Top Three Movie Dramas About Life

There are many amazing movies in the drama genre that some aren’t too familiar with. A significant amount of movies are put out each year that many people don’t know about because they weren’t advertised like the million dollar blockbusters we see during commercial breaks.

 
The International Movie Database (IMDB.com) is a great source for finding out about movies that haven’t been heavily advertised. So many times I will look up an actor on IMDB and will find 5 or 10+ movies that that actor was in which I didn’t even know existed. What happens to these movies, you may wonder. Some prove to be flops, while others are simply underrated.
 
I decided to make a list of my top three favorite dramas. You actually may have heard of one, two or all three, but never bothered to check any of them out. Well, now is your chance to get a brief summary of each of my favorite dramas. All three deal with essentially the same broad theme, life and its meaning, but each movie goes about handling said theme in a different manner, adding various contexts and circumstances along the way.
 
1. The United States of Leland: Ryan Gosling is infamous for his work on the romantic movie of the decade, The Notebook, but before his awesome beard and broken heart, he was a troubled teen in the 2004 Sundance Film Festival official selection, The United States of Leland. Anyone who enjoys a movie that makes you think about life in a different perspective should watch this film. Ryan Gosling’s character Leland Fitzgerald shows us a completely different way to perceive life and how it is lived. I tell anyone who is interested in watching this movie to watch this YouTube video which is a clip from the film that I really think has some of the most thought provoking life quotes I have ever heard. Ryan Gosling does an incredible job portraying a teen trying to find some meaning in his life, where he can only seems to be able see the sadness.
 
2. American History X: Yes, this is the movie where Edward Norton shaves his head and dons the swastika on his bare, toned chest to play bad boy Neo Nazi, Derek Vinyard. This is also a movie about life and the obstacles we face, which tend to give us decisions we are forced to make along the way. This entire movie takes place in one day, but has many flashbacks to past experiences that give the movie immense depth. We learn about Derek’s difficult life and why he chose to become a skin head and we also see him change through the penitentiary. Once out of prison, he tries to regain his life and get his brother, Danny, out of the dangerous whirlwind of violence and hate that he himself once fell victim to. Edward Norton is simply fantastic in his role and the movie provides shock-factor at various climaxes throughout.
 
3. American Beauty: Although previously mentioned in one of my past blogs, American Beauty cannot be left out of this list as it has as many significantly powerful and moving life quotes as The United States of Leland as well as matches American History X’s in-your-face story telling. American Beauty is the tale of a man who realizes he wants more out of his mundane life. This man, Lester Burnham is played by Kevin Spacey who also plays Leland’s distant father in The United States of Leland. American Beauty is very similar to The United States of Leland by the way in which both main characters recognize the flaws that exist in our world that many people choose to ignore, or are too blind to see.
 
These movies listed above are three motion pictures that are perfect for the idealist, the thinker; anyone who wants to watch a movie where there isn’t a concrete happy ending, but instead discoveries are made and lives are changed.