Movies about drug addiction can often be hard to watch, but the best examples of these types of stories can shed understanding and empathy on a serious issue. There was a time that drug use in movies was completely prohibited in Hollywood, despite the fact that it was certainly a well-known issue in society. Now, drug use is depicted quite regularly in cinema, sometimes as a pᴀssing moment, sometimes highlighting the criminal aspect, and sometimes even for comedic effect. However, there are movies that also deal with the darker realities of drug use and addiction.

Certain films have dealt with drug addiction head on, detailing the harrowing experiences of main characters in the throes of the disease and their attempts to get sober. In other instances, it is not a main aspect of the story, but is dealt with in such a memorable and effective way that it can have a profound effect on the audience. These movies about drug addiction pull away the glamorization seen in other films and leave the audience with a look at the realities of the battle against a powerful, unrelenting force.

22

Cherry (2021)

Directed By Joe & Anthony Russo

Tom Holland gives an intense performance in this true story of a young soldier who returns from the war with PTSD, which leads to drug addiction and crime. Cherry is an important reminder of how trauma can be a key contributor to drug abuse and how there are many soldiers who are not given the help they need to deal with such things.

21

Scarface (1983)

Directed By Brian De Palma

While most people remember the violence and mayhem of Scarface in its story of Tony Montana becoming Miami’s biggest drug kingpin, it is easy to forget that it was drug addiction that ultimately brought him down. Fueled by cocaine, Tony begins to fall apart, seeing enemies all around him until he has no one left when the actual enemies come to find him.

20

The Wolf Of Wall Street (2012)

Directed By Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street tells the true story of Jordan Belfort, whose corrupt business dealings funded his life of complete excess and debauchery. Some have accused the movie of glamorizing Belfort’s drug use and party lifestyle, but it is quite clear this is a tale of an immoral man who loses all control, with his drug use as a main contributor to his downfall.

19

Rocketman (2019)

Directed By Dexter Fletcher

Rocketman is the musical biopic detailing the rise to fame, iconic career, and many struggles of Elton John. There are countless movies that explore the connection between fame and drug addiction, but Rocketman is one of the most authentic, partially because Elton John himself insisted the movie pull no punches in showing these dark moments in his life.

18

Goodfellas (1990)

Directed By Martin Scorsese

Goodfellas is based on the true story of Henry Hill, a member of the mob who was at the center of the lavish and exciting world until it all came crashing down. The final act of the movie finds Hill addicted to cocaine and filled with paranoia, with Martin Scorsese doing a brilliant job of putting the audience in Hill’s anxiety-driven mindset.

17

The Fighter (2010)

Directed By David O. Russell

The Fighter is the true sports story of Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg), a Boston fighter who became a champ while being coached by his half-brother and former fighter Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). Bale won an Oscar for his performance as this man who was once a contender, only to lose it all to drug addiction without ever admitting it to himself.

16

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)

Directed By Terry Gilliam

Terry Gilliam adapts Hunter S. Thompson’s surreal satire novel starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro as two friends on a drug-binging journey to Las Vegas. The movie is not as serious as other movies about drug addiction, but the way in which these men live their lives in a constant stupor, detached from reality, makes it a grotesque thing to witness.

15

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Directed By John Schlesinger

Midnight Cowboy stars Jon Voight as a young man who moves to NYC with dreams of making it in the big city, which he pursues alongside his new streetwise, outcast friend (Dustin Hoffman). The movie is a heartbreaking look at how these two friends with big plans for themselves find those dreams replaced with drugs when they find there is seemingly no place for them in the city.

14

Less Than Zero (1987)

Directed By Marek Kanievska

Less Than Zero came out of the era of Brat Pack movies, but offered a much darker look at the struggles of young people in the story of a young man who returns to his Los Angeles affluent community to find that his close friends have become consumed with their drug lifestyles. Many drug addiction movies look at the lives of impoverished addicts, but Less Than Zero is a reminder that the privileged can succumb to it just as easily.

13

Boogie Nights (1997)

Directed By Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece is an epic journey through the height of the pornography industry and the beginning of its downfall in the 1970s and 1980s as seen through the eyes of various actors and filmmakers in the business. While the movie is fun and wild in the first laugh, it becomes a brutal look at addiction destroying the lives of this pseudo-family of outcasts with the drug den scene a particularly memorable look at drug-fuelled mayhem.

12

Flight (2012)

Directed By Robert Zemeckis

In one of Denzel Washington’s best performances, he plays a pilot who miraculously saves a plane filled with pᴀssengers from certain disaster only for the secrets of his alcoholism and drug addiction to be investigated. The movie shows the inescapable pull of addiction and how someone can claim to have it under control only to have it control their entire life.

11

Ben Is Back (2018)

Directed By Peter Hedges

Julia Roberts stars in this drama as a mother of a drug addict who returns home from a rehab center during the holidays, filling her with anxiety about maintaining his sobriety. It is an effective look at addiction from a loved one’s perspective, showing the broken trust and fear in a mother who has seen her child slip back into these destructive ways too often.

10

Clean And Sober (1988)

Directed By Glenn Gordon Caron

When he was still best known for comedies, Michael Keaton delivered this stunning performance as a salesman addicted to drugs and alcohol who attempts to hide out in a drug rehab center. The movie examines how difficult it can be for addicts to admit they have a problem and shows the brutal reality check that comes when that realization finally hits.

9

The Panic In Needle Park (1971)

Directed By Jerry Schatzberg

Before being cast in The Godfather, Al Pacino found his breakout role in The Panic in Needle Park, alongside Kitty Winn, the story of two heroin addicts in New York City who lean on each other for support and codependency as they constantly are in search of their next high. The small movie is a riveting look at how drugs can take over a relationship, with each party fueling each other’s addiction until the drugs ultimately tear them apart.

8

Gia (1998)

Directed By Michael Cristofer

Gia was one of Angelina Jolie’s career-defining roles, playing real-life supermodel Gia Carangi, who became an iconic covergirl who was at the top of the industry only for her career to be cut short from her drug addiction. While biopics like Rocketman tell the stories of those who were able to overcome their addictions and cement their legacy, Gia is a reminder that not everyone has escaped their addictions in time.

7

Oslo, August 31st

Directed By Joachim Trier

From acclaimed Danish director Joachim Trier, Oslo, August 31st is a devastating look at a young man who has been recovering from his drug addiction in a rehab center only for it all to be put at risk when he is given the opportunity to spend a weekend away. The movie deals with the long and difficult journey of recovery and how returning to your life can be all it takes to start those bad habits again.

6

Half Nelson (2006)

Directed By Ryan Fleck

Ryan Gosling earned his first Oscar nomination for his performance in this indie as a dedicated teacher who is also battling addiction. The movie is a heartbreaking look at a man who truly cares about teaching and his students, wanting to help them succeed outside of the classroom, but sees his own life falling apart in the meantime.

5

Beautiful Boy (2018)

Directed By Felix van Groeningen

Based on the real experiences of Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy features an outstanding performance by Timothée Chalamet as Nic, a young man struggling with his meth addiction as his loving father (Steve Carrell) tries everything in his power to help him. The movie is a heartbreaking look at how addiction can impact a whole family and the feeling of hopelessness shared by everyone.

4

Basketball Diaries (1995)

Directed By Scott Kalvert

One of the best of Leonardo DiCaprio’s early roles, he plays Jim Carroll, a talented student and basketball player whose bright future is destroyed as he and his friends are sucked into the world of addiction. Based on Carroll’s own autobiography, the movie is an unflinching look at how easily drugs can destroy so much promise as all of the positive qualities of Jim’s life gradually fade away.

3

Traffic (2000)

Directed By Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic is a movie that tells a variety of different stories surrounding the war on drugs, but one of the most impactful focuses on Caroline, the teen daughter of an anti-drug politician who gradually falls into addiction. Watching Caroline go from a bright student who uses recreational drugs with her friends to a young girl living on the streets and constantly in a state of numbness is a grim look at how such an issue can touch any family.