Independent Dramas on Netflix
Last updated April 16, 2025
The Girl in the Park
2007 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsFor 15 years, Julia Sandburg (Sigourney Weaver) has mourned the loss of her daughter Maggie, who was kidnapped from a park when she was just 3 years old. When a disturbed young woman (Kate Bosworth) enters her life, Julia longs to believe that her little girl has come home at last. Written and directed by David Auburn, this heartbreaking story of love and loss co-stars David Rasche as Julia's long-suffering husband.
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Cemetery Junction
2010 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsAfter taking a new job to escape a bleak existence as a working-class stiff in a small English town, Freddie Taylor gets involved in more drama than he bargained for when he runs into his former flame in this inspired coming-of-age tale.
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The Day I Was Not Born
2010 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsDuring a layover in Buenos Aires, 31-year-old German athlete Maria is mesmerized by the city, and her bewilderment grows when her father suddenly reveals her true connection to Argentina -- leading her to uncover the painful details of her adoption.
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Fish Tank
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsThe life of hot-tempered teen outcast Mia takes an unexpected turn when her mother, Joanne, brings home a handsome and mysterious boyfriend named Connor, who pledges to bring sweeping positive changes to the household.
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Pariah
2011 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsThough she acts in a traditional, feminine way around her religious parents, Bronx teenage lesbian Alike comfortably expresses her sexuality among her friends. Eventually, her worlds will collide and Alike will have to fully embrace her true self.
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Spun
2002 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsSpun's unique glimpse into the world of methamphetamines has wowed audiences since its debut at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival, with outstanding performances from Jason Schwartzman, Mena Suvari, John Leguizamo, Brittany Murphy and more. The fast-paced, hard-hitting drama expertly combines the gritty reality of drug addiction with occasional biting humor for an unforgettable look at frantic lives spinning out of control.
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Like Crazy
2011 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsAn American man and a British woman fall madly in love while attending college in Los Angeles. But when she returns to London, their trust is tested, forcing them to confront the idea that their love may be impermanent.
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Monster's Ball
2001 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsDeath row in the Louisiana State Penitentiary is the hothouse backdrop for this hard-hitting drama about a racist prison guard who falls in love with the African American wife of a condemned man he helped execute.
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An Englishman in New York
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsJohn Hurt plays celebrated, iconic gay author-artist Quentin Crisp (the subject of Sting's song, "Englishman in New York") in this pseudo biopic that chronicles Crisp's high-profile move from London to New York's Bowery in the 1980s. Cynthia Nixon, Swoosie Kurtz, Denis O'Hare and Jonathan Tucker also star in Richard Laxton's long-anticipated sequel to the groundbreaking, made-for-television adaptation of "The Naked Civil Servant."
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The Art of Getting By
2011 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsFreddie Highmore stars in this romance tale as a teenage rebel with no time for textbooks, but when he's given a glimmer of friendship with longtime crush Sally Howe, the trench-coated loner discovers that some feelings aren't too trite to explore.
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Beginners
2011 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsOliver, a graphic artist, is coming to grips with the imminent death of his father, who, at 75, has one last secret: He's gay. Inspired and confused by his father's determination to find true love at last, Oliver tentatively pursues his own romance.
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The Greatest
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsThree months after Allen and Grace Brewer's teenage son Bennett dies in a car accident, his girlfriend Rose shows up on their doorstep, pregnant with his child and seeking shelter and support.
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$5 a Day
2008 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsWhen con man Nat (Christopher Walken) convinces his straitlaced son, Flynn (Alessandro Nivola), to join him on a road trip, the two learn a few things about each other as they drive to New Mexico, attempting to live on no more than $5 a day.
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Mammoth
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsLukas Moodysson writes and directs this drama centered on three intersecting stories, one of a traveling New Yorker named Leo (Gael García Bernal), another of his surgeon wife, Ellen (Michelle Williams), and also the children of their Filipino nanny, Gloria (Marife Necesito), in the Philippines. A series of dramatic events unfolds after Leo visits Thailand, causing everyone to reexamine their priorities. Sophie Nyweide co-stars.
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Six Degrees of Separation
1993 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsEngaging young con artist Paul appears one day on the doorstep of the Kittredge family. Professing to be a friend of the affluent couple's son, Paul spins a tale of celebrity and despair that deeply affects the pair and their socialite friends.
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The Fitzgerald Family Christmas
2012 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsFamily rifts crop up and complications ensue when absentee father Jim Fitzgerald -- who deserted his wife and seven children two decades earlier -- announces his intention to return home for Christmas.
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The Burning Plain
2008 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsCharlize Theron plays a depressed, sex-obsessed restaurant manager in this moody, fragmented drama -- screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga's directorial debut -- that weaves together four seemingly unrelated stories separated by time and space.
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Spring Forward
1999 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsSpring Forward focuses on the friendship between two men who work for the parks department in a small New England town. His first day on the job, Paul (Liev Schreiber), a skittish ex-con looking for a second chance, is partnered with Murph (Ned Beatty), a grizzled veteran who's nearing retirement. The two seem to have little in common ... but over the course of a year, shared confidences draw them closer together.
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Redbelt
2008 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsIn this riveting character study, a jujitsu master in a financial bind considers entering the arena to compete for cash -- which goes against his values and his integrity. When a gun mishap adds to his debt, he's left at the mercy of gangland thugs.
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Sweet Land
2005 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsNorwegian-American farmer Olaf Torvik (Tim Guinee) and his rural Minnesotan community must struggle to overcome years of anti-German propaganda and prejudice when he discovers that his mail-order bride, Inge (Elizabeth Reaser), is not only a German but also an accidental Socialist. Writer Ali Selim also directs this Independent Spirit Award-winning tale of love's ability to triumph over ignorance.
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The Lucky Ones
2008 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsThree soldiers injured in the Iraq War return to native soil, only to find that their tour of duty has taken its toll on the home front. Hoping to repair their tattered lives, Colee (Rachel McAdams), Cheaver (Tim Robbins) and T.K (Michael Peña) set off on an impromptu cross-country road trip. While Colee seeks to repay her dead boyfriend's family, Cheaver dreams of a big win in LasVegas, and T.K. tries to regain his confidence.
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Ondine
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsA fisherman's life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious woman in his nets. As he falls helplessly in love, his daughter comes to believe that the woman is a magical creature.
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Heavenly Creatures
1994 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsSet in 1950s New Zealand, this chilling true-life drama follows two inseparable teenage girls who retreat to a bizarre imaginary world, until their obsessive friendship invites parental opposition that ultimately begets blood.
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Everything Must Go
2010 | NR | 3.3 out of 5 StarsAfter his alcoholism costs him his marriage and his job as a sales executive, sad sack Nick Halsey tries to make a fresh start -- and hopes to let go of his baggage -- by selling all of his belongings in a yard sale.
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Slums of Beverly Hills
1998 | NR | 3.3 out of 5 StarsWriter-director Tamara Jenkins's semiautobiographical dramedy follows a gawky, fed-up teen as she tries to survive her dysfunctional family -- including her washed-up dad and fresh-from-rehab cousin -- while coming of age in 1970s California.
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