dry backdrop

Movies with dry vibe

Mona Lisa Smile

1791. Mona Lisa Smile

Drama History Romance Historical Drama Passionate Romance
6.6

20031h 57min

United States

Director: Mike Newell

Katherine Watson is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students, including Betty and Joan, to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.

Themes

Gendered expectations, Tradition vs modernity, Women's independence, Education as emancipation, Professional ambitions of women, Institutional conformity pressure

Available on

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

Goodbye, Dragon Inn

1792. Goodbye, Dragon Inn

Drama Psychological Drama
7.1

20031h 22min

Taiwan

Director: Tsai Ming-liang

On a dark, wet night in Taipei City, a cavernous old picture palace is about to close its doors forever. A meager audience, the remaining few staff, and perhaps even a ghost or two, watch King Hu’s wuxia classic "Dragon Inn", each haunted by memories and desires evoked by cinema itself.

Themes

Mortality and time, Loneliness in cinema, Closing down spaces, Memory vs oblivion, Slow cinema aesthetics, Art house fragility

Available on

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

Dead End

1793. Dead End

Mystery Horror Thriller Psychological Horror Survival Thriller
6.5

20031h 23min

France, United States

Director: Jean-Baptiste Andrea

Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.

Themes

Fear as control, Deception under pressure, Family stress under danger, Isolation in remote setting, Consequences of shortcuts, Paranoia after trauma

Available on

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

The Station Agent

1794. The Station Agent

Drama Comedy Relationship Drama Awkward Comedy
7.6

20031h 28min

United States

Director: Tom McCarthy

When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.

Themes

Loneliness vs connection, Vulnerability and care, Unlikely friendships, Outsider integration, Disruption of solitude, Routine as shelter

Available on

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

Bad Santa

1795. Bad Santa

Drama Comedy Crime Dark Comedy Con Artist Crime
7.0

20031h 32min

United States, Germany

Director: Terry Zwigoff

You'd better watch out - Santa Claus Willie T. Soke is coming to town, and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Wille's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year his plot gets derailed by a wisecracking store detective, a sexy bartender, and a kid who's convinced Willie is the real Santa Claus.

Themes

Deception and disguise, Crime under pressure, Blackmail and extortion, Addiction and self-destruction, Child vulnerability, Protective guardianship

Available on

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

The Cooler

1796. The Cooler

Romance Drama Bittersweet Romance Psychological Drama
6.9

20031h 41min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Wayne Kramer

Bernie works at a Las Vegas casino, where he uses his innate ability to bring about misfortune in those around him to jinx gamblers into losing. His imposing boss, Shelly Kaplow, is happy with the arrangement. But Bernie finds unexpected happiness when he begins dating attractive waitress Natalie Belisario.

Themes

Deception in romance, Casino dynamics, Bad luck manipulation, Card game stakes, Voyeurism tension, Drug abuse leverage

Available on

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

British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.

Themes

Death penalty scrutiny, Post-conviction appeals, Trauma under trial, Legal strategy under pressure, Finances and ethics in defense, State vs defense tension

Available on

Amazon Video
The Roku Channel
Plex Channel
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Kontroll

1798. Kontroll

Comedy Crime Drama Thriller Serial Killer Crime
7.6

20031h 47min

Hungary

Director: Nimród Antal

A tale about a strange young man, Bulcsú, and the fellow ticket inspectors on his team who work aboard the subterranean Budapest Metro. A tale about racing along the tracks, and about a mysterious serial killer. And a tale about love.

Themes

Urban claustrophobic paranoia, Violence and anxiety in daily life, Rivalries and loyalties at work, Routine policing under pressure, Underground pursuit dynamics, Love amid danger

Available on

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

Shattered Glass

1799. Shattered Glass

Drama History Professional Drama Biographical History
7.1

20031h 34min

Canada, United States

Director: Billy Ray

The true story of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist Stephen Glass, who rose to meteoric heights as a young writer in his 20s, becoming a staff writer at The New Republic for three years. Looking for a short cut to fame, Glass concocted sources, quotes and even entire stories, but his deception did not go unnoticed forever, and eventually, his world came crumbling down.

Themes

Deception under pressure, Credibility under scrutiny, Verification failures, Professional accountability, Popularity vs integrity, Media ethics tensions

Available on

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

The Human Stain

1800. The Human Stain

Drama Romance Relationship Drama Dark Romance
6.2

20031h 46min

France, Germany

Director: Robert Benton

Coleman Silk is a worldly and admired professor who loses his job after unwittingly making a racial slur. To clear his name, Silk writes a book about the events with his friend and colleague Nathan Zuckerman, who in the process discovers a dark secret Silk has hidden his whole life. All the while, Silk engages in an affair with Faunia Farley, a younger woman whose tormented past threatens to unravel the layers of deception Silk has constructed.

Themes

Power dynamics in relationships, Racial identity concealment, Academic reputation consequences, Secret life and social judgment, Deception and self-presentation

Available on

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