Independent Dramas on Netflix
Last updated September 22, 2023
Good Will Hunting
1997 | NR | 4.2 out of 5 StarsWhen professors at MIT discover that an aimless janitor working at the university is also a math genius, a therapist helps the young man confront the demons that are holding him back in this uplifting drama about friendship and risk.
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The First Grader
2010 | NR | 4.1 out of 5 StarsBased on a true story, this inspirational drama profiles the amazing determination of 84-year-old Kenyan Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge, a Mau Mau freedom fighter who wants to take advantage of a new universal education decree by learning how to read.
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Little Red Wagon
2012 | NR | 4.1 out of 5 StarsArmed with his beat-up red wagon and a blazing spirit of philanthropy, 8-year-old Zach sets out to help homeless children in the wake of Hurricane Charley by walking from his house in Florida to the White House.
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Skin
2008 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsBoth her father (Sam Neill) and mother (Alice Krige) are white, but Sandra Laing (Sophie Okonedo) is born with dark skin -- a complex problem in the era of South African apartheid that soon drives a wedge into the family in this poignant drama based on a true story. Though her parents fight to have the government classify her as white, Sandra grows up in a divided world, and experiences her parents can't understand make her question her identity.
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The Sapphires
2012 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsThe spirit and vitality of 1960s soul music are at the core of this film about a real-life Australian aborigine singing group and their bumpy career. Three sisters and a cousin are brought together as the Sapphires by a talent scout with a plan.
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Mary and Max
2009 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsMary Dinkle, a chubby 8-year-old Australian girl, and Max Horovitz, an obese, middle-aged New Yorker with Asperger's syndrome, are a pair of unlikely pen pals in this quirky clay animation feature from writer-director Adam Elliot. Corresponding for two decades, the friends delve into a variety of topics, including sex, kleptomania, psychiatry, taxidermy and more. Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman provide the voices of Mary and Max.
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Keith
2008 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsNatalie (Elisabeth Harnois) is high school royalty, but her queen bee status falls apart when she falls for the new guy at school. Although Keith (Jesse McCartney) ignores her at first, they soon become friends -- even though Natalie suspects that Keith has something to hide. As the free-spirited Keith shows Natalie how to embrace what life offers, they grow closer -- until a secret tests the bounds of their relationship.
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Arranged
2007 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsWhen Rochel (Zoe Lister Jones) and Nasira (Francis Benhamou) -- an Orthodox Jew and a Muslim, respectively -- meet as new teachers at a Brooklyn school, co-workers and students expect friction. But the women discover they have a shared expectation of entering into arranged marriages. As they experience tension between their traditional cultures and life in contemporary America, Rochel and Nasira form a special bond.
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Listen to Your Heart
2010 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsStruggling musician Danny Foster (Kent Moran) never dreamed he'd fall in love with a woman who couldn't hear his compositions. But when he meets Ariana (Alexia Rasmussen), a privileged girl who lost her hearing in childhood, he's willing to believe anything's possible. As the young couple's love takes hold, however, Ariana's overbearing mother (Cybill Shepherd) proves to be their most vocal critic.
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Fast Girls
2012 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsCompetitors since youth, Shania Andrews and Lisa Temple both develop into elite sprinters and eventually qualify for the British 4x100 relay team. In a quest for the World Championship, the rivals unite against other challenges and reach for gold.
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LUV
2012 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsThis indie drama portrays a single day shared by an 11-year-old boy and his uncle, who's recently rejoined the world after eight years in prison. When the older Vincent brings young Woody along on business, fresh lessons in life await them both.
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Mamitas
2011 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsThis coming-of-age tale centers on teenager Jordin Juarez, an arrogant, self-proclaimed ladies man who strikes up an unlikely friendship with Felipa Talia, the school bookworm, as they discover common ground in their Los Angeles community.
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The Way
2010 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsWhen his son dies while hiking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in the Pyrenees, a grieving father flies to France to claim the remains. Looking for insights into his estranged child's life, he decides to complete the 500-mile trek to Spain.
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Snowmen
2011 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsIn this family-friendly drama, a surprising discovery in the snow catapults three small-town boys into the spotlight. Soon the pals hatch a plan to be remembered forever by setting a world record for building snowmen.
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Donnie Darko
2001 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsWriter-director Richard Kelly's trippy, mind-bending feature debut stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled Midwestern teenager plagued by incessant sleepwalking, family drama and visions of a menacing 6-foot-tall, doomsday-prophesying rabbit. Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wyle also star in this dark and intriguing psychological fantasy that swiftly earned a cult following.
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Seven Days in Utopia
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsTalent can only get you so far. For golfer Luke Chisholm, that turns out to be Utopia, Texas -- where he's left stranded after blowing his pro debut. Luckily for Luke, a cagey old rancher enters his life there to change it -- and him -- forever.
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The Red Violin
1998 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsWhen the long-lost "red violin," a rare instrument crafted during the Italian Renaissance, shows up at a modern auction, it reveals its mysterious history -- and the lives of its previous owners -- in a series of flashbacks spanning three centuries.
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Filly Brown
2012 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsOffered a chance to be a star, a young rapper must decide whether to go for the gold or remain true to herself and the friends who've helped her. Meanwhile, her family struggles, with her mom in jail and her ex-gangbanger dad trying to go straight.
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The Music Never Stopped
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsNearly 20 years after their son ran away from home, his estranged parents learn he has a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. Desperate to reconnect, the father realizes the best way is through the classic rock music he despises.
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The World's Fastest Indian
2005 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThis fact-based drama stars Anthony Hopkins as quirky New Zealander Burt Munro, a 67-year-old grandfather who flies across Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats and attempts to break into the record books on his customized Indian Scout motorcycle.
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Money Matters
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsMonique "Money" Matters attends a Catholic school three bus rides away from her inner-city life and her emotionally troubled mother. When she makes a friend in her own neighborhood, she confronts her fragile home life in ways she never imagined.
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A Warrior's Heart
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsUnable to cope with his military father's sudden death in combat, quick-tempered teen, Conor, starts getting into serious trouble. During an intense lacrosse camp, his father's old friend challenges Conor to get his life on track and become a man.
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Entre Nos
2009 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsAbruptly abandoned by her husband in a country completely foreign to her, Colombian native Mariana (Paola Mendoza) struggles to take care of herself and her two young children on the unforgiving streets of New York City.
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Beat the Drum
2003 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsWhen a mysterious illness wipes out his entire village, claiming the lives of both his parents, 9-year-old Musa (Junior Singo) is forced to set off on his own, eventually joining the ranks of the scores of orphans who live on the streets of Johannesburg. Directed by David Hickson, this poignant award-winning film examines the heartbreaking effect that AIDS has had on the poor and underprivileged children of Africa.
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Requiem for a Dream
2000 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsA widow's growing dependence on amphetamines and a self-help television show parallels the struggles of her heroin-addicted son and his girlfriend and friend in Darren Aronofsky's bleak drama.
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