Dramas based on contemporary literature on Netflix
Last updated January 22, 2025
The Tree
2010 | NR | 3.2 out of 5 StarsAfter her husband's sudden death, Dawn must provide for her four kids despite her grief, while young Simone is convinced her father's spirit now lives in a giant fig tree in the yard. But the tree's roots soon threaten the stability of their home.
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One Day
2011 | NR | 3.1 out of 5 StarsAfter a romantic tryst on college graduation night, Emma and Dexter pursue separate dreams. This romantic drama based on a novel of the same name checks in with them each year on the same date, tracking their personal and professional progress.
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Cracks
2009 | NR | 3.1 out of 5 StarsMiss G., a teacher at a girls' boarding school, is unusually close with one of her charges, Di. But when the arrival of a new student evokes strong emotions, disrupting Miss G.'s relationship with the others, it is certain that someone will get hurt.
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Bringing Out the Dead
1999 | NR | 3.1 out of 5 StarsAn ambulance driver on the verge of a nervous breakdown stumbles through three sleepless nights on the job accompanied by a callous crew and finds humanity in an unlikely friendship with a heart-attack victim's ex-junkie daughter.
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The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
2009 | NR | 3.1 out of 5 StarsWhen her husband, who's 30 years her senior, relocates the family to a retirement community, flawless wife and mother Pippa Lee slides toward a nervous breakdown as she reflects on her tumultuous past and befriends her neighbor's enigmatic son.
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Mister Foe
2007 | NR | 3.1 out of 5 StarsIn a darkly twisted plot, teenage voyeur Hallam Foe spies on his stepmother through binoculars, finding himself irresistibly attracted to her even as he becomes convinced that she murdered his mother.
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Down to the Dirt
2008 | NR | 3.0 out of 5 StarsDrug addict Keith Kavanagh (Joel Thomas Hynes) longs to clean up his act and get a new start on life, but lacks the motivation to do so. Determined to escape both his small Newfoundland town and his addictions, Keith seeks solace in his girlfriend Natasha (Mylene Savoie) but eventually descends further into depravity. Hynes also penned the semiautobiographical novel that inspired this dark drama.
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The Bad Mother's Handbook
2007 | NR | 3.0 out of 5 StarsMoonstruck sixth-form misfit Daniel Gale (Robert Pattinson) woos mouthy schoolmate Charlotte Cooper (Holly Grainger) but finds himself swapping bouquets for baby advice when she shares the secret that she might be pregnant in this charming slice-of-teen-life comedy-drama. Daniel's fancy proves more than fair weather as Charlotte heads gamely toward a future her own single mum, Karen (Catherine Tate), is determined won't turn out as hers did.
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Freedomland
2006 | NR | 3.0 out of 5 StarsWhen a single mother reports that her infant son was murdered by a black man from the projects, an intrepid African-American detective and a white journalist team up to dig for details but what they unearth is hard to believe.
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Being Flynn
2012 | NR | 3.0 out of 5 StarsA young man employed at a Boston homeless shelter comes upon his long-lost, destitute and alcoholic father while at work one evening in this subtle, emotionally charged drama based on the acclaimed memoir by poet and playwright Nick Flynn.
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Lie with Me
2005 | NR | 2.9 out of 5 StarsHappily unattached, the sexually voracious Leila satisfies her desires with a host of rapidly changing bed partners, unconcerned about the emotional consequences. But that all changes when she meets an artist looking for a deeper commitment.
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My Summer of Love
2004 | NR | 2.9 out of 5 StarsMona is tired of her working-class roots, and Tamsin is bored with her pampered lifestyle. When their opposite worlds collide unexpectedly, the girls sense an immediate attraction. But can their unusual friendship survive their differences?
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Adam Resurrected
2008 | NR | 2.9 out of 5 StarsDecades after he survived the Holocaust by becoming a pet "dog" to a brutal concentration camp commandant (Willem Dafoe), Jewish circus entertainer Adam Stein (Jeff Goldblum) finds himself confined to an Israeli mental institution. But when he encounters a feral young boy being held like a dog in the hospital's basement, Stein discovers a new opportunity to reclaim his humanity. Paul Schrader directs this biting drama.
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Spies of Warsaw: Season 1
2013 | NR | 2.9 out of 5 StarsWith World War II looming, a French military attaché is posted to Warsaw and soon finds himself entangled in multiple espionage intrigues. Meanwhile, he falls for a bewitching Parisian attorney also engaged in global political affairs.
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Spies of Warsaw
2013 | NR | 2.9 out of 5 StarsAs Germany prepares to lead the world into war, military attaché Col. Jean-François Mercier tries to convince French leaders of the growing danger. While risking his life to make his case, he unexpectedly falls in love with a Parisian lawyer.
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Unforgivable
2011 | NR | 2.8 out of 5 StarsThis moody drama follows the increasingly chaotic life of Francis, a crime novelist who moves to Venice to write his next book. After starting an affair with a young beauty, Francis suspects her of cheating -- even as his own daughter goes missing.
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Dangerous Parking
2007 | NR | 2.8 out of 5 StarsThis drama based on a novel by Stuart Browne recounts the desperate life of film director Noah Arkwright (Peter Howett), a drug addict and alcoholic who's finally inspired to turn things around ... but is it too late? A fellow alcoholic (Rachael Stirling) persuades Noah to give sobriety a try, and his pal Ray (Sean Pertwee) helps him out, but it's Claire (Saffron Burrows), a bewitching cellist, who makes Noah really want to become a better man.
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The Loneliest Planet
2011 | NR | 2.7 out of 5 StarsAlex and Nica, a young engaged couple, are so eager to take a serious walking trek through Georgia's Caucasus Mountains that they hire a local guide. As they travel deep into the wild landscape, however, the emotional atmosphere shifts for the trio.
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Boogie Woogie
2009 | NR | 2.7 out of 5 StarsA star-studded cast brings the eccentricities of the contemporary London art scene to life in this character-driven satire, which centers on Piet Mondrian's iconic painting -- who owns it and who wants to possess it.
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Gal Young'Un
1979 | NR | 2.5 out of 5 StarsMarking his first film out of the gate, Victor Nuñez wrote, directed, photographed, edited and produced this Prohibition-era tale about a young drifter (David Peck) who sets his sights on marrying a middle-aged widow (Dana Preu) for her money. His true intentions are painfully obvious to everyone -- including the widow, who's perfectly fine without a man. But that only makes his overtures all the more charming.
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Tied
2013 | NR | 2.2 out of 5 StarsA wealthy banker and his dominant mistress push each other to their limits through increasingly extreme and dangerous desires. Soon, their sadomasochistic impulses threaten to destroy them both.
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