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Movies that feel like Lawless (2012)

If you loved Lawless, the closest films we have are Suburra (2015), The Drop (2014) and Hell or High Water (2016). All three share Lawless' 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, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video and others, checked against today's data.

In 1931, the Bondurant brothers of Franklin County, Virginia, run a multipurpose backwoods establishment that hides their true business — bootlegging. Middle brother Forrest is the brain of the operation; older Howard is the brawn, and younger Jack, the lookout. Though the local police have taken bribes and left the brothers alone, a violent war erupts when a sadistic lawman from Chicago arrives and tries to shut down the Bondurants operation.

🍅 67% Rotten Tomatoes7.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. John Hillcoatgrittycontemplative

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If Lawless hit the spot, these will too

Suburra poster
Suburra
2015 · dir. Stefano Sollima
🍅 90%7.4crime · drama · thriller

Common ground in both: corruption and church

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Lawless does

A gangster known as "Samurai" wants to turn the waterfront of Rome into a new Las Vegas. All the local mob bosses have agreed to work for this common goal. But peace is not to last long.

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The Drop poster
The Drop
2014 · dir. Michaël R. Roskam
🍅 88%7drama · crime

Both keep coming back to the same thing: church

Bob Saginowski finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost.

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Hell or High Water poster
Hell or High Water
2016 · dir. David Mackenzie
🍅 97%7.6western · crime · drama

Common ground: brother

The difference: Reviewed even better

A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.

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Gomorrah poster
Gomorrah
2008 · dir. Matteo Garrone
🍅 90%7drama · crime

One thread runs through both: gangster

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.

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A Prophet poster
A Prophet
2009 · dir. Jacques Audiard
🍅 96%7.8crime · drama

Both are built on the same subject: gangster

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.

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The Place Beyond the Pines poster
The Place Beyond the Pines
2013 · dir. Derek Cianfrance
🍅 79%7.3drama · crime

The same preoccupation in both: corruption

A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.

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First Cow poster
First Cow
2020 · dir. Kelly Reichardt
🍅 95%7.1drama · western

Gritty and contemplative in the same breath

In the 1820s, a taciturn loner and skilled cook travels west to Oregon Territory, where he meets a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two team up on a dangerous scheme to steal milk from the wealthy landowner’s prized Jersey cow—the first, and only, in the territory.

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A Touch of Sin poster
A Touch of Sin
2013 · dir. Jia Zhangke
🍅 95%7.1crime · drama

Gritty crime in both cases

Four people in different provinces are driven to violent ends: An angry miner is enraged by corruption in his village. A migrant discovers the possibilities of owning a firearm. A receptionist is pushed beyond her limits by an abusive client. A young factory worker goes from one job to the next.

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Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile poster
🍅 54%6.7drama · crime

Drama built on stillness, twice over

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.

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The Power of the Dog poster
The Power of the Dog
2021 · dir. Jane Campion
🍅 94%6.8drama · western

Western with a pulse of grit, in both cases

A domineering but charismatic rancher wages a war of intimidation on his brother's new wife and her teen son, until long-hidden secrets come to light.

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R poster
R
2010 · dir. Tobias Lindholm
🍅 91%7.1crime · drama

Both lean on stillness more than on crime

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.

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Loving Pablo poster
Loving Pablo
2017 · dir. Fernando León de Aranoa
🍅 33%6.4crime · drama

Drama in the same key

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.

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The best-reviewed films that share Lawless’ defining feeling.