Crime backdrop

Crime movies

A deep dive into the underworld of gangsters, detectives, and heists where the line between right and wrong blurs.

Subgenres include: Organized Crime, Heist, Con Artist Crime.

We Own the Night

851. We Own the Night

Drama Crime Thriller Organized Crime Revenge Thriller
6.8

20071h 58min

United States

Director: James Gray

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.

Themes

Loyalty and betrayal among associates, Family loyalty under crime, Crime and law enforcement clash, Nightlife as underworld conduit, Protection and vengeance dynamics, Duty versus personal life

Available on

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

Michael Clayton

852. Michael Clayton

Drama Thriller Crime Legal Drama Political Thriller
7.2

20072h

United States

Director: Tony Gilroy

A law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.

Themes

Legal ethics under pressure, Deception and cover-up, Business ethics, Corporate malfeasance, Power and influence, Class action stakes

Available on

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

Estômago: A Gastronomic Story

853. Estômago: A Gastronomic Story

Drama Comedy Mystery Crime Dark Comedy
7.8

20071h 53min

Brazil, Italy

Director: Marcos Jorge

In a dog-eat-dog world, Raimundo Nonato has found an alternative way to move ahead: he cooks. No matter what social strata this deceptively innocent young man inhabits, he hones his skills and sharpens his knives—and then he falls in love. Jorge's nimble comic fable provides a smartly constructed gastronomic allegory for ambition and survival.

Themes

Class inequality through aspiration, Power through mastery, Survival through craft, Institutional hierarchy and loyalty, Deception as social tool, Mobilization via skill


Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

854. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Crime Drama Thriller Heist Family Drama
7.3

20071h 57min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Sidney Lumet

When two brothers organize the robbery of their parents' jewelry store, the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that send them and their family hurtling towards a shattering climax.

Themes

Trust vs deception, Greed and risk, Sibling rivalry dynamics, Family betrayal under pressure, Financial desperation motive, Loyalty and consequences

Available on

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

Gone Baby Gone

855. Gone Baby Gone

Crime Drama Mystery Detective Mystery Crime Investigation Mystery
7.6

20071h 53min

United States

Director: Ben Affleck

Police unsuccessfully try to find a four-year-old girl who has gone missing. A frustrated aunt turns to two private detectives, who reluctantly get pulled into a much bigger tangle of lies, drugs, and corruption.

Themes

Deception as survival, Duty versus family, Moral ambiguity in justice, Endangerment of children, Corruption within institutions, Trust vs loyalty

Available on

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

Eastern Promises

856. Eastern Promises

Thriller Crime Mystery Organized Crime Investigation Suspense
7.6

20071h 40min

Canada, United Kingdom

Director: David Cronenberg

A Russian teenager living in London dies during childbirth but leaves clues in her diary that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Power under threat, Mob family loyalty, Female agency under duress, Institutional complicity, Trafficking and exploitation

Available on

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

In the Valley of Elah

857. In the Valley of Elah

History Drama Thriller Crime Mystery
7.1

20072h 4min

United States

Director: Paul Haggis

A career officer and his wife work with a police detective to uncover the truth behind their son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.

Themes

Duty vs loyalty, Military civilian divide, Institutional bias, Trauma and coping, Investigative deception, Parental determination

Available on

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

The Trap

858. The Trap

Crime Drama Thriller
7.9

20071h 46min

Director: Srdan Golubović

Mladen and Marija are an ordinary and happy married couple of the "middle class" of the society in which they live as tenants. Mladen works as a civil engineer in a state company, and Marija is an English teacher in primary school. The couple finds joy in their only son, Nemanja. They discover that Nemanja has a rare heart disease and healing is possible with an operation in a foreign medical center, which costs €26,000.


Reservation Road

859. Reservation Road

Drama Crime Thriller Tragic Drama Revenge Thriller
6.6

20071h 42min

United States, Germany

Director: Terry George

Two fathers' lives intersect when one of them is involved in a terrible and sudden hit-and-run car accident that leaves the other's son dead. In response, the two men react in unexpected ways as a reckoning looms in the near future.

Themes

Duty vs desire, Guilt under pressure, Family disruption and grief, Legal leverage and ethics, Hidden consequences of action

Available on

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

The Brave One

860. The Brave One

Crime Drama Thriller Revenge Thriller Tragic Drama
6.7

20072h 2min

United States

Director: Neil Jordan

A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.

Themes

Trauma and resilience, Female agency under threat, Vigilante ethics vs law, Urban vulnerability and self-protection, Revenge versus justice

Available on

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