Rooney Mara – 10 Best Movies

By Vlad Zakh · November 3, 2025

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo earned Rooney Mara an Oscar nomination for a completely committed, unsettling lead, and Carol, a few years later, showed a quieter, more restrained side of the same intensity. Nightmare Alley is cold and calculating in a stylish neo-noir, Mary Magdalene is a dignified lead in a quiet biblical drama, Don’t Look Up adds a sharp supporting turn, and Trash is an underseen thriller. Her, Side Effects, A Ghost Story and The Social Network round out the list.

Don't Look Up (2021)

TMDB ★ 7.2

Two astronomers struggle to warn an indifferent public that a planet-killing comet is heading for Earth.

Directed by Adam McKay · 2h 18m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Trash (2014)

TMDB ★ 7.1

Three favela kids uncover evidence of political corruption hidden inside a wallet found in a landfill.

Directed by Stephen Daldry · 1h 54m · Rated R

Where to watch

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

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Mary Magdalene (2018)

TMDB ★ 6.1

Rooney Mara plays a restrained, dignified lead in a quiet biblical drama.

Directed by Garth Davis · 2h 00m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now · Rent: Apple TV Store · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Nightmare Alley (2021)

TMDB ★ 6.7

An ambitious carnival worker's con-artist scheme as a fake spiritualist spirals towards his own ruin.

Directed by Guillermo del Toro · 2h 31m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Hulu, fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Her (2013)

TMDB ★ 8.0

A love story about loneliness that has only got more prophetic every year since.

Directed by Spike Jonze · 2h 06m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Apple TV · 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

Side Effects (2013)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A new antidepressant's side effects become the centre of an unfolding murder conspiracy.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh · 1h 46m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

A Ghost Story (2017)

TMDB ★ 6.8

A man comes back as a sheeted ghost and watches his own house outlive him.

Directed by David Lowery · 1h 33m · Rated R

Where to watch

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

The Social Network (2010)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A founding-myth drama about Facebook that plays like a genuine thriller.

Directed by David Fincher · 2h 01m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: Apple TV, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, YouTube TV, Criterion 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

Carol (2015)

IMDb ★ 7.3 RT 94% Metacritic 94

Two women's forbidden romance begins with a chance encounter in a department store at Christmas.

Directed by Todd Haynes · 1h 58m · Rated R

Nominated for 6 Oscars76 wins & 255 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · 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

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

TMDB ★ 7.8

Cold Swedish atmosphere with a genuinely unsettling central mystery.

Directed by David Fincher · 2h 38m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Apple TV, Netflix Standard with Ads, Apple TV 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

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.

Rooney Mara – 10 Best Movies

Don't Look Up (2021)

Trash (2014)

Mary Magdalene (2018)

Nightmare Alley (2021)

Her (2013)

Side Effects (2013)

A Ghost Story (2017)

The Social Network (2010)

Carol (2015)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

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