Psychological Drama backdrop

Psychological Drama movies

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

Ad Astra

71. Ad Astra

Science Fiction Drama Space Sci-Fi Psychological Drama
6.5

20192h 3min

Brazil, China

Director: James Gray

Astronaut Roy McBride sets out on a space journey to Mars to make contact with his father—a legendary astronaut whose expedition vanished without a trace 29 years ago during a mission to search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Themes

Resilience under pressure, Duty vs father son relationship, Isolation in space walk, Longing for home world, Risk under secrecy, Exploration and consequence

Available on

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

Locke

72. Locke

Drama Thriller Psychological Drama Mind Game Thriller
7.1

20141h 25min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Steven Knight

Ivan Locke has worked hard to craft a good life for himself. Tonight, that life will collapse around him. On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul.

Themes

Infidelity consequences, Public and private life, Work-family conflict, Obligation versus desire, Duty and loyalty, Time pressure

Available on

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

Thoroughbreds

73. Thoroughbreds

Drama Thriller Mind Game Thriller Psychological Drama
6.6

20181h 32min

United States

Director: Cory Finley

Lily and Amanda, two high school students living in suburban Connecticut, rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of drifting apart. Together, they devise a plan to kill Lily's abusive stepfather by hiring a lowlife drug dealer.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Parental abuse and control, Wealth and entitlement, Adolescent alliances and betrayal, Moral disengagement and indifference, Social performance and image

Available on

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

Mr. Nobody

74. Mr. Nobody

Science Fiction Drama Romance Simulation & Reality-Shift Sci-Fi Psychological Drama
7.7

20092h 21min

Belgium, Canada

Director: Jaco Van Dormael

Nemo Nobody leads a perfectly ordinary life with his family, until he wakes up in 2092 as a centenarian, unraveling memories of lives he never lived. What if every choice spun a new reality?

Themes

Free will vs fate, Love across timelines, Multiple timelines and choice, Memory as narrative device, Mortality and aging paradox, Time and entropy

Available on

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

Mother

75. Mother

Crime Drama Mystery Serial Killer Crime Psychological Drama
7.7

20092h 9min

South Korea

Director: Bong Joon Ho

A mother lives quietly with her son. One day, a girl is brutally killed, and the boy is charged with the murder. Now, it's his mother's mission to prove him innocent.

Themes

Maternal protection under social pressure, Rumor vs evidence in town, Memory manipulation as coping, Disability stigma and misperception, Debt and moral risk, Family loyalty vs public judgment, Small-town justice flaws

Available on

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

You Were Never Really Here

76. You Were Never Really Here

Crime Drama Thriller Organized Crime Psychological Drama
6.7

20171h 29min

United Kingdom, France

Director: Lynne Ramsay

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.

To the Bone

77. To the Bone

Drama Psychological Drama
6.7

20171h 47min

United States

Director: Marti Noxon

A young woman dealing with anorexia meets an unconventional doctor who challenges her to face her condition and embrace life.

Themes

Peer influence and belonging, Trauma and recovery, Family obligation vs independence, Eating disorder pressures, Medical authority vs autonomy, Body image and control

Available on

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

Journey's End

78. Journey's End

War Drama Action World War I Psychological Drama
6.7

20171h 48min

United Kingdom

Director: Saul Dibb

Set in a dugout in Aisne in 1918, a group of British officers, led by the mentally disintegrating young officer Stanhope, variously await their fate.

Themes

Dugout isolation under stress, Trenches camaraderie under threat, No man's land danger, German spring offensive threat, No man's land memory, Dugout dinners routine

Available on

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

127 Hours

79. 127 Hours

Adventure Drama Thriller Survival Adventure Survival Thriller
7.5

20101h 34min

France, United Kingdom

Director: Danny Boyle

In a world where one wrong step turns paradise into a trap, a lone climber slips in a Utah canyon and an 800-pound boulder crushes his arm against the wall. With almost no water and only a camcorder for company, he digs, schemes, and spirals as the clock inside his body starts to run out.

Themes

Survival under isolation, Memory as motivation, Desperation and willpower, Bodily autonomy and adaptation, Self-reliance and endurance, Resourceful improvisation under pressure

Available on

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

Under the Silver Lake

80. Under the Silver Lake

Crime Drama Mystery Investigation Mystery Psychological Drama
6.5

20182h 19min

United States

Director: David Robert Mitchell

In the sweltering summer of 2011, unemployed and behind on rent, Sam has only days before his life in Los Angeles collapses—and then the mysterious woman in his pool vanishes overnight, leaving behind a painted symbol and a trail of codes. As billionaires disappear and secret shows in graveyards beckon, every hour he spends chasing conspiracies pulls him deeper into a citywide puzzle that’s devouring people who run out of time.

Themes

Secret society dynamics, Voyeur culture, Urban alienation and conspiracy, Surreal noir sensibility, Media deception and mythmaking, Seduction and manipulation

Available on

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