If you’ve been in need of a solid tear-jerker of a film that yanks on the heartstrings and reminds you that a crucial part of being human is getting in tune with your emotions, look no further than Hulu’s amazing collection of drama films. With a library full of bold and beautiful stories from filmmakers all over the world, you’ll never run out of titles to watch, and it’s our job to call out all the best selections for you. And so, without further harping, here’s our roundup of the best dramas on Hulu right now.
Can’t find what you’re looking for? We also have a guide highlighting the best dramas on Netflix.
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Legends of the Fall1994 -
Talk to Her2002
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Still Alice2014
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Cast Away2000
Legends of the Fall (1994)
45%
7.5/10
133m
Genre
Adventure, Drama, Romance, War, Western
Stars
Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn
Directed by
Edward Zwick
Watch on Hulu
In Legends of the Fall, Brad Pitt stars as Tristan, one of three sons of Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins), a reclusive Army militant living and working on a ranch he constructed in Montana. Years later, while Tristan is serving in World War I alongside his two brothers (Aidan Quinn and Henry Thomas), tragedy strikes the family when Samuel, the youngest of the siblings, dies in combat. As Sam’s remaining loved ones do their best to move on, both Tristan and Alfred, the other living brother, fall for Samuel’s widowed spouse (Julia Ormond). A majestic encapsulation of life in Big Sky Country, Legends of the Fall is an arresting period drama with a bevy of fine performers carrying the hefty narrative.
Talk to Her (2002)
86%
7.9/10
112m
Genre
Drama, Romance
Stars
Leonor Watling, Rosario Flores, Javier Cámara
Directed by
Pedro Almodóvar
Watch on Hulu
Pedro Almodóvar is one of Spain’s leading cinematic auteurs, and his 2002 film Talk to Her truly doesn’t get enough attention. Javier Cámara stars as Benigno, a nurse, and Darío Grandinetti as Marco, a writer. The lives of the two men are forever changed when both of their romantic partners (played by Leonor Watling and Rosario Flores) fall into comas. These circumstances help Benigo and Marco form the most unlikely of friendships. While some may argue that Talk to Her isn’t Almodóvar at the height of his powers, it’s still a beautifully made picture that leans on many of the established eccentricities of its celebrated writer-director.
Still Alice (2014)
72%
7.5/10
101m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart
Directed by
Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
Watch on Hulu
Based on the 2007 novel of the same name, Still Alice stars Julianne Moore as Alice Howland, a respected Columbia University linguistics professor who is dealt an incredibly unfair hand at only 50 years old — early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. As her mental faculties slowly begin to fade, Alice does everything in her power to cling to any and all facets of her life that she can recall and embrace, a fight for humanity aided in part by her husband and three children. A powerful film with some incredible core performances from its cast of A-list players, Still Alice went on to garner plenty of critical acclaim after being released in 2015. It even led Moore to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Cast Away (2000)
73%
7.8/10
143m
Genre
Adventure, Drama
Stars
Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Chris Noth
Directed by
Robert Zemeckis
Watch on Hulu
In Cast Away, Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is a FedEx systems engineer whose existence is governed by the clock. The man is all about efficiency, punctuality, and a manic pursuit to always be on time. But when he’s the sole survivor of a plane crash, Chuck becomes isolated on a remote island with absolutely nothing. Stranded in a desolate environment, Chuck unlearns his obsessive old habits while developing new ones for survival.
Bugsy (1991)
80%
6.8/10
134m
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Stars
Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel
Directed by
Barry Levinson
Watch on Hulu
The story of the rise of Las Vegas mogul Ben “Bugsy” Siegel begins with the New York gangster (played by Warren Beatty) taking a quick business trip to Los Angeles. But the glamorous LA lifestyle — along with the alluring Virginia Hill (Annette Bening) — keeps Bugsy occupied and away from his family waiting back home. Suddenly overcome with an urge to start a new life, Bugsy scouts out a run-down gambling joint in the middle of a desert backwater known as Las Vegas.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
84%
8.0/10
120m
Genre
Drama, Romance
Stars
Dev Patel, Saurabh Shukla, Anil Kapoor
Directed by
Danny Boyle
Watch on Hulu
2009’s Best Picture winner stars Dev Patel as Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai who finds his way onto India’s Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? game show. Astonishingly, Jamal makes it to within one question from winning a life-changing 20 million rupees. But when the show breaks from taping, Jamal is taken into custody, convinced he’s cheating because there’s no way a parentless, uneducated street kid could know all of this. To prove his innocence, Jamal recounts his life story in the slum, illuminating how life provides knowledge in unexpected ways.
Chappaquiddick (2018)
67%
6.4/10
107m
Genre
History, Drama, Thriller
Stars
Jason Clarke, Kate Mara, Ed Helms
Directed by
John Curran
Watch on Hulu
July 18, 1969: Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy drives his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, just next to Martha’s Vineyard. Mary Jo Kopechne, a 28-year-old campaign strategist for Kennedy dies in the accident while Kennedy escapes relatively unscathed. Once seen as a potential future president, the ongoing investigation into the mysterious and scandalous events derails Kennedy’s political future and changes the course of the American government.
Nomadland (2021)
92%
7.3/10
108m
Genre
Drama
Stars
Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May
Directed by
Chloé Zhao
Watch on Hulu
In director Chloé Zhao’s Golden Globe-winning Nomadland, Frances McDormand stars as Fern, a displaced U.S. Gypsum worker who sells off most of her possessions and property when the company’s Nevada plant closes. Taking to the road, Fern joins ranks with a good friend, Linda (Linda May), and a band of other nomadic wanderers in the deserts of Arizona. Under the tutelage of Bob Wells (as himself), Fern learns a series of imperative skills for surviving on his own in the American West. Adapted from Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, McDormand delivers a stalwart performance as the downtrodden Fern. She truly carries the film — it’s through her eyes that we learn of a world that America has attempted to leave behind and the fighting spirits that refuse to be forgotten.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
95%
8.1/10
120m
Genre
Drama, Romance
Stars
Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami
Directed by
Céline Sciamma
Watch on Hulu
In the 18th century, Marianne (Noémie Merlant), a skilled painter, is commissioned to paint a portrait of a young aristocratic woman named Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). As the two get to know each other, romance blossoms between the artist and lady of royalty. But their unbridled affair can only last so long, as Héloïse is set to be wed to a Milanese nobleman. Winning an award for Best Screenplay at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and earning several nominations from the Independent Spirit Awards and Golden Globes, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a heartfelt romance picture with exquisite cinematography and two subtle but stirring lead performances.
Parasite (2019)
96%
8.5/10
133m
Genre
Comedy, Thriller, Drama
Stars
Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong
Directed by
Bong Joon-ho
Watch on Hulu
Sweeping the 92nd Academy Awards, Bong Joon-ho’s black comedy thriller managed to entertain and impress critics and audiences, alike. Delivered in Korean with subtitles, the movie, which is the first non-English language movie and the first South Korean film to win an Academy Award, tells the story of an average, low-income family who finds a clever way to dig themselves out of their financial hole. One by one, they get hired to work for the wealthy Park family, even though none is qualified to take on the job they pretend to know how to do. It begins when the son Ki-woo pretends to be a university student to tutor the Park’s daughter. Ki-woo’s sister, Ki-jung, using her brother’s recommendation, gets hired as an art therapist for the Park’s son. Through continued manipulations and blackmail, each member of the family slowly works their way into the Park family’s staff, with hilarious and dramatic consequences.
