restrained backdrop

Movies with restrained vibe

Ammonite

1. Ammonite

Romance Drama Passionate Romance Historical Drama
6.5
20201h 58min

Overview

In 1840s England, palaeontologist Mary Anning and a young woman sent by her husband to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship. Despite the chasm between their social spheres and personalities, Mary and Charlotte discover they can each offer what the other has been searching for: the realisation that they are not alone. It is the beginning of a passionate and all-consuming love affair that will defy all social bounds and alter the course of both lives irrevocably.

Themes

Social expectations, Forbidden intimacy, Class boundaries, Endurance and care, Female companionship, Scientific ambition

Available on

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

Hillbilly Elegy

2. Hillbilly Elegy

Drama Family Drama
6.7
20201h 57min

Overview

An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.

Themes

Class inequality, Intergenerational trauma, Economic mobility, Substance abuse burden, Family loyalty vs dysfunction, Single motherhood

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
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The Life Ahead

3. The Life Ahead

Drama Family Drama
6.8
20201h 34min

Overview

In seaside Italy, a Holocaust survivor with a daycare business takes in a 12-year-old street kid who recently robbed her.

Themes

Immigrant precarity, Community solidarity under pressure, Intergenerational caregiving, Aging and decline, Care as obligation, Vulnerability of street youth, Fear of medical institutions

Available on

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

A Call to Spy

4. A Call to Spy

History Crime Drama Biographical History Historical Drama
6.7
20202h 4min

Overview

The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These civilian women form an unlikely sisterhood while entangled in dangerous missions to turn the tide of the war.

Themes

Sisterhood under pressure, Disability and resilience, Women in espionage, Civilian agents in conflict, Recruitment ethics in wartime

Available on

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

Another Round

5. Another Round

Comedy Drama Dark Comedy Coming-of-Age Drama
7.7
20201h 57min

Overview

Four stagnant high school teachers decide to test out a theory that maintaining a constant level of intoxication will improve their overall lives.

Themes

Work-life balance strain, Social pressure to perform, Group conformity dynamics, Alcohol as coping mechanism, Boundary testing consequences, Teacher-student dynamics

Available on

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

Violet Evergarden: The Movie

6. Violet Evergarden: The Movie

Animation Fantasy Romance Drama Anime
8.3
20202h 20min

Overview

As the world moves on from the war and technological advances bring changes to her life, Violet still hopes to see her lost commanding officer again.

Themes

Memory through letters, Romance under constraint, Island isolation, Duty and belonging, Post war pressures, Technological change

Available on

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

Archive

7. Archive

Science Fiction Drama Fantasy Thriller AI Sci-Fi
6.4
20201h 49min

Overview

2038: George Almore is working on a true human-equivalent AI, and his latest prototype is almost ready. This sensitive phase is also the riskiest as he has a goal that must be hidden at all costs—being reunited with his dead wife.

Themes

Loss and resilience, Isolation and longing, Memory ownership, Boundaries of humanity, Ethics of artificial consciousness, Creation vs control, Jealousy and agency

Available on

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

Summerland

8. Summerland

Drama Romance Historical Drama Bittersweet Romance
7.0
20201h 39min

Overview

A woman during the Second World War opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him.

Themes

Desire for motherhood, Deception in guardianship, Same-sex relationship, Myth and afterlife belief, Wartime caregiving

Available on

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

The Secret: Dare to Dream

9. The Secret: Dare to Dream

Drama Romance Family Drama Passionate Romance
6.5
20201h 47min

Overview

A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.

Themes

Trust under pressure, Loyalty vs independence, Economic strain on family, Hope vs skepticism, Creative collaboration under stress, Intergenerational resilience

Available on

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

The Occupant

10. The Occupant

Thriller Drama Domestic Thriller Psychological Drama
6.4
20201h 43min

Overview

An unemployed executive is forced to sell his apartment. When he discovers that he still has the keys, he becomes obsessed with the family that now lives there and decides to recover the life he has lost, at any price.

Themes

Economic precarity, Invasion of privacy, Obsession and intrusion, Boundary crossing, Loss and recovery price, Manipulation of access

Available on

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