With awards season starting, movie theaters are filling up with prestigious, star-packed dramas that could go on to receive Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. The best-reviewed dramas in theaters now range from an intense biopic about the first man on the moon to a searing portrait of race relations in America to the unbelievable-yet-true tale of an unlikely forger.
Here are the five drama films rated freshest by review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes that you can see in theaters right now.
5. First Man
Ryan Gosling reunites with his Oscar-winning “La La Land” director Damien Chazelle for this gripping chronicle of NASA’s attempt to land a man on the moon. Gosling’s Neil Armstrong grapples with the difficulties and dangers, while his wife, Janet (Claire Foy), stays strong for their family as they wait for the mission’s outcome.
The film, released on Oct. 19, currently has an 88 percent positive critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 64 percent audience score.
4. A Star Is Born
Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl becomes a star … but they did not live happily ever after. The third remake of the 1937 romantic drama stars Bradley Cooper (who makes his directorial debut) as grizzled country musician Jackson Maine. He discovers up-and-coming singer Ally (Lady Gaga) and helps launch her career. But will fame take a toll on the couple?
The film, released on Oct. 5, currently has a 90 percent positive critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 84 percent audience score.
3. Wildlife
Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal star in this nuanced tale of a seemingly typical 1960s family that falls apart. After husband Jerry loses his job and then suddenly leaves to fight a raging forest fire, wife Jeanette is forced to fend for herself and their teen son. And now that she makes choices for herself for the first time, she begins to realize her life could be different.
The film, released on Oct. 19, currently has a 96 percent positive critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 72 percent audience score.
2. The Hate U Give
This adaptation of the bestselling YA novel is a sensitive portrait of current race relations in America. Amandla Stenberg stars as teen Starr, who straddles two worlds: the poor, mostly black neighborhood she grew up in and the all-white, wealthy private school she attends. Then, she witnesses the shooting of her childhood friend by police and is inspired to find her voice and stand up for what’s right.
The film, released on Oct. 19, currently has a 97 percent positive critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 76 percent audience score.
1. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Based on a true story, Melissa McCarthy shows off her dramatic side as Lee Israel, a writer who once made a living writing celebrity profiles in the 1970s and '80s. But now that her kind of work has fallen out of favor, she gets desperate and turns to forging letters from dead authors. But it’s not long before Lee’s elaborate con goes awry.
The film, released on Oct. 19, currently has a 98 percent positive critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 92 percent audience score.
