Coming-of-Age Drama backdrop

Coming-of-Age Drama movies

Growing-up drama about identity, belonging, first independence, and life choices that can’t be undone.

Billy Elliot

381. Billy Elliot

Drama Comedy Music Coming-of-Age Drama Dance-Centered Music Film
7.7

20001h 51min

France, United Kingdom

Director: Stephen Daldry

Overview

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

Themes

Class inequality, Pursuit of dreams, Mentorship and sacrifice, Working class solidarity, Identity and stigma, Generational loyalty

Available on

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

Almost Famous

382. Almost Famous

Drama Music Coming-of-Age Drama Backstage & Showbiz Music
7.9

20002h 4min

United States

Director: Cameron Crowe

Overview

In 1973, 15-year-old William Miller's unabashed love of music and aspiration to become a rock journalist lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview and tour with the up-and-coming band, Stillwater.

Themes

Loyalty and betrayal, Coming of age on tour, Groupie culture and desire, Fame and exploitation, Creative ambition under pressure, Mentorship and gatekeeping

Available on

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

Where the Heart Is

383. Where the Heart Is

Comedy Drama Romance Coming-of-Age Drama Romantic Comedy
6.7

20002h

United States

Director: Matt Williams

Overview

Novalee Nation is a 17-year-old Tennessee transient who has to grow up in a hurry when she's left pregnant and abandoned by her boyfriend on a roadside, and takes refuge in the friendly aisles of Wal-Mart. Eventually, some eccentric but kindly strangers 'adopt' Novalee and her infant daughter, helping them buck the odds and build a new life.

Themes

Teenage pregnancy stigma, Resilience through strangers, Mentorship through craft, Unreliable family ties, Inheritance and new beginnings, Community shelter and care

Available on

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

The Virgin Suicides

384. The Virgin Suicides

Drama Romance Coming-of-Age Drama Dark Romance
7.2

20001h 37min

United States

Director: Sofia Coppola

Overview

A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents.

Themes

Overprotective parenting, Male gaze pressure, Adolescent longing, Suburban isolation, Secrecy and performance, Collective memory

Available on

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

Malena

385. Malena

Drama Coming-of-Age Drama
7.4

20001h 48min

Italy, United States

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Overview

During WWII, a teenage boy discovering himself becomes love-stricken by Malèna, a sensual woman living in a small, narrow-minded Italian town.

Themes

Rumor fueled reputation, Gendered double standards, World war ii stigma, Economic precarity and survival, Sex trafficking consequences, Social reintegration pressures

Available on

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

My Dog Skip

386. My Dog Skip

Comedy Drama Family Coming-of-Age Drama Animal Companion Family
7.0

20001h 35min

United States

Director: Jay Russell

Overview

A shy boy is unable to make friends in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1942, until his parents give him a terrier puppy for his ninth birthday. The dog, which he names Skip, becomes well known and loved throughout the community and enriches the life of the boy, Willie, as he grows into manhood. Based on the best-selling Mississippi memoir by the late Willie Morris.

Themes

Loneliness to belonging, Family support and resilience, War's disruption on home life, Companionship shaping identity, Bullying under social pressure, Coming of age through friendship

Available on

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

10 Things I Hate About You

387. 10 Things I Hate About You

Comedy Romance Drama Romantic Comedy Coming-of-Age Drama
7.4

19991h 37min

United States

Director: Gil Junger

Overview

On the first day at his new school, Cameron instantly falls for Bianca, the gorgeous girl of his dreams. The only problem is that Bianca is forbidden to date until her ill-tempered, completely un-dateable older sister Kat goes out, too. In an attempt to solve his problem, Cameron singles out the only guy who could possibly be a match for Kat: a mysterious bad boy with a nasty reputation of his own.

Themes

Deception in dating, Overprotective father constraint, High school romance dynamics, Coming of age pressures, Valentine's day expectations, Opposites attract tension

Available on

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

Trainspotting

388. Trainspotting

Drama Crime Coming-of-Age Drama Narcotics Crime
8.1

19961h 34min

United Kingdom

Director: Danny Boyle

Overview

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

Themes

Drug addiction cycles, Underground drug economy, Rehab and relapse, Peer influence and manipulation, Moral ambiguity in choices, Urban isolation

Available on

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

Powder

389. Powder

Drama Fantasy Coming-of-Age Drama Supernatural Fantasy
6.6

19951h 52min

United States

Director: Victor Salva

Overview

Harassed by classmates who won't accept his shocking appearance, a shy young man known as "Powder" struggles to fit in. But the cruel taunts stop when Powder displays a mysterious power that allows him to do incredible things. This phenomenon changes the lives of all those around him in ways they never could have imagined.

Themes

Power and responsibility, Appearance based stigma, Social isolation and belonging, Ethical use of power, Interconnected humanity, Belonging through difference

Available on

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

Kids

390. Kids

Drama Crime Coming-of-Age Drama Narcotics Crime
7.0

19951h 31min

United States

Director: Larry Clark

Overview

A day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.

Themes

Illicit youth culture, Urban alienation, Peer pressure dynamics, Reckless experimentation, Health risk and stigma, Street violence and consequence

Available on

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