Frances McDormand – 10 Best Movies

By Vlad Zakh · December 22, 2025

Frances McDormand has three Best Actress Oscars, all for women who refuse to perform likability: a pregnant Minnesota sheriff, a grieving mother demanding justice, a drifter who chose the road on purpose. Wonder Boys is dryly funny, Hail, Caesar! spends one long day solving absurd studio crises, Mississippi Burning investigates the murder of civil rights workers, and The Good Dinosaur befriends a feral boy. Fargo, Nomadland, Three Billboards, Moonrise Kingdom, Burn After Reading and Almost Famous round out the list.

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

TMDB ★ 6.7

Frances McDormand appears as a young dinosaur befriends a feral human boy in an alternate prehistoric world.

Directed by Peter Sohn · 1h 33m · Rated PG

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Wonder Boys (2000)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A blocked novelist and creative writing professor navigates personal chaos over one eventful weekend.

Directed by Curtis Hanson · 1h 47m · Rated R

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

TMDB ★ 6.4

A Hollywood studio fixer races to solve a movie star's kidnapping while managing a chaotic slate of productions.

Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen · 1h 46m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Mississippi Burning (1988)

TMDB ★ 7.5

Two FBI agents investigate the disappearance of civil rights workers in a hostile, segregated Mississippi town.

Directed by Alan Parker · 2h 08m · Rated R

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

TMDB ★ 7.8

Two twelve-year-olds fall in love and run away together, prompting a town-wide search.

Directed by Wes Anderson · 1h 34m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Burn After Reading (2008)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A misplaced CD of memoirs spirals into a Coen brothers espionage farce.

Directed by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen · 1h 36m · Rated R

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Almost Famous (2000)

IMDb ★ 7.9 RT 91% Metacritic 90

A teenage journalist, shadowed by his worried mother, tours with a rock band.

Directed by Cameron Crowe · 2h 04m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar54 wins & 103 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · 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

Nomadland (2020)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A woman embraces a nomadic life on the road after losing everything in the Great Recession.

Directed by Chloé Zhao · 1h 48m · Rated R

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 90% Metacritic 88

A grieving mother rents three billboards to pressure police into solving her daughter's murder.

Directed by Martin McDonagh · 1h 55m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars132 wins & 233 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV 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

Fargo (1996)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 95% Metacritic 88

A car salesman's botched kidnapping scheme spirals into a series of increasingly violent complications.

Directed by Joel Coen · 1h 38m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars84 wins & 59 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Hulu, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · 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.

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.

Frances McDormand – 10 Best Movies

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Wonder Boys (2000)

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Mississippi Burning (1988)

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Burn After Reading (2008)

Almost Famous (2000)

Nomadland (2020)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Fargo (1996)

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