Psychological Drama backdrop

Psychological Drama movies

Drama where an unstable mental state drives the plot: paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, identity breakdown, or psychological collapse.

Ex Machina

1. Ex Machina

Drama Science Fiction AI Sci-Fi Psychological Drama
7.7
20151h 48min

Overview

Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.

Themes

Surveillance and manipulation, Isolation and distrust, Man vs machine, Artificial intelligence ethics, Employer employee relationship, Consciousness and agency

Available on

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

The Gambler

2. The Gambler

Thriller Crime Drama Organized Crime Kidnapping & Captivity Thriller
6.0
20141h 51min

Overview

Literature professor Jim Bennett leads a secret life as a high-stakes gambler. Always a risk-taker, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Staying one step ahead, he pits his creditor against the operator of an illicit gambling ring while garnering the attention of Frank, a paternalistic loan shark. As his relationship with a student deepens, Bennett must risk everything for a second chance.

Themes

Debt-driven coercion, Gambling as self-destructive escape, Power dynamics and coercion, Risk vs consequence, Moral hazards in mentorship, Dual lives and legitimacy

Available on

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

Inherent Vice

3. Inherent Vice

Drama Mystery Comedy Investigation Mystery Satire
6.6
20142h 29min

Overview

In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Money as motive, Drug trade networks, Counterculture disillusionment, Militia intrigue and power, Frame and deception

Available on

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

Still Alice

4. Still Alice

Drama Psychological Drama
7.5
20141h 41min

Overview

Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words. When she receives a devastating diagnosis, Alice and her family find their bonds tested.

Themes

Caregiving within illness, Memory erosion in aging, Professional identity under strain, Genetic risk and testing, Communication challenges within a family, Caregiving boundaries and roles

Available on

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

Gone Girl

5. Gone Girl

Mystery Thriller Drama Whodunit Cover-Up Thriller
8.1
20142h 29min

Overview

On his fifth anniversary, a husband walks into his quiet suburban home and finds his famous wife gone and signs of a violent struggle hidden in plain sight. As the evidence he uncovers twists into a story he doesn’t recognize, the media, the police, and the entire country turn him into the villain of her disappearance.

Themes

Power dynamics in relationships, Media sensationalism, Public perception vs private life, Infidelity and blame, Fabricated narratives, Deception in marriage

Available on

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

Phoenix

6. Phoenix

Drama Psychological Drama
7.3
20141h 38min

Overview

German-Jewish cabaret singer Nelly survived Auschwitz but had to undergo reconstructive surgery as her face was disfigured. Without recognizing Nelly, her former husband Johnny asks her to help him claim his wife’s inheritance. To see if he betrayed her, she agrees, becoming her own doppelganger.

Themes

Betrayal and trust, Identity through performance, Postwar trauma and resilience, Deception through appearance, Inheritance and motive, Survivor memory and loss

Available on

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

Shrew's Nest

7. Shrew's Nest

Horror Thriller Drama Psychological Horror Psychological Drama
6.7
20141h 31min

Overview

Spain, 1950s. Montse's agoraphobia keeps her locked in a sinister apartment in Madrid and her only link to reality is the little sister she lost her youth raising. But one day, a reckless young neighbor, Carlos, falls down the stairwell and drags himself to their door. Someone has entered the shrew's nest... perhaps he'll never leave.

Themes

Caregiver burden, Deception and secrecy, Abuse and coercion, Family trauma legacy, Unhealthy attachment dynamics, Agoraphobic confinement

Available on

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

Miss Meadows

8. Miss Meadows

Drama Psychological Drama
5.8
20141h 28min

Overview

Miss Meadows is a school teacher with impeccable manners and grace. However, underneath the candy-sweet exterior hides a ruthless gun-toting vigilante who takes it upon herself to right the wrongs in the world by whatever means necessary. For Miss Meadows, bad behavior is simply unforgivable.

Themes

Romance under danger, Trauma shaping behavior, Perception of threat, Education and violence, Vigilante justice and gender, Public safety vs personal protection

Available on

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

Overview

Eight years after the disappearance of Cassandra, some disturbing incidents seem to indicate that she's still alive. Police, parents and Cassandra herself, will try to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.

Themes

Deception and coercion, Surveillance intrusion, Family strain and blame, Trauma and captivity, Protection versus exploitation, Public scrutiny and justice

Available on

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

Hector and the Search for Happiness

10. Hector and the Search for Happiness

Adventure Drama Comedy Globetrotting Adventure Psychological Drama
6.9
20141h 54min

Overview

Hector is a quirky psychiatrist who has become increasingly tired of his humdrum life. As he tells his girlfriend, Clara, he feels like a fraud: he hasn’t really tasted life, and yet he’s offering advice to patients who are just not getting any happier. So Hector decides to break out of his deluded and routine driven life. Armed with buckets of courage and child-like curiosity, he embarks on a global quest in hopes of uncovering the elusive secret formula for true happiness. And so begins a larger than life adventure with riotously funny results.

Themes

Trust under pressure, Disruption of routine, Cross-cultural encounters, Brain science and emotion, Pursuit of happiness, Risk and survival in travel

Available on

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