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The Yards poster

Movies that feel likeThe Yards (2000)

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.

If you loved The Yards, the closest films we have are We Own the Night (2007), Pusher 3 (2005) and Dogville (2003). All three share The Yards' gritty and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Hyena (2015).

πŸ… 64% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. James Graygrittycontemplativetensewarm
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Paramount Plus Premium

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When is The Yards streaming? β†’

If The Yards hit the spot, these will too

We Own the Night poster
We Own the Night
2007 Β· dir. James Gray
πŸ… 57%β˜… 6.8drama Β· crime Β· thriller

Both are James Gray's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Easier on the warmth than The Yards

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.

Pusher 3 poster
Pusher 3
2005 Β· dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.3action Β· thriller Β· crime

Both land grit and tension at once

The difference: Reviewed even better

Milo is aging, he is planning his daughter's 25th birthday, and his shipment of heroin turns out to be 10,000 pills of ecstasy. When Milo tries to sell the pills anyway, all Hell breaks loose and his only chance is to ask for help from his ex-henchman and old friend Radovan.

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

Contemplative and warm in the same breath

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.

Red Rock West poster
Red Rock West
1993 Β· dir. John Dahl
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7crime Β· thriller

The same two preoccupations: murder, and criminal

When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.

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

Crime built on grit, twice over

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.

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

Contemplative drama in both cases

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.

The Unjust poster
The Unjust
2010 Β· dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
β˜… 6.5crime Β· thrillerNetflix

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.

A Simple Plan poster
A Simple Plan
1998 Β· dir. Sam Raimi
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.5crime Β· drama Β· thrillerParamount+

Crime with a pulse of warmth, in both cases

Captivated by the lure of sudden wealth, the quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over $4 million in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small airplane. Their simple plan to retain the money while avoiding detection opens a Pandora's box when the fear of getting caught triggers panicked behavior and leads to virulent consequences.

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

Both lean on grit more than on drama

The difference: 21 years apart, and the 2020s show

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.

Hyena poster
Hyena
2015 Β· dir. Gerard Johnson
πŸ… 78%β˜… 6.2crime Β· drama Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: murder

Good policing doesn't necessarily mean doing everything by the book. But as the business of crime in London turns to favour the Albanians and Turks, how does a "good" policeman survive?

The Hit poster
The Hit
1984 Β· dir. Stephen Frears
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7drama Β· thriller Β· crimePrime Video

One thread runs through both: criminal

Ten years after ratting on his old mobster friends in exchange for personal immunity, two hit men drive a hardened criminal to Paris for his execution. However, while on the way, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.

Easy Money poster
Easy Money
2010 Β· dir. Daniel Espinosa
πŸ… 85%β˜… 6.7drama Β· thriller Β· crime

Thriller with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

When JW becomes a drug runner in order to maintain his double life, his fate becomes tied to two other men: Jorge, a fugitive on the run from both the Serbian mafia and the police, and mafia enforcer Mrado, who is on the hunt for Jorge.

In the mood for more gritty?

all gritty movies β†’

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