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Movies that feel like Freedom Writers (2007)

If you loved Freedom Writers, the closest films we have are Gomorrah (2008), Loving Pablo (2017) and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019). All three share Freedom Writers' gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 7 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.

πŸ… 69% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.6 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Richard LaGravenesegrittycontemplative

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If Freedom Writers hit the spot, these will too

Gomorrah poster
Gomorrah
2008 Β· dir. Matteo Garrone
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7drama Β· crime

Both are built on the same subject: ghetto

An inside look at Italy's modern-day crime families, the Camorra in Naples and Caserta. Based on a book by Roberto Saviano. Power, money and blood: these are the "values" that the residents of the Province of Naples and Caserta have to face every day. They hardly ever have a choice and are forced to obey the rules of the Camorra. Only a lucky few can even think of leading a normal life.

Loving Pablo poster
Loving Pablo
2017 Β· dir. Fernando LeΓ³n de Aranoa
πŸ… 33%β˜… 6.4crime Β· drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: biography

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

The film chronicles the rise and fall of the world's most feared drug lord Pablo Escobar and his volatile love affair with Colombia's most famous journalist Virginia Vallejo throughout a reign of terror that tore a country apart.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile poster
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
2019 Β· dir. Joe Berlinger
πŸ… 54%β˜… 6.7drama Β· crime

Common ground: biography

A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.

American Gangster poster
American Gangster
2007 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7.8drama Β· crime

The same preoccupation in both: ghetto

Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.

A Prophet poster
A Prophet
2009 Β· dir. Jacques Audiard
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.8crime Β· drama

Both land grit and stillness at once

Sentenced to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena is alone in the world and can neither read nor write. On his arrival at the prison, he seems younger and more brittle than the others detained there. At once he falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins the confidence of the Corsican group.

My Name Ain't Johnny poster
My Name Ain't Johnny
2008 Β· dir. Mauro Lima
β˜… 7.2crime Β· drama

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

The true story of JoΓ£o Guilherme Estrella ("Johnny"), a young middle-class bon vivant who became a big-time cocaine dealer in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1990s.

Frozen River poster
Frozen River
2008 Β· dir. Courtney Hunt
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.1drama Β· crime

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

A financially strapped mother joins a Mohawk woman to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States.

R poster
R
2010 Β· dir. Tobias Lindholm
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.1crime Β· drama

Crime with a pulse of grit, in both cases

Imprisoned for violent assault, Rune is placed in the hardcore ward, where his survival depends on quickly learning the prison's parallel world of rules, honor, and obligations.

Lilya 4-ever poster
Lilya 4-ever
2002 Β· dir. Lukas Moodysson
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.8drama Β· crime

Contemplative drama in both cases

In a struggling post-Soviet community, Lilya a teenage girl is abandoned when her mother moves to the United States with her boyfriend. Facing neglect and poverty, she meets Andrei, who offers her a job in Sweden, giving her hope for a better life β€” and a journey that will change everything.

Monster poster
Monster
2003 Β· dir. Patty Jenkins
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7.3crime Β· drama

Both are crime through and through

In 1989, prostitute Aileen Wuornos befriends and enters a relationship with a young woman named Selby. Determined to straighten out her life, Aileen's limited education lands her back on the corner. She's raped by a trick, who she kills. A string of murder and robbery follows that ultimately leads Aileen to becoming America's first female serial killer.

Leviathan poster
Leviathan
2014 Β· dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.6drama Β· crime

Drama approached the same way

In a Russian coastal town, Kolya is forced to fight the corrupt mayor when he is told that his house will be demolished. He recruits a lawyer friend to help, but the man's arrival brings further misfortune for Kolya and his family.

Blow poster
Blow
2001 Β· dir. Ted Demme
πŸ… 56%β˜… 7.5crime Β· drama

Both know what they want from crime

The story of how George Jung, together with the MedellΓ­n Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, established the billion-dollar cocaine empire in the United States in the 1970s.

In the mood for more gritty?

all gritty movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Freedom Writers’ defining feeling.