15 Best 2000s Drama Movies

By Vlad Zakh · March 17, 2025

United States Drama thought provoking

No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood arrived the same year and still feel like the high point of the decade’s American drama, while Lost in Translation proved a quiet, plotless film could be unforgettable. The Pursuit of Happyness earns its ending, Slumdog Millionaire tells a rags-to-riches tale through game-show trivia, and Memento runs backwards in the only way its story works. American History X, Brokeback Mountain, Crash, Million Dollar Baby and Requiem for a Dream round out the list.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) 01

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

TMDB ★ 8.0

Earns its ending through everything that comes before it.

Directed by Gabriele Muccino · 1h 57m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: Angel Studios · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 02

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

TMDB ★ 8.0

A rags-to-riches structure told through game-show trivia.

Directed by Danny Boyle · 2h 01m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Memento (2000) 03

Memento (2000)

IMDb ★ 8.4 RT 94% Metacritic 83

A man with no short-term memory hunts his wife's killer using notes and tattoos as his only guide.

Directed by Christopher Nolan · 1h 53m · Rated R

Nominated for 2 Oscars57 wins & 59 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Peacock Premium, Sundance Now, Netflix Standard with Ads · Rent: Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
American History X (1998) 04

American History X (1998)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 84% Metacritic 62

A former neo-Nazi tries to stop his younger brother going down the same path of hate that consumed him.

Directed by Tony Kaye · 1h 59m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar4 wins & 15 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Brokeback Mountain (2005) 05

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 88% Metacritic 87

Two ranch hands' summer affair turns into a decades-long, mostly hidden relationship.

Directed by Ang Lee · 2h 14m · Rated R

Won 3 Oscars141 wins & 133 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Crash (2005) 06

Crash (2005)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 73% Metacritic 66

A dozen Los Angeles lives intersect through race, prejudice and one bad day after another.

Directed by Paul Haggis · 1h 52m · Rated R

Won 3 Oscars66 wins & 112 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Million Dollar Baby (2004) 07

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 90% Metacritic 86

A gruff boxing trainer reluctantly takes on a determined female fighter with nothing left to lose.

Directed by Clint Eastwood · 2h 12m · Rated PG-13

Won 4 Oscars68 wins & 86 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Requiem for a Dream (2000) 08

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 80% Metacritic 71

Four Coney Island residents' addictions spiral into devastating, interconnected ruin.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky · 1h 42m · Rated NR

Nominated for 1 Oscar37 wins & 69 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Peacock Premium, Sundance Now, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
The Dark Knight (2008) 09

The Dark Knight (2008)

IMDb ★ 9.1 RT 94% Metacritic 85

A district attorney and a vigilante are pushed past their limits by a criminal who wants neither money nor power.

Directed by Christopher Nolan · 2h 32m · Rated PG-13

Won 2 Oscars163 wins & 165 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, TNT, TBS, tru TV, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
City of God (2002) 10

City of God (2002)

IMDb ★ 8.6 RT 91% Metacritic 79

Two boys growing up in a violent Rio de Janeiro slum take drastically different paths in life.

Directed by Fernando Meirelles · 2h 09m · Rated R

Nominated for 4 Oscars76 wins & 50 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Paramount Plus Essential · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 11

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 93% Metacritic 89

A heartbroken man undergoes a procedure to erase all memory of his former relationship.

Directed by Michel Gondry · 1h 48m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar73 wins & 111 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
Lost in Translation (2003) 12

Lost in Translation (2003)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 95% Metacritic 91

Two lonely Americans form an unexpected bond while both staying at the same Tokyo hotel.

Directed by Sofia Coppola · 1h 42m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar98 wins & 133 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
The Departed (2006) 13

The Departed (2006)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 91% Metacritic 85

A remake that somehow out-tenses its own already tense source material.

Directed by Martin Scorsese · 2h 31m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars100 wins & 141 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, HBO Max · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
There Will Be Blood (2007) 14

There Will Be Blood (2007)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 91% Metacritic 93

A ruthless oil prospector's ambition curdles into obsession and violence in early 20th-century California.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson · 2h 38m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars114 wins & 138 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Philo · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd
No Country for Old Men (2007) 15

No Country for Old Men (2007)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 93% Metacritic 92

A chase movie that refuses every genre convention it sets up.

Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen · 2h 02m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars165 wins & 139 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Peacock Premium, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

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Vlad Zakh

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.