Psychological Drama backdrop

Psychological Drama movies

Drama where an unstable mental state drives the plot: paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, identity breakdown, or psychological collapse.

291. Unbreakable

Unbreakable
Thriller Drama Mystery Mind Game Thriller Investigation Mystery
7.3
20001h 46minUnited States
Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Overview

An ordinary man makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead — and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious Elijah Price, a man who suffers from a disease that renders his bones as fragile as glass.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Obsession with power and control, Hidden perceptual abilities and ethics, Frailty and invulnerability, Moral ambiguity under threat, Hidden identities and trust

Available on

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

292. Maelström

Maelström
Drama Comedy Psychological Drama Dark Comedy
6.7
20001h 27minCanada
Director: Denis Villeneuve

Overview

A young woman's life spirals into chaos after she is involved in a hit-and-run accident. Then she encounters a mysterious man named Evian who offers her an opportunity for redemption. Narrated by a fish.

Themes

Deception and concealment, Female agency under scrutiny, Moral ambiguity under crisis, Material success vs personal cost, Abortion and social pressure, Chance and consequence

Available on

Kanopy
Philo
Fandor Amazon Channel
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

293. Nine Queens

Nine Queens
Crime Thriller Drama Con Artist Crime Investigation Suspense
7.9
20001h 54minArgentina
Director: Fabián Bielinsky

Overview

Two con artists try to swindle a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps, the "nine queens".

Themes

Deception and betrayal, Family inheritance pressures, Counterfeit economy and scams, Fragile justice system, Social mobility through crime, Risk and improvisation in crime

Available on

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

294. Nurse Betty

Nurse Betty
Comedy Crime Thriller Drama Romance
6.3
20001h 48minGermany, United States
Director: Neil LaBute

Overview

What happens when a person decides that life is merely a state of mind? If you're Betty, a small-town waitress and soap opera fan from Fair Oaks, Kansas, you refuse to believe that you can't be with the love of your life just because he doesn't really exist. After all, life is no excuse for not living. Traumatized by a savage event, Betty enters into a fugue state that allows -- even encourages -- her to keep functioning... in a kind of alternate reality.

Themes

Crisis-induced fugue state, Fantasy vs reality, Deception and role-playing, Emotional labor under threat, Caregiving under danger, Public performance and identity

Available on

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

295. With a Friend Like Harry...

With a Friend Like Harry...
Drama Comedy Mystery Psychological Drama Unreliable Perspective Mystery
7.1
20001h 57minFrance
Director: Dominik Moll

Overview

Harry knew Michel in high school; they meet again by accident, Harry inserts himself in Michel's life... and things take a sinister turn.

Themes

Outsider intrusion, Family pressure and control, Trauma and writing as response, Moral ambiguity in relationships, Secrecy and deceit, Manipulation through hospitality

Available on

Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Canal VOD
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

296. Chopper

Chopper
Crime Drama Thriller Organized Crime Psychological Drama
7.1
20001h 34minAustralia
Director: Andrew Dominik

Overview

The true and infamous story of Australia's notorious criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read and his years of crime, interest in violence, drugs and prostitutes.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Risk and retaliation, Prison violence, Drug culture and crime, Justice system pressure, Codes of loyalty

Available on

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

297. Gangster No. 1

Gangster No. 1
Action Drama Thriller Crime Organized Crime
6.7
20001h 43minGermany, Ireland
Director: Paul McGuigan

Overview

An old gangster is advised that Freddie Mays would leave jail after thirty years in prison. His mood changes and he recalls when he was a young punk and who joined Freddie's gang—a man he both envied and ultimately betrayed.

Themes

Revenge and consequences, Loyalty under pressure, Betrayal within crime networks, Rise and fall of crime, Leadership through violence, Prison as turning point

Available on

YouTube
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

298. 28 Days

28 Days
Comedy Drama Psychological Drama Dark Comedy
6.1
20001h 43minUnited States
Director: Betty Thomas

Overview

After getting into a car accident while drunk on the day of her sister's wedding, Gwen Cummings is given a choice between prison or a rehab center. She chooses rehab, but is extremely resistant to taking part in any of the treatment programs they have to offer, refusing to admit that she has an alcohol addiction.

Themes

Addiction and rehab, Wedding day tensions, Car crash aftermath, Withdrawal and relapse risk, Group therapy dynamics, Autonomy in sobriety

Available on

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

299. Waking the Dead

Waking the Dead
Mystery Drama Romance Psychological Drama Bittersweet Romance
6.4
20001h 45minCanada, United States
Director: Keith Gordon

Overview

A congressional candidate questions his sanity after seeing the love of his life, presumed dead, suddenly emerge.

Themes

Oppression and resistance, Political ambition and ethics, Memory versus perception, Public life versus private life, Idealism in crisis, Legitimacy and doubt

Available on

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

300. The Gift

The Gift
Horror Drama Thriller Mystery Supernatural Horror
6.7
20001h 52minUnited States
Director: Sam Raimi

Overview

Annie Wilson, young widow and mother of three, makes her living foretelling others' futures⁠—though her own has become cloudier than even she can see. Threatened by a client's violent husband and plagued by visions of a missing local woman, Annie finds herself pulled into a thicket of lies and deception in which her extraordinary gift may ultimately get her killed.

Themes

Deception and betrayal, Abuse of power, Women and vulnerability, Credulity under scrutiny, Premonition challenges norms, Small town paranoia

Available on

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