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.