Character study movies and TV shows – page 4
Best films
New films
| Jaras Enzar 2 (2026) | 3.6 | |
| Magic Hour (2025) | 7.1 | |
| A Poet (2025) | 8.0 | |
| Hedda (2025) | 5.8 | |
| Salvador (2026) | 6.1 |
List of character study movies
Genre: Animation, Action, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 58 min.
Story:
The story is set in 2027, one year after the end of the fourth non-nuclear war. New Port City is still reeling from the war's aftermath when it suffers a bombing caused by a self-propelled mine. Then, a military member implicated in ...
Style:
sexy, anime, atmospheric, melancholic, talky ...
Plot:
cyberpunk, distopia, fight scenes, love story, ghost in the shell, character study, moral ambiguity, investigation, ghost, imagination, dialogue, storytelling ...
Place:
japan, east asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
In the massive city of Tokyo, Kumiko, a twenty-nine year old, lives in utter solitude. She works a dreadful, dead-end job under an awful boss, is intimidated by her well-off peers, and nagged incessantly by her overbearing mother who is exasperated ...
Style:
depressing, sexy, art house, melancholic, emotional ...
Plot:
treasure, language barrier, character study, map, female protagonist, alone in the world, survival, obsession, self discovery, delusion, escapades, obsessive quest ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
japan, minnesota, tokyo, east asia, north dakota ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Chile
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
Jamie is a boorish, insensitive American twentysomething traveling in Chile, who somehow manages to create chaos at every turn. He and his friends are planning on taking a road trip north to experience a legendary shamanistic hallucinogen called the ...
Style:
atmospheric, psychedelic, road movie, disturbing, psychological ...
Plot:
sex, female pubic hair, on the road, self discovery, brutality, drinking, friendship, female nudity, character study, multiple storylines, life philosophy, police investigation ...
Time:
year 2012, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
chile, latin america, pacific ocean
Is relevant?
57K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Poland
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
A troubled hedge fund magnate, desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire, makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.
Style:
suspenseful, intense, psychological, serious, captivating ...
Plot:
twists and turns, infidelity, money, business, adultery, wall street, moral dilemma, finance, morality, character study, moral ambiguity, manipulation ...
Time:
year 2012, 70s, 21st century
Place:
new york, usa, california
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama
Country: Norway, Denmark, Sweden
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Anders is a recovering drug addict in an Oslo rehab clinic. On the 30th August, he is given a day’s leave to attend a job interview in the city centre.
Style:
depressing, touching, gloomy, sad, melancholic ...
Plot:
suicide, drug addict, suicide attempt, depression, addiction, emptiness, hopes, drug addiction, character study, complex characters, old friend, job interview ...
Time:
2010s, year 2011, 21st century
Place:
oslo norway, scandinavia, europe, california
Is relevant?
21K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
A coming-of-middle-age comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne and a Long Island teen who teaches him a thing or two about growing up, all under the disapproving eye of his long-suffering wife and his ...
Style:
touching, tricky, psychological, humorous, offbeat ...
Audience:
teens, family friendly, teen drama
Plot:
friendship, coming of age, self discovery, midlife crisis, relationships, small town, imaginary friend, life philosophy, character study, loneliness, depression, creativity ...
Time:
year 2009, 21st century
Place:
long island, atlantic ocean, usa, new jersey
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
An Ivy League professor returns home, where his pot-growing twin brother has concocted a plan to take down a local drug lord.
Style:
cynical, dark comedy, black comedy, intense, stylized ...
Plot:
twins, dysfunctional family, weed, brutality, profanity, drug, marijuana, character study, road trip, twin brother, gangster, drug dealing ...
Time:
year 2009, 21st century
Place:
oklahoma, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Canada, Italy
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
Jacques Mesrine, a loyal son and dedicated soldier, is back home and living with his parents after serving in the Algerian War. Soon he is seduced by the neon glamour of sixties Paris and the easy money it presents. Mentored by Guido, Mesrine turns ...
Style:
bleak, tense, suspense, intense, serious ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
gangster, organized crime, mafia, robbery, rise to the top, against the rules, prison, prison escape, mob boss, romancing a criminal, biopic, character study ...
Time:
60s, year 2008, 1950s, 2000s, y2k ...
Place:
france, paris france, canada, montreal, africa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Spain, France, USA, Germany
Duration: 135 min.
Story:
After the Cuban Revolution, Che is at the height of his fame and power. Then he disappears, re-emerging incognito in Bolivia, where he organizes a small group of Cuban comrades and Bolivian recruits to start the great Latin American Revolution. ...
Style:
inspirational, political, suspense, factual, talky ...
Plot:
revolution, communism, dictatorship, visceral, sacrifice, rebel, idealism, historical character, heroes, character study, biopic, hopes ...
Time:
20th century, year 2008, 60s, year 1966, year 1967
Place:
bolivia, cuba, south america, caribbean, latin america
Is relevant?
76K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Ireland
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA member who led the 1981 hunger strike in which Republican prisoners tried to win political status. It dramatises events in the Maze prison in the six weeks prior to Sands’ death.
Style:
sincere, political, depressing, visually stunning, art house ...
Plot:
prison, prison life, ira, male nudity, suicide, prisoner, dying, terrorist, nudity, rebellion, police brutality, suffering ...
Time:
20th century, year 2008, 2000s, 90s, year 1981 ...
Place:
ireland, northern ireland, london, europe, belfast
Is relevant?
40K
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
The story of a young ex-con Jack, newly released from serving a prison sentence for a murder he committed as a child.
Style:
psychological, touching, suspense, heartbreaking, compassionate ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
redemption, juvenile delinquency, childhood, haunted by the past, going straight, bullying, melancholy, released from prison, teen angst, rehabilitation, violent, starting over ...
Time:
year 2007, 21st century
Place:
nebraska, britain, united kingdom, england, europe ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
A look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.
Style:
feel good, emotional, sweet, sincere, light ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
teacher, friendship, optimism, homeless, looking for love, strong female lead, character study, elementary school, working class, roommate, social worker, love and romance ...
Time:
2000s, year 2008, 21st century
Place:
london, europe, miami
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
7K
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
Thirty-nine-year old divorcé Louise Harrington (Linney) works in the admissions office at Columbia University School of the Arts. She is unnerved when she receives an application from F. Scott Feinstadt, the same name of her high school sweetheart ...
Style:
sincere, erotic, melancholic, touching, romantic ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
older woman younger man relationship, infidelity, best friend, age difference, true love, older woman younger man sex, character study, loneliness, sex addict, painting, love and romance, teacher student relationship ...
Time:
year 2004
Place:
california
Is relevant?
127K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.
Style:
tense, atmospheric, neo noir, sexy, realistic ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
mafia, organized crime, friendship, gangster, epilepsy, urban ghetto life, money, strip club, street gang, stripper, character study, life philosophy ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, year 1973
Place:
new york, manhattan new york city, usa, north america, new jersey
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A young drifter working on a river barge disrupts his employers' lives while hiding the fact that he knows more about a dead woman found in the river than he admits.
Style:
erotic, sexual, sexy, enigmatic, neo noir ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
drifter, adultery, sexualized violence, infidelity, boat, naked man, destructive relationship, couple relations, unfaithfulness, sex, sexual content, murder ...
Time:
20th century, year 2003, 1940s, year 1954, 1950s ...
Place:
scotland, glasgow scotland, europe, edinburgh scotland
Is relevant?
8K
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
The life of a blind photographer who is looked after by a housekeeper is disrupted by the arrival of an agreeable restaurant worker.
Style:
witty, melancholic, serious, sincere, psychological ...
Plot:
blind man, blind character, photograph, sex, obsession, friendship, disability, photographer, photography, blindness, trust, homosexual subtext ...
Time:
90s, year 1991
Place:
australia, cannes, california, melbourne, new york
Is relevant?
14K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
A conflicted youth confesses to crimes he didn't commit while a man and woman aroused by death become obsessed with each other.
Style:
sexy, erotic, psychological, satirical, controversial ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
murder, necrophilia, sex, rape, female pubic hair, matador, character study, psychology, investigation, femme fatale, dangerous attraction, mentally unstable ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
spain, madrid, iberian peninsula, europe, valencia spain
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
Jonas Nightengale is a fraudulent Christian faith healer who makes a living travelling around America holding revival meetings and conducting 'miracles' with the help of his friend and manager, Jane, and their entourage. One of their ...
Style:
melancholic, light, semi serious, realistic, feel good ...
Plot:
religion, redemption, character study, loneliness, dishonesty, cons and scams, small town life, con men, shipwreck, con artists, faith, miraculous event ...
Time:
90s, year 1992
Place:
kansas, usa, texas
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
A driver and a mechanic travel around the United States hopping from drag strip to drag strip in a 1955 Chevy Bel-Air coupe. They race for money, betting with their competitors. The pair gain a young and talkative female stowaway. Along the way they ...
Style:
road movie, meditative, atmospheric, grindhouse, disturbing ...
Audience:
manly
Plot:
car chase, on the road, mechanic, hitchhiker, auto racing, road trip, existentialism, desert, rivalry, drag racing, driving, wager ...
Time:
20th century, year 1971, 70s, 1950s
Place:
usa, washington d.c., santa fe new mexico, north america, tokyo
Is relevant?
9K
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
A visual social examination in the form of ten conversations between a driving woman and her various pick-ups and hitchhikers.
Style:
melancholic, light, intense, art house, sincere ...
Plot:
relationships, passenger, character study, sister sister relationship, car, storytelling, solitude, driver, society, life is a bitch, sibling relationship, family relations ...
Time:
year 2002, 2000s
Place:
iran, middle east, persia, tehran, tehran iran ...
Is relevant?
20K
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Style:
depressing, sentimental, touching, melancholic, intellectual ...
Plot:
alzheimer's disease, sex scene, writers, female pubic hair, writer's life, skinny dipping, love, biopic, mental illness, bisexual, adultery, making love ...
Time:
year 2001, 20th century, 50s, 90s, 1950s
Place:
england, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Fantasy, Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
A publishing executive is visited and bitten by a vampire and starts exhibiting erratic behavior. He pushes his secretary to extremes as he tries to come to terms with his affliction. The vampire continues to visit and drink his blood, and as his ...
Style:
dark comedy, psychological, surreal, sexy, funny ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
vampire, supernatural, mental illness, secretary, female vampire, psychiatrist, cockroach, nightclub, insanity, macabre, hallucination, yuppie ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
new york, usa, new jersey
Is relevant?
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Country: Netherlands, France
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
Rex and Saskia are enjoying a biking holiday in France when, stopping at a gas station, Saskia disappears. Confounded, Rex searches everywhere, but to no avail. Three years later, he's still obsessed with finding her, pleading his case on ...
Style:
disturbing, psychological thriller, suspense, psychological, creepy ...
Plot:
serial killer, kidnapping, twists and turns, missing person, gas station, obsession, road trip, disappearance, murder, literary, police investigation, character study ...
Time:
20th century, near future, 80s, year 1988
Place:
france, europe, holland, netherlands, california
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
48 hours in the life of a burnt-out paramedic. Once called Father Frank for his efforts to rescue lives, Frank sees the ghosts of those he failed to save around every turn. He has tried everything he can to get fired, calling in sick, delaying ...
Style:
psychological, bleak, serious, cerebral, dark comedy ...
Plot:
medical, mental illness, ambulance, hospital, redemption, paramedic, insomnia, hallucination, character study, crime gone awry, rescue, haunted by the past ...
Time:
90s, year 1999, 20th century
Place:
new york, manhattan new york city, usa, empire state building manhattan new york city, new jersey
Is relevant?
10K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
In the small town of Mumford, a psychologist of the same name moves in and quickly becomes very popular, despite a questionable past.
Style:
humorous, realistic, psychological, melancholic, compassionate ...
Plot:
therapy, small town, depression, starting over, mental illness, psychologist, friendship, fugitive, secret, flashback, psychiatrist, trust ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, year 1999
Place:
china, phoenix arizona, west virginia, seattle
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, France, Germany, Japan, USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
Captivated by the lure of sudden wealth, the quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over $4 million in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small airplane. Their simple plan to retain ...
Style:
neo noir, psychological, realistic, dark comedy, disturbing ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
snow, bag of money, crime gone awry, small town, greed, twists and turns, betrayal, fbi, character study, moral ambiguity, redemption, human nature ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, year 1998
Place:
minnesota, wisconsin, north america, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min.
Story:
Henry likes to kill people, in different ways each time. Henry shares an apartment with Otis. When Otis' sister comes to stay, we see both sides of Henry: "the guy next door" and the serial killer.
Style:
disturbing, scary, creepy, cult classic, realistic ...
Plot:
serial killer, murder, psychopath, maniac, gory, killing spree, sexualized violence, rape, violent, insanity, incest, serial killer as protagonist ...
Time:
80s, year 1986, 20th century
Place:
chicago, usa, midwest, california
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, West Germany
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.
Style:
independent film, road movie, black and white, atmospheric, humorous ...
Plot:
prison, prison escape, swamp, pimp, escape, prison life, on the road, serendipity, prostitute, fight, misfit, partner ...
Time:
20th century, year 1986, 80s
Place:
louisiana, new orleans, southern usa, usa
Is relevant?
26K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
After a terrible air disaster, survivor Max Klein emerges a changed person. Unable to connect to his former life or to wife Laura, he feels godlike and invulnerable. When psychologist Bill Perlman is unable to help Max, he has Max meet another ...
Style:
emotional, cerebral, philosophical, serious, uplifting ...
Plot:
survival, guilt, dealing with death, life & death, existentialism, character study, trauma, loneliness, rescue, confession, loss of son, human nature ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
california, san francisco, los angeles, usa, oakland california
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
An uninterrupted rehersal of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" played out by a company of actors. The setting is their run down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to ...
Style:
melancholic, cerebral, sincere, stylized, clever ...
Plot:
theater, life philosophy, relationships, character study, artists and showbiz, family problems, human nature, art, longing, family gatherings, existentialism, anton chekhov ...
Time:
year 1994, 90s, 20th century, 1890s, turn of the century ...
Place:
new york, russia, usa, manhattan new york city, st. petersburg russia ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
