anxious backdrop

Movies with anxious vibe

Palo Alto

1. Palo Alto

Drama Coming-of-Age Drama
6.2
20141h 40min

Overview

A lack of parental guidance encourages teens in an affluent California town to rebel with substance abuse and casual sex.

Themes

Coming of age, Peer pressure, Teenage sexuality, Substance abuse, Age-gap dynamics

Available on

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

Boulevard

2. Boulevard

Drama Relationship Drama
5.8
20141h 28min

Overview

Nolan Mack, a soft-spoken bank employee, undoubtedly loves his wife Joy, though their cavernous empty house only underscores how disconnected they’ve always been from each other. Nolan finds himself drifting from his familiar present-day life in pursuit of lost time after meeting a troubled young man named Leo on his drive home. What begins as an aimless drive down an unfamiliar street turns into a life-altering series of events.

Themes

Deception within marriage, Escape from monotony, Care and boundary testing, Affair implications, Commitment vs authenticity, Routine vs longing

Available on

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

Ask Me Anything

3. Ask Me Anything

Drama Coming-of-Age Drama
6.0
20141h 40min

Overview

Beautiful, wild, funny, and lost, Katie Kampenfelt takes a year off before college to find herself, all the while chronicling her adventures in an anonymous blog into which she pours her innermost secrets. Eventually, Katie's fearless narrative begins to crack, and dark pieces of her past emerge.

Themes

Coming-of-age pressures, Age-gap dynamics, Privacy versus exposure, Sexual exploration and risk, Family disruption and care, Trust and deception

Available on

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

Chinese Puzzle

4. Chinese Puzzle

Comedy Drama Romance Romantic Comedy Family Drama
6.9
20131h 57min

Overview

Xavier is a 40-year-old father of two who still finds life very complicated. When the mother of his children moves to New York, he can't bear them growing up far away from him and so he decides to move there as well.

Themes

Deception in relationships, Urban alienation, Immigration policy pressure, Cross-cultural negotiation, Family obligation and independence, Transnational belonging

Available on

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

Philomena

5. Philomena

Drama Family Drama
7.6
20131h 38min

Overview

A woman searches for her adult son, who was taken away from her decades ago when she was forced to live in a convent.

Themes

Mother son relationship, Convent secrets, Records destruction, Search for child, Adoption ethics, Abuse in care

Available on

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

Delivery Man

6. Delivery Man

Comedy High-Concept Comedy
6.3
20131h 45min

Overview

An affable underachiever finds out he's fathered 533 children through anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years ago. Now he must decide whether or not to come forward when 142 of them file a lawsuit to reveal his identity.

Themes

Secrecy and disclosure, Unintended fatherhood, Deception and legitimacy, Economic incentives in family life, Intergenerational impact, Responsibility vs risk

Available on

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

Scenic Route

7. Scenic Route

Drama Thriller Survival Thriller Relationship Drama
6.4
20131h 25min

Overview

Stranded on an isolated desert road, two life-long friends fight for survival as their already strained relationship spirals into knife-wielding madness.

Themes

Deception and suspicion, Pursuit of dreams, Loyalty under pressure, Survival under isolation, Drifting friendships, Fragile reconciliation

Available on

Amazon Video
Hoopla
Fandango At Home
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Fruitvale Station

8. Fruitvale Station

Drama Tragic Drama
7.5
20131h 22min

Overview

Oakland, California. Young Afro-American Oscar Grant crosses paths with family members, friends, enemies and strangers before facing his fate on the platform at Fruitvale Station, in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009.

Themes

Family ties under strain, Racial identity under pressure, Collective memory and protest, Policing and accountability, Racism as social pressure, Urban fragility and everyday life

Available on

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

The Way Way Back

9. The Way Way Back

Comedy Drama Coming-of-Age Drama Buddy Comedy
7.4
20131h 43min

Overview

Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.

Themes

Family boundary tensions, Coming of age pressures, Mentor dynamics, Belonging and exclusion, Neglect and seeking acceptance, Water park pressure

Available on

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

Admission

10. Admission

Comedy Drama Romance Romantic Comedy Relationship Drama
5.7
20131h 47min

Overview

Straitlaced Princeton University admissions officer Portia Nathan is caught off-guard when she makes a recruiting visit to an alternative high school overseen by her former classmate, the freewheeling John Pressman. Pressman has surmised that Jeremiah, his gifted yet very unconventional student, might well be the son that Portia secretly gave up for adoption many years ago.

Themes

Power dynamics in academia, Elite education pressure, Admission bias and manipulation, Secrecy of parentage, Ethics in admissions, Class mobility and aspiration

Available on

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