10 Most Underrated Drama Movies of the Last 30 Years, Ranked

Drama is a highly encompassing genre that delivers life lessons, heartbreak, courage, and fear. The themes are vast in this genre, which can usually be combined with others and deliver a compelling story. Drama is the genre we think of when we hear the (partial) phrase “life imitates art.”

Though some dramas are highly acclaimed and appropriately rated, some just didn’t get their due. That could be because they were too quiet, too ambitious, or simply got lost in the noise of everything else. The most underrated drama movies of the last 30 years belong to all sorts of categories; from indie darlings to forgotten award nominees, they are deserving of another look and a reevaluation.

10

‘The Good House’ (2021)

Directed by Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky

Two powerhouse actors, Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline, portray a couple in The Good House, a movie that was barely marketed because of its almost quiet release during the pandemic era. It’s an interesting drama about a woman dealing with alcoholism, aging, and love in a small town in New England. This character drama gives Weaver a chance to deliver one of her most powerful and understated roles, and despite Kline by her side, she shines the brightest in it.

The Good House follows realtor Hildy Good, who is divorced and having trouble keeping her business alive due to her alcoholism. Her family wants her to go to rehab, including her ex-boyfriend Frank (Kline), who helps her renovate homes for sale. Hildy denies problems until they become too obvious to ignore, and she’s left dealing with her own demons while people around her try to care for her. The story is full of charm and melancholy, but it’s also realistic and, though not perfect, worth a watch.

Directed by Darius Marder

Sound of Metal was acknowledged at the 2021 Oscars with six nominations, including Riz Ahmed for Best Actor Oscar. Though the movie only won Best Sound and Film Editing, the other nods to the performers and the screenplay were justified. So, how is an Oscar-nominated drama underrated? Well, have you heard anyone mention Sound of Metal to you after 2019 or 2020? This incredible drama never managed to reach the mainstream in a way it truly deserved, and more people know of it than have actually seen it.

Sound of Metal follows a noise metal duo and couple, Ruben (Ahmed) and Lou (Olivia Cooke). Ruben experiences signs of hearing loss at first but then loses his hearing completely. As someone who’s placed all of his life’s meaning into music, losing his hearing is like grieving a terrible loss. This incredible, immersive, and powerful drama shows stages of grief but also the stages of acceptance. Though Cooke is great, Ahmed delivers a career-defining performance, making Sound of Metal a powerful watch.

8

‘Leave No Trace’ (2018)

Directed by Debra Granik

Leave No Trace is a movie written by a woman about a man, and it tackles themes of isolation, paranoia, and PTSD in soldiers in a gentle but heartbreaking way. It is Ben Foster‘s biggest role thus far and stars the brilliant Thomasin McKenzie as his daughter. Debra Granik discovered Jennifer Lawrence in a similar role in Winter’s Bone and passed the baton onto McKenzie for the title of a bright new talent.

Leave No Trace was based on a real story about a girl who lived with her veteran father in the woods near Portland during the 1990s. Journalist Peter Rock wrote a novel about them, titling it My Abandonment, and Granik and Anne Rosellini adapted it into a screenplay. Foster portrays the veteran named Will in the movie, who lives in Portland’s Forest Park with his daughter named Tom (McKenzie). Their struggle to fit into society as Will tries to deal with PTSD and raise his daughter is heart-wrenching and emotional and follows little Tom’s state of mind throughout handling her father’s emotions and living through the desire to be a child.

7

‘Queen & Slim’ (2019)

Directed by Melina Matsoukas

Queen & Slim is a road movie starring Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya, who is usually incredible in any role he takes on. Not much is different in this movie, which received critical acclaim but sadly got overshadowed by numerous Oscar contenders of that year. The ambition, style, and relevance of Queen & Slim‘s story demand a revisit from any drama or film fan. Melina Matsoukas signs on as a first-time director, Lena Waithe wrote the screenplay, and Kaluuya is joined by Jodie Turner-Smith as the eponymous Queen.

Queen & Slim follows defense lawyer Angela “Queen” Johnson, who has a pretty bland first date with Ernest “Slim” Hines (Kaluuya). Slim offers Angela a ride home, but the two get pulled over by the police; this confrontation escalates, and Queen and Slim are forced to go on the run. They travel across the country, looking for help in different allies, and fall in love along the way. Kaluuya and Turner-Smith have a simmering on-screen chemistry, and their performances are incredible. The movie received very little attention, but it’s so worth watching.

6

‘Enough Said’ (2013)

Directed by Nicole Holofcener

Nicole Holofcener and Julia Louis-Dreyfus worked on a couple of films together, both touching and warm dramas about romance and life. Enough Said and their more recent collab, You Hurt My Feelings, went by with little fanfare despite deserving a lot more attention. Still, Enough Said is a slightly better movie because of Dreyfus and James Gandolfini‘s chemistry and a more compelling storyline about dating and starting over in romance later in life. Both movies deserve attention, but if you want to start somewhere, start with Enough Said.

Enough Said follows divorced masseuse Eva (Louis-Dreyfus), who befriends a steady client, Marianne (Catherine Keener). Eva also meets divorced Albert (Gandolfini), sparks fly, and the two start dating; however, Eva realizes Albert is Marianne’s ex-husband, forcing her to balance between Marianne’s and her own impressions of him. Enough Said is realistic, grounded, charming, and witty; it’s also highly underrated and features Gandolfini outside his usual ruffian box as a soft and gentle romantic interest. He died just a bit before the movie’s release, and Holofcener dedicated it to him.

5

‘Of An Age’ (2022)

Directed by Goran Stolevski

All Of Us Strangers swept the cinema world when it came out, being one of the few queer dramas since Moonlight and Call Me By Your Name to successfully reach the mainstream. A year before AOUS, though, Goran Stolevski directed the Australian coming-of-age queer romance Of An Age that did go under the radar, not receiving the same kind of recognition. Though the two stories are different, queer representation on film always deserves more attention and notice.

Stolevski is a Macedonian-Australian director and his first feature film, You Won’t Be Alone, is one of the decade’s most poignant folk horrors; it’s interesting that his second film is so different, yet quite similar, because they’re, as Nick Allen put it, “united by a fascination in how one transforms when they more or less collide with another.” Of An Age is set partially in 1999 and follows Serbian immigrant Kol (Elias Anton), a ballroom dancer partnered with Ebony (Hattie Hook). Ebony has an older brother, Adam (Thom Green), and Adam and Kol embark on a journey to pick Ebony up after a rowdy night out. They bond and learn something about each other during the trip, causing them to develop feelings. Of An Age captures longing and fleeting intimacy in a poetic manner; it’s a beautiful story that slipped under the radar, for sure.

4

‘Super Dark Times’ (2017)

Directed by Kevin Phillips

OK, so not everyone would call Super Dark Times a drama, but rather a thriller. The movie is intense and has teenage murder written all over it, but its drama elements lie in the touching and disturbing coming-of-age storyline that overpowers its most intense elements. It could much rather be called a psychological drama, something that toes the line between Donnie Darko and Stand By Me. The teenage cast is brilliant, especially the outstanding Charlie Tahan, who might be familiar to Ozark fans.

Super Dark Times follows best friends Zach (Owen Campbell) and Josh (Tahan), who are the underdogs in their school but still experience classic teenage stuff like first loves, finding something to do after school, and being curious about life and the world. When they find a katana and a bag of marijuana with two other friends, Daryl and Charlie, their lives suddenly become impacted by paranoia, guilt, and trauma that each of the boys handles differently.

3

‘The Sea Inside’ (2004)

Directed by Alejandro Amenábar

The Sea Inside is another Oscar winner – Best Foreign Language Film – but it was widely forgotten upon release. It’s an important milestone in Javier Bardem‘s career, yet an underappreciated drama that’s deeply human, transformative, and, frankly, emotionally shattering. Alejandro Amenábar wrote, directed, scored, edited, and produced the film, and the final product is an incredible feat of filmmaking that makes Amenábar a true artist.

The Sea Inside was based on the real-life story of Ramón Sampedro, played by Javier Bardem. Sampedro was famous for fighting for the right to euthanasia in Spain after having been paralyzed in a diving accident. Remaining quadriplegic, Sampedro spent 26 years trying to make euthanasia possible and done according to law. The Spanish laws would implicate his friends and family as accomplices to murder, but his decision wasn’t just halted by law. Those close to him tried convincing him to continue living, though Sampedro had great conviction. The movie is very touching and philosophical, and it’s a heavy drama, but one that isn’t talked about enough.

2

‘Babylon’ (2022)

Directed by Damien Chazelle

People enjoy plenty of rights out there, and I want to exercise one of mine now, which is the right to defend Damien Chazelle‘s Babylon. The movie is a wild, chaotic, and tragic ode to early Hollywood that does tend to mix genres here and there (and gets freaky weird at some points), but it’s ultimately a fantastic and memorable drama of Icarus-like personalities attracted by the eternal sun of Hollywood. Babylon was ambitious to the point of excess, and it divided critics, but it’s rewarding for anyone who can see past the shock value and reach its mournful, aching essence.

Babylon is a historical epic drama that follows an ensemble of characters during Hollywood’s transition from silent films to talkies in the 1920s and 1930s. One ambitious and wide-eyed star, actress Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), impresses directors with her dramatic flair and becomes a big movie star. There’s also Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), faced with the inevitable process of aging; Manny (Diego Calva), a newcomer and wannabe director willing to assimilate at all costs; and Black trumpet player Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo), who faces racism when he’s not being used for his jazz skills. Babylon explores many topics deeply, and warrants its lengthy runtime (189 minutes); too bad it was DOA; it didn’t deserve that at all.

1

‘Silence’ (2016)

Directed by Martin Scorsese

How we view filmmakers’ passion projects is likely how we view ourselves. Just kidding, that doesn’t make sense, but it’s common that passion projects are criticized, panned, and even destroyed despite being the filmmakers’ most personal form of art. So, in a way, when we criticize a filmmaker for doing something for themselves, we’re telling them, “don’t leave the machine,” and I think that’s pretty sad. Martin Scorsese‘s passion project, Silence, is undoubtedly his most overlooked film, but it’s a beautiful and spiritual epic that follows 17th-century Jesuit missionaries in Japan. It’s heavy and grueling, slow and meditative, but it encapsulates an incredible beauty that dives deep into human nature and humanity itself.

Silence is about two Jesuit priests, Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver), who learn that their colleague, Cristóvão Ferreira (Liam Neeson), denounced his Christian faith and went missing in Japan. Rodrigues and Garupe go to Japan, which was in its “chained country” period, allowing trade and entry to only a select few nations. The isolation, the vastly different language, and the fear torment Rodrigues and Garupe during their stay. Garfield delivers a career-best performance, and the movie, though slow and pensive, is a brilliant watch.

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