The Best Netflix Original Films to Watch for Any Movie Night
From rom-coms like Someone Great to war films like Da 5 Bloods, these are our top picks on the famous streamer.
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Netflix has no shortage of good TV shows. With drama hits like Bridgerton and The Crown to comedies like Sex Education and Never Have I Ever, your queue is bound to be filled with binge-worthy series for every genre. But the streamer has some gems in the film department as well, whether it's a sweet YA romance like To All The Boys I Loved Before or award-worthy titles like The Power of the Dog and Dolemite is My Name.
Here are the 54 best Netflix original films, unranked.
Lady Chatterly's Lover
Based on the novel by D.H. Lawrence, this erotic retelling follows the story of Lady Chatterly, a high class woman who slowly falls out of love with her husband after he sustains a serious injury during the war. But it's not just his physical issues that come between them. His coldness drives her into the arms of their estate's gamekeeper, and before long her entire world is upside down.
Your Place Or Mine
Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher bring their considerable star power to a classic rom-com about two best friends who might secretly be more. Debbie and Peter are besties, but extremely different people. They live on opposite coasts, but decide to switch homes for a week. Living in each other spaces, they each discover something missing from their lives—the other person. Opposites do attract.
Matilda the Musical
Based on the novel by Roald Dahl, this fantastically choreographed film follows a little girl named Matilda, who is deeply unappreciated by her own family. Matilda is no ordinary child; she possesses enormous brain power, up to and including nascent telekinesis skills. With the help of a supportive teacher, Matilda improves her circumstances and terrorizes her evil school principal out of the building.
You People
Lauren London and Jonah Hill star as two people who have very different cultural backgrounds, which isn't an issue when they're falling in love. It quickly becomes one, however, when it's time to meet each other's families. This broad comedy explores love complicated by external factors completely out of anyone's control. But they make for compelling discussions.
The Gray Man
The Russo Brothers collaborate with Chris Evans once again in The Gray Man. But you might not recognize Evans as Captain America as he’s transformed from superhero to sociopath. The film follows a former CIA agent (Ryan Gosling) who accidentally discovers the agency’s top secrets and is now being hunted by a maniacal assassin with a “trash ‘stache,” played by Evans.
Homecoming
As if we would forget to include the Queen B on this list. A rare look into her life, Homecoming shows how the singer prepared for her 2018 Coachella performance after giving birth months prior. Full of vulnerability, laughter, and some good ass music, Homecoming is the Friday night home movie for viewers—including non-Beyonce fans—looking to have a nice time.
The 40-Year-Old-Version
Sometimes age is just a number. When Radha, a playwright and teacher, realizes her life is unfulfilled and her dreams non-existent, she turns to rapping as a potential career. Doesn’t matter that Radha is a few weeks shy of turning 40; her determination and ambition keep her persevering, even as families and friends voice their criticism. What Radha tells us in this heart-warming story is that it’s never too late to be something, whatever that may be.
Passing
This Rebecca Hall-directed film is one of Netflix’s greatest, even though it’s greatly under-appreciated. (Not a single Oscar nomination!) Passing is based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novella of the same name and follows two childhood friends and their racial identities. Starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga, this film brings the term “racial passing” to life and shows the consequences of passing as white.
Bird Box
Sandra Bullock shined in this horror film. Adapted from the 2014 novel of the same name, this thriller follows a pregnant woman named Malorie Hayes (Bullock) and her desperate attempts to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where not seeing is a must for survival.
Dolemite Is My Name
A biopic of Rudy Ray Moore, this 2019 film is one of Netflix’s best films ever made. Maybe it’s Eddie Murphy’s jaw-dropping performance as Moore or the never-ending humorous scenes, but you can’t help but re-watch this Craig Brewer-directed film. A true Oscar snub.
Da 5 Bloods
Another great from the legend Spike Lee. This war film follows four Vietnam veterans who honor their fallen squad leader by returning to Vietnam to find his remains as well as their buried treasure.
Spiderhead
Chris Hemsworth ditches Mjölnir for a lab coat and some glasses in this psychological thriller. The Avengers star plays a therapist/warden of a prison that regularly tests experimental psychotics on its inmates including Jeff (Miles Teller) and Rachel (Jurnee Smollett). Full of dark humor, mysteries, and mind-bending thrills, Spiderhead will test your sanity (or lack thereof) before the credits roll.
tick, tick…Boom!
Andrew Garfield stars as playwright and composer Jonathan Larson in this Netflix biopic. A tragicomedy, the film follows Larson’s journey of directing his first musical and making it big on Broadway before his untimely death.
Marriage Story
If you’re looking for an accurate portrayal of divorce on film, it’s Marriage Story. Starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, this Noah Baumbach-directed drama follows a couple who’s going through a divorce on opposite ends of the country.
Dumplin’
Though this film is marketed as a rom-com, it’s more of a self-love story. And a damn good one too. Jennifer Anniston and Danielle Macdonald star as a beauty pageant-obsessed mother and her plus-size daughter who are at odds with each other.
Always Be My Maybe
Second-chance romances are the best, hands down. Not convinced? Watch Always Be My Maybe, a 2019 rom-com about two childhood friends (played by Aly Wong and Randall Park) who reconcile 15 years after a fling ended badly.
13th
One of Ava DuVernay’s most acclaimed projects, 13th offers viewers a harrowing glimpse into the mechanisms of the prison industrial complex. DuVernay shows how almost every political and judicial system – from local and state officials to political action committees – create and maintain the current incarceration system. It’s a hard documentary to watch, but one no one should ignore.
The Guilty
This psychological thriller follows a former police officer turned 9-1-1 operator (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his journey to saving a distressed caller. But, is the distressed caller the one who really needs saving? Or is this 9-1-1 operator in way over his head? Watch and find out.
I Care a Lot
Arguably Netflix’s most intriguing film, this picture is about Marla Grayson, a con artist (Rosamund Pike) who steals her elderly patient's assets through court-appointed guardianship. But when Grayson steals from the wrong person, she now has to make amends if she wants to stay alive.
Imperial Dreams
Before John Boyega entered international stardom for his role as Finn in the Star Wars sequels, he once starred as a reformed gangster in the indie film, Imperial Dreams. It’s a true story about police brutality, economic disenfranchisement, and mass incarceration that repeatedly questions how one breaks free of the shackles of recidivism and imprisonment. Eights years later, viewers are still seeking answers.
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