unsentimental backdrop

Movies with unsentimental vibe

The Banker

1. The Banker

Drama Historical Drama
7.3
20202h

Overview

In the 1960s, two entrepreneurs hatch an ingenious business plan to fight for housing integration—and equal access to the American Dream.

Themes

Racial housing discrimination, Housing integration ambitions, Economic opportunity under prejudice, Institutional racism, Banking discrimination and law, Deception and fronting

Available on

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

Spenser Confidential

2. Spenser Confidential

Comedy Action Thriller Buddy Action Investigation Suspense
6.2
20201h 50min

Overview

Spenser, a former Boston patrolman who just got out from prison, teams up with Hawk, an aspiring fighter, to unravel the truth behind the death of two police officers.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Police corruption, Uneasy alliances, Deception and cover-ups, Justice under threat, Ex-cop loyalty under pressure

Available on

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

Avengement

3. Avengement

Crime Action One-Person Army Prison Crime
6.6
20191h 28min

Overview

While on a prison furlough, a lowly criminal evades his guards and returns to his old stomping ground to take revenge on the people who turned him into a cold blooded killer.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Revenge fuels violence, Crime and retribution, Brother against brother, Frame up consequences, Loanshark leverage, Pub as arena

Available on

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

El Angel

4. El Angel

Drama Crime Organized Crime Coming-of-Age Drama
6.9
20181h 55min

Overview

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1971. Carlos Robledo Puch is a 19-year-old boy with an angelic face, but a vocational thief as well, who acts ruthlessly, without remorse. When he meets Ramón, they follow together a dark path of crime and death.

Themes

Lgbt identity under pressure, Based on true story tension, Armed robbery manipulation, Teenage gang deception, Cine argentino style expectations, Gay theme power dynamics

Available on

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

The Professor

5. The Professor

Comedy Drama Dark Comedy Psychological Drama
6.7
20181h 30min

Overview

A world-weary college professor is given a life-changing diagnosis and decides to throw all pretense and conventions to the wind and live his life as boldly and freely as possible with a biting sense of humor, a reckless streak and a touch of madness.

Themes

Work-life conflict, Mortality awareness, Family secrets and affairs, Appearances under strain, Public vs private selves, Professional identity crisis

Available on

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

The Pirates of Somalia

6. The Pirates of Somalia

Drama Professional Drama
6.7
20171h 57min

Overview

After an inspiring chance encounter with his idol, rookie journalist Jay Bahadur uproots his life and moves to Somalia looking for the story of a lifetime. Hooking up with a local fixer, he attempts to get embedded with the local Somali pirates, only to quickly find himself in over his head.

Themes

Embedded journalism ethics, Media gatekeeping and censorship, Risk in field reporting, Outsider influence on piracy, Ethics of portraying crime, Recognition of cultural complexity

Available on

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

White Girl

7. White Girl

Drama Coming-of-Age Drama
5.7
20161h 28min

Overview

Summer, New York City. A college girl falls hard for a guy she just met. After a night of partying goes wrong, she goes to wild extremes to get him back.

Themes

Class inequality, Economic desperation, Power dynamics and control, Deception in intimate exchanges, Systemic bias in justice, Desperate debt cycles, Non-violent poc offenders

Available on

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

Hell or High Water

8. Hell or High Water

Western Crime Drama Modern Western Heist
7.6
20161h 42min

Overview

A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.

Themes

Poverty and family duty, Economic risk and crime, Debt foreclosure pressures, Land and livelihood under threat, Protecting dependents under duress, Moral ambiguity of survival

Available on

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

Being Flynn

9. Being Flynn

Drama Family Drama
6.4
20121h 42min

Overview

Working in a Boston homeless shelter, Nick Flynn re-encounters his father, a con man and self-proclaimed poet. Sensing trouble in his own life, Nick wrestles with the notion of reaching out yet again to his dad.

Themes

Economic precarity, Family estrangement, Addiction and relapse, Caregiving under stress, Creative aspirations under pressure, Belonging and separation

Available on

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

Precious

10. Precious

Drama Tragic Drama
7.3
20091h 50min

Overview

In Harlem in 1987, Claireece "Precious" Jones is a 16-year-old African American girl born into a life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father, and at home she must wait hand and foot on her mother, an angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is chaotic and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and a secret – she can't read.

Themes

Abuse and resilience, Poverty and welfare dependence, Education as escape, Literacy as empowerment, Absent father and aids stigma, Community support and shelter

Available on

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