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Movies that feel like21 (2008)

Ben Campbell is a young, highly intelligent student at M.I.T. who strives to succeed. Wanting a scholarship to transfer to Harvard School of Medicine to become a doctor, Ben learns that he cannot afford the $300,000 tuition as he comes from a poor, working-class background. But one evening, Ben is introduced by his unorthodox math professor to a small but secretive club of five students, Jill, Choi, Kianna, and Fisher, who are being trained by Professor Rosa to count cards at blackjack.

If you loved 21, the closest films we have are Bad Education (2004), Spring Breakers (2013) and Pleasure (2021). All three share 21's contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Wendy and Lucy (2008).

πŸ… 36% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Robert Luketiccontemplativegrittywarm
8 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Hulu

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If 21 hit the spot, these will too

Bad Education poster
Bad Education
2004 Β· dir. Pedro AlmodΓ³var
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.4drama Β· crime

Both are built on the same subject: friendship

The difference: Reviewed even better

When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.

Spring Breakers poster
Spring Breakers
2013 Β· dir. Harmony Korine
πŸ… 67%β˜… 5.3drama Β· crimeMax

The same mix in both: stillness, then grit

After four college girls rob a restaurant to fund their spring break in Florida, they get entangled with a weird dude with his own criminal agenda.

Pleasure poster
Pleasure
2021 Β· dir. Ninja Thyberg
πŸ… 88%β˜… 6.3dramaRent or buy

Both lean on warmth more than on drama

Bella Cherry arrives in Los Angeles with dreams of becoming an adult film star, but she soon learns that fame won't come easy as she harnesses her ambition and cunning to rise to the top of this mesmerizing and singular world.

Trainspotting poster
Trainspotting
1996 Β· dir. Danny Boyle
πŸ… 93%β˜… 8.1drama Β· crime

The same preoccupation in both: friendship

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

Gran Torino poster
Gran Torino
2008 Β· dir. Clint Eastwood
πŸ… 81%β˜… 8.1drama

Contemplative crime, and it commits to that

Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, Thao Lor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.

End of Watch poster
End of Watch
2012 Β· dir. David Ayer
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.6crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Gritty drama in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than 21 does

Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel during a routine traffic stop.

Dogville poster
Dogville
2003 Β· dir. Lars von Trier
πŸ… 70%β˜… 8crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Crime built on warmth, twice over

A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.

The Yards poster
The Yards
2000 Β· dir. James Gray
πŸ… 64%β˜… 6.4crime Β· drama Β· thrillerParamount+

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.

Midnight Cowboy poster
Midnight Cowboy
1969 Β· dir. John Schlesinger
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7.8drama

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

The difference: Made in the 1960s, in a different era of the craft

Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.

Wendy and Lucy poster
Wendy and Lucy
2008 Β· dir. Kelly Reichardt
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.1drama

Both sit in the same warm register

The difference: Trades the grit of 21 for an angle of its own

A near-penniless drifter's journey to Alaska in search of work is interrupted when she loses her dog while attempting to shoplift food for it.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid poster
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
1969 Β· dir. George Roy Hill
πŸ… 89%β˜… 8western Β· crime Β· drama

Drama approached the same way

As the west rapidly becomes civilized, a pair of outlaws in 1890s Wyoming find themselves pursued by a posse and decide to flee to South America in hopes of evading the law.

Thelma & Louise poster
Thelma & Louise
1991 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.6drama Β· crime Β· adventurePrime VideoHulu

Crime in the same key

Taking a break from their dreary lives, close friends Thelma and Louise embark on a short weekend trip that ends in unforeseen incriminating circumstances. As fugitives, both women rediscover the strength of their bond and their newfound resilience.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share 21’s defining feeling.