high-pressure backdrop

Movies with high-pressure vibe

Thoroughbreds

1. Thoroughbreds

Drama Thriller Mind Game Thriller Psychological Drama
6.6
20181h 32min

Overview

Lily and Amanda, two high school students living in suburban Connecticut, rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of drifting apart. Together, they devise a plan to kill Lily's abusive stepfather by hiring a lowlife drug dealer.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Parental abuse and control, Wealth and entitlement, Adolescent alliances and betrayal, Moral disengagement and indifference, Social performance and image

Available on

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

The Silent Revolution

2. The Silent Revolution

Drama History Historical Drama Political History
7.4
20181h 52min

Overview

Stalinstadt, East Germany, 1956. While the Hungarian uprising against Soviets is taking place, teenage members of a classroom of the local school perform a seemingly harmless act that causes unexpected consequences.

Themes

Freedom of expression, Police state pressure, Class-based conformity, State authority control, Misinformation manipulation, Youth rebellion dynamics

Available on

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

Every Day

3. Every Day

Romance Fantasy Supernatural Fantasy Fantasy Romance
6.4
20181h 37min

Overview

16-year old Rhiannon falls in love with a mysterious spirit named “A” that inhabits a different body every day. Feeling an unmatched connection, Rhiannon and “A” work each day to find each other, not knowing what the next day will bring.

Themes

Body as vessel, Privacy vs intrusion, Family stress, Romance across bodies, Identity across change

Available on

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

Love, Simon

4. Love, Simon

Comedy Drama Romance Romantic Comedy Coming-of-Age Drama
7.5
20181h 50min

Overview

Simon hides behind perfect suburban normalcy, coasting through school as the guy who never rocks the boat—until an anonymous online crush pulls him into a secret romance that could blow up everything. When a classmate discovers his emails and blackmails him, Simon must protect his lie while his real life starts to crack.

Themes

Coming out anxiety, Sexual identity pressures, Bully dynamics in high school, Lgbt teen experience, Privacy and visibility, High school social climate

Available on

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

The Mercy

5. The Mercy

Drama Adventure Historical Drama Maritime Adventure
6.0
20181h 42min

Overview

In 1968, Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor, endangers the fate of his family and business, and his own life, blinded by his ambition to compete in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, attempting to become the first person in history to single-handedly circumnavigate the world without making any stopover.

Themes

Ambition under pressure, Deception under scrutiny, Family financial strain, Risk and responsibility, Public attention and guilt

Available on

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

Custody

6. Custody

Drama Thriller Family Drama Domestic Thriller
7.5
20181h 33min

Overview

Miriam and Antoine have recently separated. While she’s willing to permit their 17-year-old daughter Josephine to decide living arrangements for herself, Miriam is desperate to keep her youngest, 11-year-old Julien, away from his father. But the magistrate rules in favour of joint custody, and suddenly the boy is thrown directly into the middle of an escalating parental conflict, where it seems inevitable that sides must be chosen.

Themes

Parent child relationship, Custody battle, Abusive father, Divorce and separation, Frightened boy, Joint custody pressure

Available on

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

The Post

7. The Post

Drama History Historical Drama Political History
7.2
20171h 56min

Overview

A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between journalist and government. Inspired by true events.

Themes

Publisher pressure and journalistic independence, Public-interest journalism vs government cover-up, Newspaper ethics under legal threat, Vietnam war context shaping reporting, Pentagon papers as disclosure precedent

Available on

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

Overview

A homicide detective teams up with a criminal profiler to catch a serial killer whose crimes are inspired by the children's game, Hangman.

Themes

Deception and misdirection, Abusive foster care, Ethics of policing under threat, Revenge across generations, Trauma shaping violence, Obsessive pursuit under pressure

Available on

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

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

9. Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Drama Crime Thriller Legal Drama Political Thriller
6.5
20172h 2min

Overview

Hard-nosed liberal lawyer Roman J. Israel has been fighting the good fight forever while others take the credit. When his partner – the firm's frontman – has a heart attack, Israel suddenly takes on that role. He soon discovers some unsettling truths about the firm – truths that conflict with his values of helping the poor and dispossessed – and finds himself in an existential crisis that leads to extreme actions.

Themes

Ethical compromise under pressure, Civil rights advocacy, Justice system reform, Professional ambition vs civic duty, Class and access to justice, Power dynamics in law

Available on

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

The Motive

10. The Motive

Drama Psychological Drama
6.5
20171h 44min

Overview

Álvaro, a man obsessed with the idea of writing what he brands as “high literature,” manipulates the lives and feelings of the people around him to write about the consequences caused by his devious acts.

Themes

Obsession with high literature, Reality as material, Manipulation of others, Consequences of fiction, Ethical ambiguity in craft, Boundary violation

Available on

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