Genre: Crime, Documentary
Director: Emma Schwartz, Mary Robertson
Find the best true-crime movies to watch, from our mood category. Like everything on agoodmovietowatch, these true-crime movies are highly-rated by both viewers and critics.
Genre: Crime, Documentary
Director: Emma Schwartz, Mary Robertson
Genre: Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Actor: Alexander Cook, Algee Smith, Andrea Eversley, Anthony Mackie, Ato Blankson-Wood, Austin Hebert, Ben O'Toole, Bennett Deady, Benz Veal, Chris Chalk, Chris Coy, Darren Goldstein, Dennis Staroselsky, Ephraim Sykes, Frank Wood, Gary Wilmes, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Glenn Fitzgerald, Hannah Murray, Henry Frost III, Jack Reynor, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Jennifer Ehle, Jeremy Strong, John Boyega, John Krasinski, Joseph David-Jones, Kaitlyn Dever, Karen Pittman, Khris Davis, Kris Sidberry, Laz Alonso, Leon G. Thomas III, Lizan Mitchell, Malcolm David Kelley, Mason Alban, Michael Jibrin, Miguel, Nathan Davis Jr., Peyton Alex Smith, Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, Samira Wiley, Timothy John Smith, Tokunbo Joshua Olumide, Tyler James Williams, Will Bouvier, Will Poulter, Zurin Villanueva
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Genre: Crime, Documentary
Bernie Madoff, the former financier turned fraudster, is a monster. As the mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme to date, he stole billions from unwitting investors and almost singlehandedly contributed to the economic downturn of the late aughts. But before he was discovered and committed for his crimes, Madoff was beloved and brilliant—a living legend not just on Wall Street but in the world. Using a mix of reenactments, archival footage, and expert testimonies, this four-part docuseries dissects Madoff to reveal and even explain the history and possible motivations behind the man.
As true-crime series go, Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street is riveting and enlightening, paced in such a way that will have you gasp intermittently even if you’re no stranger to his story. Madoff is humanized here but never romanticized or lauded, making it a fair but moving watch at once.
Genre: Crime, Documentary
Genre: Crime, Documentary
Actor: Al Pacino, Chezca Vega, Gavin Langelo, Jeff Bezos, Jordan Burtchett, Keanu Reeves, Kevin Costner, Kurt Ostlund, Lesley Mirza, Lori Petty, Maia Rose Michaels, Mark Biggins, Morgan Freeman, Patrick Swayze, Randy Lee, Robert De Niro, Scott Patey, Tristan McKinnon, Val Kilmer
Director: Seth Porges, Stephen Robert Morse
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem star in this mystery by Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian Oscar-winning director of A Separation and The Salesman. When Laura returns to her small Spanish hometown with her two daughters, she is greeted with the warm welcome worthy of someone who once was a loved member of the community. However, when an event concerning one of her daughters happens at a wedding, secrets come to the surface about her history that threaten the fabric of the whole village. Laura is masterfully played by Penélope Cruz, who seems to shift gears in this Spanish-language movie. Farhadi is outside of his usual territory, but he does what he does best: deliver a rich, thrilling family drama.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Barbara Lennie, Carla Campra, Eduard Fernandez, Elvira Minguez, Inma Cuesta, Iván Chavero, Jaime Lorente, Javier Bardem, Jordi Bosch, Jose Angel Egido, Mar del Corral, Penélope Cruz, Ramon Barea, Ricardo Darín, Roger Casamajor, Sara Salamo, Sergio Castellanos, Tomás del Estal, Vicente Vergara
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Genre: Crime, Documentary
Actor: Arnold Friedman, David Friedman, Elaine Friedman, Jesse Friedman, Seth Friedman
Director: Andrew Jarecki
As a psychological profile of its subject, this documentary about the so-called “mastermind” behind the Bling Ring burglaries isn’t as rigorous as it should be — but as a portrait of that hyper-materialistic era and our never-ending obsession with fame, it fares much better. Rachel Lee was identified as the “ringleader” of the teenagers’ crime spree by some of her accomplices but had never spoken in public until this documentary. That suggests a juicy exposé; in line with this impression, Lee initially presents as starkly self-aware. However, our trust in her ability to give us a truly honest account soon crumbles as she lists off rather weak reasons for her crimes: her middle-class upbringing and parental divorce (though her teenage experiences with drug abuse are more plausible explanations).
Though the film points out the logical flaws and inaccuracies in Lee’s account, it never really takes her to task for them, compromising the rest of her contributions. What is more incisive is its treatment of ancillary figures in the scandal (a fame-obsessed investigating officer and a Bling Ring victim-influencer) — examples which, coupled with the doc’s examination of the flashy excess of the ‘00s, lay out a much clearer picture of the kids’ motivations than much of what Lee offers.
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Allen Salkin, Amy Kaufman, Christine Kee, Rachel Lee, Sarika Kim
Director: Erin Lee Carr
Erin Lee Carr, the director of Britney vs Spears, returns with a scoop. Ringleader is not just another pop culture doc, because it features a first-time interview with the young woman at the center of The Bling Ring robberies in Hollywood, Rachel Lee. But this is not the kind of film that tries to pick the brains of a perpetrator. Instead, the director positions herself as a journalist in front of her subject and questions her frankly, an approach resulting in amusing frankness. However, the rest of the doc feels too formulaic in the way it stitches together personal archive footage that is more or less neutral. Banking too much on exclusivity when it comes to the interview, already clouds it with expectations. One is led to ask whether Lee is good, bad, repentant or sociopathic and project onto her such qualities—a move which invites a similar fascination with celebrity life the film tries to untangle.
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Allen Salkin, Amy Kaufman, Christine Kee, Rachel Lee, Sarika Kim
Director: Erin Lee Carr
Bryan Cranston, best known for his role as Walter White in the Breaking Bad series, stars as Robert Mazur, a federal agent, who goes undercover to infiltrate the trafficking network of Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. With the film based on Mazur’s memoir, Bryan Cranston gives an impressive lead performance that captures the intense distress that deep cover can bring. Besides Cranston, co-stars Benjamin Bratt, Diane Kruger, Amy Ryan, and an exceptional John Leguizamo are entirely persuasive and make the film experience enjoyable and intense. The Infiltrator is entertaining and maintains a good pace, with a great cast that makes it a true joy to watch, especially for those who enjoy stories based on real criminals.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Actor: Amy Ryan, Andy Beckwith, Art Malik, Benjamin Bratt, Brad Furman, Bryan Cranston, Carsten Hayes, Daniel Mays, David Horovitch, Diane Kruger, Dinita Gohil, Ekaterina Zalitko, Elena Anaya, Georgia Braithwaite, Gino Picciano, Jasmine Jardot, Jason Isaacs, John Leguizamo, Jordan Loughran, Joseph Gilgun, Juan Cely, Juliet Aubrey, Lara Decaro, Leanne Best, Matthew Stirling, Michael Pare, Natalie Davis, Niall Hayes, Olympia Dukakis, Richard Katz, Rubén Ochandiano, Saïd Taghmaoui, Tim Dutton, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Yul Vazquez
Director: Brad Furman
This Danish thriller is about a man who gets into a car accident with a woman and, upon visiting her at the hospital, gets mistaken for her boyfriend by her wealthy family.
The man in question is Jonas, a family guy with two cheerful children who is also going through a text-book case of mid-life crisis. So when he realizes that Julia lost her memory and that she shows interest in him, he steps into the role of her boyfriend.
Things escalate very quickly, both as Julia starts to get some of her memory back and her actual boyfriend arrives. If you like Scandinavian noirs like Headhunters, you will love this.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Actor: Anders W. Berthelsen, Bent Mejding, Charlotte Fich, Dejan Cukic, Ditte Hansen, Ewa Fröling, Fanny Leander Bornedal, Flemming Enevold, Jannie Faurschou, Josephine Raahauge, Karin Jagd, Karsten Jansfort, Lin Kun Wu, Niels Anders Thorn, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Rebecka Hemse, Rolf Rasmussen, Rune Klan, Thomas Chaanhing, Timm Vladimir
Director: Ole Bornedal
Genre: Crime, Drama
Actor: Álvaro Carcaño, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Esteban Soberanes, Gastón Melo, Julieta Egurrola, Marisa Paredes, Paco Mauri, Patricia Reyes Spíndola, Regina Orozco, René Pereyra, Rosa Furman, Sherlyn, Verónica Merchant
Director: Arturo Ripstein
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Alex Alomar Akpobome, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Chris Messina, Kaley Cuoco, Li Jun Li, Liana Liberato, Natalia Dyer, Priscilla Quintana, Tom Bateman
The show has an easy to follow format with the curated version of events, especially with the premise always guiding the experience. The sudden changes in footage quality and music both service the atmosphere by turning the mundane uncomfortable and chilling (though I am generally ambivalent to films with a lot of gimmicks). Still, the show seems more interesting as a whole than in its tiny details. It’s effective at high tension developments and confrontations, utilizing the drama from various power dynamics, but it’s also passable in other regards. In the grand scheme of things, it can be a tedious, overwhelming watch.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Actor: Anahí Allue, Bárbara López, Belinda, Costanza Andrade, Diego Boneta, Fernando Cuautle, Jorge Zárate, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Roberto Duarte, Zuria Vega
Director: Humberto Hinojosa
While it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out among a throng of Netflix True Crime specials, Till Murder manages to hold its own by squarely and concisely centering on the main conflict: Soering vs. Haysom. It’s his word and against hers, his show of love and logic versus her natural charm and charisma. Was he a hopeless romantic who was manipulated into slaying the two people he thought tormented his beloved? Or was she the victim of a murderous and obsessive boyfriend who couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else owning her? The framing, while simplistic and a tad sensational, helps in quickly grabbing your attention and holding it for all four hours.
Genre: Documentary