The Best Indie Movies on Netflix: 29 Overlooked Films Streaming This January

“Private Life” (2018)

Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn both earned acclaim in 2018 for their searing work in Sundance dramedy “Private Life,” where they play a couple trying desperately for a child. Firmly in their middle-age years and not having luck doing it the natural way, the two begin navigating the complicated world of adoption and artificial insemination, a process that strains their relationship. Like a lot of Sundance dramedies, “Private Life” is a small, intimate affair, but Hahn and Giamatti’s great performances are well worth celebrating. —WC

“Shiva Baby” (2020)

If you loved Emma Seligman’s second feature “Bottoms,” you’re bound to enjoy her brilliant first, the borderline horror comedy “Shiva Baby.” Starring Rachel Sennott, who would go on to co-star in “Bottoms,” as a young college senior who attends a Jewish Shiva for a family friend, “Shiva Baby” is an exercise in cringe comedy at its finest, as Sennott’s listless Danielle gets put through the ringer. Her parents nag at her, her neighbors are gossipy, her ex-girlfriend Maya (Molly Gordon) is present and, worst of all, sugar daddy Max (Danny Deferrari) is also in the house with his family. Seligman stages this comedy-of-errors like a horror movie, as the walls seem to tighten around Danielle, while Sennott’s brilliant breakout performance makes you feel every little barb and bit of passive-aggression that comes the poor girl’s way. —WC

“Kneecap” (2024)

A crowd-pleaser when it premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, “Kneecap” never quite made much noise when it was released theatrically that summer, but now that it’s on Netflix, it’s the perfect time to watch the exhilarating and refreshingly scrappy artist biopic. Rich Peppiatt’s film is a lightly fictionalized account of the rise of Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap, famed for wrapping in both Irish and English and for their staunch support of Irish Republicanism and Palestinian liberation. The three members play themselves in the movie, adding some real grit to the otherwise optimistic and militant movie about the power of music to start movements. It’s the rare musical biopic with more on its mind than the greatness of its leads, even if the film will have you rushing to stream their bangers ASAP. —WC

“Aftersun” (2022)

Okay, maybe it’s a stretch to call a film like “Aftersun,” which was almost universally acclaimed by critics as one of the best films of its year and earned an Oscar nomination for its lead actor, “underrated.” Still, “Aftersun” deserves all the love it gets, because Charlotte Wells’ smart, sensitive father-daughter story is one of the great movies of the decade. Delicate but never overly precious, the hazy, nostalgic film follows 11-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) as she goes on a trip to a Turkish resort with her loving but clearly troubled father Calum (Paul Mescal). It soon becomes clear, through the video tape footage that Sophie records, that these are the recollections of an older her, piecing together what her dad was going through during that trip. Mescal is brilliant, but Corio is maybe even better giving a thoroughly unprecious and lived-in performance as our eyes looking at this enigmatic man. It’s a haunting movie that never feels false or anything less than real in its recollections. —WC

“The Lost Daughter'”(2021)

Acclaimed upon release, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter” went underseen among the general populace (the December 31st release date on Netflix probably did not help). Which is a shame, because Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut is one of the most satisfyingly icy dramas in recent film memory. Olivia Colman is riveting in the Elena Ferrante adaptation, which follows a college professor on a vacation in Italy that forces her to confront her troubled relationship with motherhood. With an excellent Jessie Buckley as Colman’s younger self, the film switches between timelines to explore how this mercurial woman operates, and how her hang-ups harm the family she meets and grows obsessed with while on her vacation. It’s a powerfully understated drama that never reduces its central figure to easy archetypes, instead basking in her acidity. —WC

“Happy As Lazzaro” (2018)

Alice Rohrwacher’s 2018 Cannes entry “Happy as Lazzaro'”won the Best Screenplay award at the festival, for its devastating and singular story of a friendship along class lines. Adriano Tardiolo stars as Lazzaro, a tobacco farmhand whose kindness makes him an easy target to be used by the Marchioness and her son Tancredi, who enlists him in a plot to fake his death. That’s only the start of Lazzaro’s journey, which soon becomes a dreamlike fairy tale involving wolves, era-shifting sleep, and other magical touches that lend a heavy air of unreality. It’s a movie thick with symbolism that nonetheless never feels inaccessible, partially thanks to Tardiolo’s open-hearted central performance. —WC

“Logan Lucky'”(2017)

Back in 2016, Steven Soderbergh was, at least ostensibly, retired from making feature films. That retirement ended after three years when Soderbergh returned to the medium with “Logan Lucky,” a ludicrously enjoyable heist flick that recasts the “Ocean’s Eleven” film franchise with a deep-fried Southern ensemble. Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Riley Keough star as the Logan siblings, who team up with demolition expert Joe Bang (a wildly entertaining Daniel Craig) to pull off a money heist during a NASCAR race at their local speedway. All of the typical heist elements are there — a wacky group of characters, an FBI agent on the trail, complications and twists galore — but Soderbergh’s tight, controlled direction and the amazing chemistry of the cast make “Logan Lucky” a particularly entertaining entry into the subgenre. —WC

‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’ (2020)

Distinct and bursting at the seams with authentic lived experience, ‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’ won director and star Radha Blank a Sundance Award upon its premiere, only for the film to go under the radar upon its Netflix release during the pandemic. Blank based the film heavily on her own life, following her author avatar as she struggles to write a play that the heavily white Broadway establishment would produce while juggling a creative writing class she teaches to pay the rent. To find a creative outlet, she resorts to start writing and performing rap songs, which leads her to meet a new man and causes her to finally express the deeply-felt frustration that’s been eating away at her. Smart and observant in its satire of the theater world and evocative in its depiction of the hunger that drives artistic expression, ‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’ established Blank as a filmmaker with a unique, undeniable voice. —WC

‘The Inspection’ (2022)

Jeremy Pope gives a staggeringly good performance in ‘The Inspection,’ Elegance Bratton’s semi-autobiographical military drama. He plays a stand-in for Bratton himself, a young gay Black man who enrolls in the military as a way to find approval from his disapproving mother (a withering Gabrielle Union), only to endure brutal homophobia and hazing. Uncomfortable to watch and frequently harrowing, ‘The Inspection’ is an imperfect film, lacking the full depth needed to achieve transcendent power. Still, Pope’s sensitive, lovely performance, and the film’s empathetic touch make it a deeply moving experience. —WC

‘The Wonder’ (2022)

Sebastián Lelio’s ‘The Wonder’ went under the radar in 2022, compared to splashier Netflix releases like ‘Blonde,’ ‘Glass Onion,’ and ‘All Quiet on the Western Front.’ But the intimate drama, adapted from a novel by ‘Room’ author Emma Donoghue, is well worth seeking out. Florence Pugh stars as Elizabeth Wright, an English nurse in 1862 sent to observe 11-year-old Anna (Kila Lord Cassidy), an ordinary Irish girl who has shocked her Great Famine-afflicted village by surviving without food for months. Part period drama, part folk horror, ‘The Wonder’ has a slightly undercooked story, but Florence Pugh is remarkable as always as a woman of faith haunted by the inexplicable nature of what she encounters. And Lelio’s direction along with the gorgeous production design and cinematography creates a world that’s difficult to shake. —WC

‘Mutt’ (2023)

A muted slice-of-life, ‘Mutt’ shines thanks to the specificity and authenticity that director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz brings to the film. Following 24 hours in New York City, ‘Mutt’ unfolds from the perspective of Feña (Lio Mehiel) a trans man who spends a summer day reconnecting with three figures from his life from before his transition: His straight ex-boyfriend (Cole Doman), his half-sister (MiMi Ryder), and his Chilean father (Alejandro Goic). The film is a bit messy around the margins and contrived in how it pings Feña from encounter to encounter, but on the whole, it’s an intimate and touching look at life after transition, with a touching performance from Mehiel uplifting it. —WC

‘Kicking and Screaming’ (1995)

Before he was getting Oscar nominations for scenes where Scarlett Johannson and Adam Driver yell at each other — or, more recently, co-writing the script to the ‘Barbie’ movie — Noah Baumbach made his feature directorial debut with ‘Kicking and Screaming.’ Not to be confused with the raunchy 2005 comedy about Will Ferrell coaching a children’s soccer team, Baumbach’s low-key but sharp debut focuses on a group of college graduates who stick around their university’s town out of fear of facing the real world. Josh Hamilton, years before he became one of cinema’s best dads in ‘Eighth Grade,’ leads the cast as the slacking writer Grover, whose blasé approach to growing up is thrown out of order when his girlfriend Jane (Olivia d’Abo) accepts a fellowship in Prague and leaves him in his arrested development. 

Grover’s struggles to grow up gives the ambling character study its backbone, and the movie briefly flirts with becoming a rom-com at times, complete with an impassioned airport speech as its climax. But the movie is so drenched in the ennui of its not-quite adult ensemble — which includes Chris Eigeman, Carlos Jacott, Parker Posey, and Eric Stotlz, with Elliot Gould as Grover’s dad — that it never quite gets there. It instead remains a modest and low-stakes film, just one with a killer script that perfectly captures the awkard, hazy transitional phases that make growing up so hard. —WC 

‘Emily the Criminal’ (2021)

A nasty crime thriller about how economic uncertainty can push people to desperate extremes, ‘Emily the Criminal’ might sound like a comedy from its title, but it takes the title character’s arc extremely and totally seriously. Aubrey Plaza stars as Emily, a former art student whose college debt and a felony charge prevents her from escaping the drudgeries of service work. When a coworker connects her to a credit card fraud ring, Emily leaps at the opportunity to make some fast cash, and under the tutelage of organizer Youcef (Theo Rossi), she quickly realizes she’s a natural at the unsavory line of work. The screenplay is occasionally a bit silly, but John Patton Ford’s feature directorial debut shows great promise, and Plaza’s charismatic performance as an ordinary woman with a surprising capacity for violence and crime is damn near faultless. —WC

‘I’m No Longer Here’ (2019)

Writer/director Fernando Frias de la Parra emerged as one of the freshest new voices in Mexican cinema with ‘I’m No Longer Here.’ The 2019 film follows the leader of a street gang in the mountains of Monterrey, Mexico, who is struggling to assimilate into his new home in Jackson Heights, Queens after learning his gang and Kolombia culture is under threat. It was Mexico’s official entry for the 2020 Oscar’s Best International Feature category, but did not make the final list of five nominees. However, ‘I’m No Longer Here’ did manage to get the support of two notable fans: Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro.

‘It’s a film that doesn’t really have a reference in Mexican cinema before,’ Cuarón said in 2020. ‘It’s a film that challenges the ideas of formalism to create its own cinematic narrative that are completely supported in time and space… Because of that it’s a film about identity… and the certainty of our identities, the defense of our identities. The challenge of how supported our identities are, how much our identities are based upon an external façade. That’s a reason it’s truly universal.’ —CZ

‘Tigertail’ (2020)

Alan Yang made an impressive jump from television (he was a writer on ‘Parks and Recreation’ and co-created ‘Master of None’ with Aziz Ansari) to film with his feature directorial debut ‘Tigertail,’ a slow-burn immigrant drama with visual polish to spare. Yang mined his own personal history for the film’s narrative, which follows a Taiwanese factory worker who seeks a better life in America but struggles to keep his family afloat. Yang infuses his earnest, semi-fictionalized story (inspired by his own father’s experiences) with the evocative narrative traditions of modern Asian cinema, from Wong Kar Wai to Edward Yang, resulting in a rich and intimate atmosphere at every turn. In a year where Lee Isaac Chung received breakout acclaim for his autobiographical ‘Minari,’ so too should’ve Alan Yang for ‘Tigertail.’ —ZS

‘The Kindergarten Teacher'(2018)

Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a towering performance in ‘The Kindergarten Teacher,’ Sara Colangelo’s English-language remake of the 2014 Israeli drama of the same name. Gyllenhaal stars as Lisa Spinelli, an emotionally damaged teacher who becomes obsessed with her young student after she discovers he is a poetry savant. Gyllenhaal’s character crosses moral boundaries in her pursuit to give the child a future he deserves, while Colangelo wisely lets her film soak in the grey areas between right and wrong. —ZS

‘The Half of It’ (2020)

It took Alice Wu 16 years to direct a follow-up film to her queer classic ‘Saving Face,’ but the wait was worth it, as her eventual followup ‘The Half of It’ took home the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival’s Best Narrative Feature prize. Breakout newcomer Leah Lewis stars as as Ellie Chu, a precocious high schooler who finds herself embroiled in an unexpected love triangle with football player Paul (Daniel Diemer) and popular girl Aster (Alexxis Lemire).

The film has the set-up of a big Netflix teen rom-com hit (see ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ or ‘The Perfect Date’), but Wu’s storytelling opts for character-building depth instead of flashy, meme-friendly hijinks. The end result is the most mature and sensitive coming-of-age rom-com Netflix has ever released, and one that deserves as many eyeballs as the streamer’s more blockbuster genre offerings. —ZS

‘Nobody Knows I’m Here’ (2020)

Gaspar Antillo’s drama ‘Nobody Knows I’m Here’ marks Netflix’s first original feature from Chile. ‘Lost’ favorite Jorge Garcia gives his best performance as a singer turned near-mute and reclusive after early fame led to a traumatic experience.

IndieWire’s Eric Kohn called the film ‘a fascinating Spanish-language psychological thriller that meshes ‘A Star Is Born’ with ‘Searching for Sugarman'”‘and had significant praise for Garcia, a television veteran who had never led a feature film until now. ‘Garcia excels as a monosyllabic Bigfoot who casts a big shadow and uses it to hide from the world,’ Kohn wrote. —ZS

‘The Bad Batch’ (2016)

‘The Bad Batch’ turns a completely ridiculous premise — dystopian warfare in a sun-bleached desert filled with cannibals, a raving cult leader, desperate thieves and LSD — into a warm, at times even elegant salute to the transformative power of companionship.

This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Amirpour’s sleek debut ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,’ another creepy premise given fresh life. With ‘The Bad Batch,’ Amirpour pairs elements of ‘Mad Max’ and ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ with Western flavor for another beguiling ride. The scale has expanded and there are a few more recognizable faces this time around, but nothing about the movie’s inspired wackiness bears the whiff of compromise. —ZS

‘6 Years’ (2015)

Before Hannah Fidell developed the acclaimed FX limited series ‘A Teacher’ and signed an overall deal with the cable network, she first made a name for herself at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival with the premiere of ‘6 Years’ — a moving snapshot of a troubled relationship. The movie follows a young couple facing their eponymous six-year anniversary as they reconcile with a future that is challenged by various emotional spats and infidelities.

With an improvisatory style and two heartbreaking performances from Taissa Farmiga and Ben Rosenfield, ‘6 Years’ imbues its traditional narrative with a fiery edge. To this end, ‘6 Years’ offers little in the way of new material. Yet Fidell, working with executive producers Mark and Jay Duplass, effectively broadens her range by borrowing the sibling directors’ improvisatory style and ceding control to her two leads, whose heartbreaking performances imbue this familiar Austin-set narrative with a fiery edge. —ZS

‘To the Bone’ (2017)

Director Marti Noxon and actress Lily Collins channel their own personal histories to create an essential drama about eating disorders in ‘To the Bone.’ Loosely based on her experiences with anorexia, Noxon’s drama follows Ellen (Collins) on a bumpy road to wellness that has tremendous stakes. Simply put, if Emily doesn’t get ‘better,’ she’s going to die.

IndieWire’s Kate Erbland gave ‘To the Bone’ an A- review, writing, ‘Throughout the film, Noxon wisely refuses to offer up easy answers and feel-good conclusions to Ellen’s journey, and neither does Collins’ extraordinary performance.’ —ZS

‘Advantageous’ (2015)

Jennifer Phang’s 2015 science-fiction gem ‘Advantageous’ is set in the near future where technology allows people to overcome their natural disadvantages and begin life anew. When a woman gets fired from her company for being too old, she has to decide whether or not to undergo the procedure herself to salvage her career and support her family.

The film was cited in an IndieWire critics’ poll as one of the most underrated movies of the 2010s, being praised for Phang’s ability to upend the genre and ‘doubled down on themes of sexism, motherhood, aging, and moral autonomy and how they all intersect into something the systems surrounding us deem products for sale or service. It’s a strikingly ominous picture with a standout performance by co-writer Jacqueline Kim.’ —ZS

‘Blue Jay’ (2016)

Alex Lehmann’s tender black-and-white romance stars Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson in a pair of soulful performances that feel natural and effortless. The two actors play former high school sweethearts who run into each other later in life, launching a ‘Before Sunset’–style walk-and-talk that leads to a day full of self-reflection. It’s a modest story in a modest setting.

While similar two-handers may wrestle with the nature of fate, Lehmann, Duplass, and Paulson ground their contributions firmly in the present. The result is the unique satisfaction that comes from watching two characters so absorbed by each passing moment that everything else falls away. —ZS

‘Tramps’ (2016)

Adam Leon’s sensational indie drama ‘Tramps’ features breakout performances from Grace Van Patten and Callum Turner as two strangers who fall in love after helping out their friends in a shady deal gone wrong. IndieWire’s Eric Kohn raved about the film in his 2016 review, writing, ”Tramps’ is a brisk and scrappy tale of lovable young hooligans on the cusp of a busy inner-city world and searching for their place within it. It’s certainly one of the better American rom-coms in recent memory.’ —ZS

‘Outside In’ (2017)

Jay Duplass and Edie Flaco deliver some of their best acting work to date in ‘Outside In,’ an intimate forbidden love drama from the late Lynn Shelton. The filmmaker maintains a somber, low-key atmosphere that could be too understanded in the wrong hands, but she knows how to elevate seemingly forgettable scenarios with a wise, humane approach that makes even a lesser work like ‘Outside In’ a cut above the market standard.

The story centers on Chris (Duplass), who has been released from prison in Washington after being incarcerated for 20 years on vague charges. He’s 40 years old and alienated from the only community he’s ever known, but finds one bright light in the quiet small town: Carol (Falco), his old high-school teacher, with whom he has stayed in touch over the years. —ZS

‘Mudbound’ (2017)

Dee Rees cemented her status as one of the most exciting voices currently working in film with this period drama about WWII veterans returning to the Mississippi Delta after the war. The two men, one Black and one white, deal with issues relating to race, PTSD, and rural poverty in a film that feels fresh and timely without ever sacrificing its period bona fides. Rees did a remarkable job of making the film feel dirty, almost turning the mud and grime of the Mississippi Delta into a character in and of itself. —CZ

‘The Fundamentals of Caring’ (2016)

This wouldn’t be an indie films guide without some kind of road trip dramedy, and this one from writer/director Rob Burnett does an excellent job of utilizing the best aspects of the subgenre while avoiding its worst cliches. It benefits greatly from a healthy dose of star power, with Paul Rudd playing a spiraling man who decides to change careers and become a caretaker. He ultimately embarks on a trip with a disabled teen he is hired to care for, picking up a hitchhiker (Selena Gomez, continuing to quietly build a stellar acting resume) along the way. The film is an excellent addition to the indie road trip movie canon, and more than worthy of a spot in your Netflix queue. —CZ

‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind’ (2019)

Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut tells the story of a young boy in Malawai who saves his village by building a makeshift windmill. The film is a tribute to using ingenuity to improve one’s circumstances, while also tipping its hat to the wonders of clean energy. What could have been a generic feel-good movie was elevated by Ejiofor’s excellent directing, suggesting that the Oscar nominee’s future is bright on both sides of the camera. —CZ

‘Alex Strangelove’ (2018)

‘The Skeleton Twins’ director Craig Johnson continued his indie film hot streak with this gay coming-of-age story. Daniel Doheny plays Alex Truelove, a nerdy high school student who gradually realizes he’s gay in a film that is not afraid to get weird despite its crowdpleasing formula. In their review, Jude Dry wrote, ‘Johnson hits all the expected beats of a teen coming-of-age comedy, marching to his own distinct rhythm. Landing somewhere between ‘Love, Simon’ and ‘Superbad,’ ‘Alex Strangelove’ is a strange delight indeed.’ —CZ