Dramatic Films.. I love intense drama, action and highly emotional movies..Here are some of my favorite thought provoking, inspiring and gut wrenching films..

1.  Brimstone 2016 - is an intense western drama thriller.. with an outstanding cast..

The film is very difficult to describe .. keeping you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.. I found myself totally engrossed in the film from start to finish, at times being taken off guard at how horrific the events play out in the film.. The film starts out with a husband, a wife.. and two small children.. some deeply intense events happen..leaving the mom and her two small children fleeing the farm..

Horrific events take place in a brothel, were a young woman named Joanna is forced to silence herself in order to take Elizabeth's place.. Than the movie jumps to Joanna as she lived with her mother Anna and minister father.. there is a suicide and other horrific events leading to Joanna fleeing for her life..  Eventually Liz is hunted down in the mountains and the man she has feared all her life states he will beat and rape her young daughter.. Years later after being discovered Liz is driven to make a dramatic choice ..

Ultimately this is a western film depicting some truly horrific events that lead a young woman turned fugitive from predator seeking vengeance against her and anyone she loves.. While extremely hard to describe this film is extraordinary gripping to watch .. and gut wrenching.. A definite must see film... Not a movie for children..


2.  Ben is Back 2018 - is a drama film starring Lucas Hedges, the son of Peter Hedges who wrote and directed the film.. The film follows Holly (Julia Roberts) the mother of Ben Burns (Lucas Hedges) who tries to help her son who is a recovering addict after her son unexpectedly returns home on Christmas Eve from rehab.. Ben who is 19 years old only 77 days clean and is welcomed home by his mom who admittedly is totally consumed by her son's addiction.. Holly's maternal concerns are truly put to the test over the next 24 hours.. The movie is loosely based on Peter Hedges own real life experiences having dealt with addicts.. including sadly his mother's alcoholism...

I felt the movie.. was interesting, thought provoking and emotional .. I, myself lived with addicts and much like Holly had consistently tried to save them.. however addiction is intensely devastating to everyone involved.. unfortunately over the years I have had to watch addicts self destruct and die around me ..  I now understand that I could never have saved them from their demons ... because you can't save anyone that doesn't want to be saved..


3.  Destroyer 2018 - is a emotional crime drama which features a truly exceptional cast starring Nicole Kidman .. The film follows an LAPD officer (Kidman) who is assigned to go undercover in order to take out members of a gang .. however things don't go as planned and the film depicts at how intensely the horrific events of the past have taken a toll on her life.. and consumed by guilt .. The film first gripping scene .. plays a much bigger part in the film than one might think .. and overtime you see how Erin (Kidman) is driven to face her demons and get revenge for the death of her partner and father of her daughter..  I have to be honest.. Nicole Kidman was completely magnificent in this film.. I was completely engrossed from start to finish... Loved this movie.. A definite must see film..


4.  Life Itself 2018 - is an intense drama.. with an ensemble cast.. The film follows multiple couples that are all connected by one singular event.. following the event through numerous generations..

The film is hard to describe.. but in the first few minutes of the film .. Dr. Cait Morris life will end.. and yet that one event will essentially come to pass as a narrative for a much bigger story.. Involving a woman, a man in love and awaiting the birth of their child..  The film bounces in and out through flashbacks as the man Will (Oscar Issac) tells Dr. Cait (Annette Bening) of his life with his wife Abby (Olivia Wilde)..

This film is not only gut wrenching but thought provoking and I truly loved it.. A definite must see film..


5.  The Tale 2018 - is a drama written and directed by Jennifer Fox and focuses on telling Fox's own story of childhood sexual abuse and how it has affected her for her entire life including her relationships.... The film features an exceptional cast..

In the film Jennifer Fox (Laura Dern) is a filmmaker and professor when her mother Nettie calls her after discovering an essay she wrote when she was thirteen years old .. After reading the essay Jennifer begins to do research on her life .. uncovering that as a young teen ...she spent a lot of time at a horse training camp..  Ultimately realizing that her recollections of the events are inaccurate.. she painfully she has to face the truth..  This film is inspiring, heart breaking and traumatic but it also paints a good picture of how childhood sexual abuse can stay hidden and go unreported for years..


Honorable Mention

Pretty Baby 1978 - is a historical drama that focuses on a 12 year old prostitute in the red light district of New Orleans in 1917.. Violet (Brooke Shields) is the daughter of Hattie a working prostitute in a brothel.. Violet has grown up in the brothel and is a fidgety, brazen young girl ..  Madame Nell soon decides Violet is old enough for her virginity to be auctioned off..  This film has always been extremely controversial as it features a difficult subject matter.. I remember how gained mixed reviews when it premiered due to its depiction of child prostitution.. however it also is highly indicative of the era and during that time children were born into brothels.. and suspect to the lifestyle.. This movie is a classic and is worth watching..  Adults Only..