Social Issue Dramas on Netflix
Last updated December 21, 2024
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsNot to be confused with the tale by Ernest Hemingway, this unsettling drama recounts the violent criminal assault and robbery committed against a middle-aged couple, and their discovery that a person they knew orchestrated the attack.
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My Bodyguard
1980 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsTormented by a gang of bullies -- led by Matt Dillon, in one of his first film roles -- sheltered new kid Clifford (Chris Makepeace) seeks protection from older student Linderman (Adam Baldwin), a burly loner who's rumored to have killed -- and possibly eaten -- his own brother. Martin Mull, Ruth Gordon and Joan Cusack also star in this coming-of-age story about an unlikely friendship between two outcasts. Tony Bill directs.
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Life, Above All
2010 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsIn a tiny village near Johannesburg, 12-year-old Chanda is left to care for two younger siblings when her infant sister dies and her mother becomes gravely ill. But this isn't the only challenge she faces; the town has turned against her.
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Made in Dagenham
2010 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsSally Hawkins stars in this cheeky dramatization of the landmark 1968 labor strike initiated by hundreds of women who rebelled against discrimination and demanded equal pay for their work in a London automobile manufacturing plant.
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The People vs. Larry Flynt
1996 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsNotorious pornographer Larry Flynt carries his free-speech campaign from lowly strip clubs to the U.S. Supreme Court in this Oscar-nominated biopic, which blends details of the publisher's legal battles with scenes from his personal life.
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Amreeka
2009 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsEager to provide a better future for her son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem), divorcée Muna Farah (Nisreen Faour) leaves her Palestinian homeland and takes up residence in rural Illinois -- just in time to encounter the domestic repercussions of America's disastrous war in Iraq. Now, the duo must reinvent their lives with some help from Muna's sister, Raghda (Hiam Abbass), and brother-in-law, Nabeel (Yussuf Abu-Warda). Cherien Dabis writes and directs.
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Mona Lisa Smile
2003 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsAt Wellesley College in 1953, the all-female student population constitutes the best and the brightest, yet they're still measured by how well they marry until the arrival of professor Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) threatens to tip the status quo. Watson's teaching not only raises the ire of many administrators but also a few of the students (including Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal) she dares to inspire.
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Monster
2003 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsCharlize Theron took home the Best Actress Oscar for her electrifying performance as Aileen Wuornos, an emotionally scarred highway hooker who shoots a sadistic client and ultimately becomes America's first female serial killer.
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The Messenger
2009 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsAn injured soldier is paired with a by-the-book captain to notify families of their loss -- a job that bonds them as they debate differing views on serving America. At odds at first, the two find common ground while facing life's variety of battles.
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Crossing Over
2009 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThis thoughtful drama weaves together several stories as it examines immigration in Los Angeles, providing a harrowing look at border crossing, document fraud, asylum seekers, naturalization, counterterrorism and the clash of cultures in America.
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Grand Canyon
1991 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsA sequence of random but life-altering incidents conspire to link a group of Los Angeles denizens from disparate economic and social classes, leading to epiphanies about responsibilities and relationships in director Lawrence Kasdan's pensive drama. Ultimately, two men from divergent lifestyles try to be friends. Co-written by Kasdan and his wife, and featuring a top-notch ensemble cast, the film received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.
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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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The Panic in Needle Park
1971 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsYoung heroin addict Bobby introduces his drug-free girlfriend to New York's "Needle Park." But in this sordid world peopled with addicts who lie, cheat and steal their way to their next fix, will Bobby feel any guilt for corrupting a pure soul?
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The Lords of Discipline
1983 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsAt Carolina Military Institute, senior Will McLean is tasked with safeguarding Pearce -- the school's first black cadet. When it appears that Pearce has been marked for death, McLean begins an investigation that leads to a cabal of elite students.
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Rent
2005 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsChris Columbus's faithful adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical set in New York's East Village boasts a slew of stars from the show's original Broadway cast, including Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Idina Menzel, Taye Diggs and Jesse L. Martin. Based on Puccini's opera "La boheme," the story follows a group of scrappy bohemians who face true love, broken hearts, drug addiction and AIDS -- and paying rent to high-powered oppressors.
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Gun Hill Road
2011 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsAfter serving three-years in prison, tough-guy Enrique returns to his family and finds his wife is a virtual stranger to him and his son is in the middle of a sexual identity crisis. Now Enrique must find a way to accept his altered life or risk losing control and ending up back in jail.
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SherryBaby
2006 | NR | 3.2 out of 5 StarsNewly released from prison, recovering addict Sherry Swanson (Maggie Gyllenhaal) struggles to normalize her life so she can be a good person and a trustworthy mother to her young daughter, Lexie (Ryan Simpkins).
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City of Hope
1991 | NR | 3.1 out of 5 StarsIn Hudson City, N.J., whites, blacks, unions and the police form their own tribes and jockey for influence over pieces of hard-won turf. This drama's multifaceted storyline follows several residents (Vincent Spano, Tony Lo Bianco, Angela Bassett, Joe Morton and Chris Cooper, among others), whose paths intersect amidst the decaying city. Writer-director John Sayles has said that this pungent and evocative film is his most autobiographical piece.
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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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Chak Jawana
2010 | NR | 3.0 out of 5 StarsThis film highlights the problems faced by youth in a Punjabi village, where young men fall prey to drugs, become irresponsible and disturb the peace. Captain Gurjeet Singh arrives on leave from the Indian Navy and pledges to reform the youth.
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Summer 2007
2008 | NR | 2.9 out of 5 StarsThinking that the internship they've just signed up for will be a breeze, five disaffected medical students receive a rude awakening when they're assigned to a rural village in India crippled by poverty, malnutrition and sickness.
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The Dry Land
2010 | NR | 2.9 out of 5 StarsGrappling with repressed memories of his combat experiences in Iraq and struggling with the tedium of ordinary home life, an American war vet tries to break out of his isolation by embarking on a road trip with a buddy from the Army.
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One Kine Day
2011 | NR | 2.8 out of 5 StarsTeen Hawaiian skateboarder Ralsto seems destined to fall into the rut that plagues his other friends and family members when he's fired from his job and learns his girlfriend is pregnant, and his attempts to raise money for an abortion go awry.
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Afterschool
2008 | NR | 2.8 out of 5 StarsBullied prep school loner Robert (Ezra Miller) captures his classmates' various escapades on video, but when he winds up filming two girls fatally overdosing on cocaine, his footage plays a role in the emotional fallout within the school community. As the students and faculty at the sheltered academy try to cope with the tragedy, many spiral into despair. Antonio Campos directs this film, which explores the ethics of voyeurism.
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Sex and the U.S.A.
2008 | NR | 2.7 out of 5 StarsIn a conservative California town, 14-year-old Audrey (Shayla Beesley) struggles to reconcile her school's abstinence-only education policy with the sexually charged imagery she sees every day -- and the confusing feelings she has for a pretty classmate (Jaime Perkins). Blending traditional filmmaking with social networking-inspired video clips, director Jan Wellmann paints a portrait of puberty and the hyperconnected lives of modern teens.
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