27 Life-Altering Movies That Will Stay With You For Weeks, Months, And YEARS After You Watch Them

1.A Different Man (2024) stars Sebastian Stan in his best role to date. The film is a haunting mindf*ck that examines identity, transformation, and the masks we wear. Also, it's just really freaking good.

What it's about: "An aspiring actor undergoes a radical medical procedure to transform his appearance, but his dream new face soon turns into a nightmare."

Here's the trailer:

2.National Anthem (2024) is my favorite movie of the entire year, so I'm sort of insisting (well, demanding) that you watch it. It's a tender, refreshing look at queerness and chosen family and what it means to actually belong. Also, Charlie Plummer is, was, and always will be a star.

What it's about: "A 21-year-old construction worker in New Mexico joins a community of queer rodeo performers in search of their own version of the American dream."

Here's the trailer:

3.Sing Sing (2023) is the ultimate story of creativity, community, and redemption. Aside from Colman Domingo, the cast is almost entirely made up of formerly incarcerated men who are actually portraying themselves. You're gonna want to have some tissues handy.

What it's about: "Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn't commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art."

Here's the trailer:

4.20th Century Women (2016) is the movie I always recommend to people when they're looking for something to watch. It feels like a warm hug and will fill you with so much love and hope and heartbreak. It also has one of my favorite endings of any movie ever, so you're welcome.

What it's about: "In 1979 Santa Barbara, Dorothea is a determined single mother who is raising her son, Jamie. She enlists the help of two women – Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist, and Julie, a savvy teenager – to help with Jamie's upbringing."

Here's the trailer:

5.Perfect Days (2023) is a quiet, profound movie that finds beauty in everyday life. Simply put, it will make you smile broadly like a lunatic.

What it's about: "Hirayama cleans public toilets in Tokyo while living his life in simplicity and daily tranquility. Some encounters also lead him to reflect on himself."

Here's the trailer:

6.If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) is the ultimate poetic love story that will break your heart in the most beautiful way possible. Also, there's a reason Regina King won an Oscar for this movie, and you'll quickly see why.

What it's about: "A young woman embraces her pregnancy while she and her family set out to prove her childhood friend and lover innocent of a crime he didn't commit."

Here's the trailer:

7.The Worst Person in the World (2021) is a stunning movie about getting older and struggling to figure out who you are in life. It's messy, bittersweet, and super relatable.

What it's about: "The chronicles of four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is."

Here's the trailer:

8.Aftersun (2022) is a tender reflection on memory, love, and childhood. There's a particularly haunting scene at the end that will break you, and you'll understand why it earned Paul Mescal his first Oscar nod for Best Actor.

What it's about: "Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father 20 years earlier. Memories, real and imagined, fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't."

Here's the trailer:

9.The Apartment (1960) is my favorite movie of all time, so, yeah, maybe I'm a little biased for including it on this list. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine star in this timeless masterpiece, and it'll make you feel every emotion possible.

What it's about: "A Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but office politics and his own romantic hopes complicate matters."

Here's the trailer:

10.The Substance (2024) is an unsettling yet captivating deep dive into aging, desire, and identity. This movie will haunt you for weeks, and it'll hopefully earn Demi Moore her first Oscar nomination in a few months.

What it's about: "A fading celebrity takes a black-market drug which serves as a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself."

Here's the trailer:

11.Flee (2021) is a breathtaking animated documentary that has so much emotional depth. It was actually nominated for three Oscars (Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary, and Best International Film), and it's simply a must-watch.

What it's about: "A man looks back over his life as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon-to-be husband."

Here's the trailer:

12.Nine Days (2020) is one of the most underrated movies you've never even heard of. It stars everyone from Winston Duke to Bill Skarsgârd to Zazie Beetz, and you'll be left speechless by the end of it.

What it's about: "A bureaucrat interviews five souls to decide which of them will be given a life on Earth, but he soon faces an existential challenge of his own.

Here's the trailer:

13.Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022) is maybe one of the worst movie titles I can think of, but please don't let it deter you from this sweet, funny, and charismatic story. It will prove to you that Dakota Johnson is a fantastic actor, and writer-director-lead Cooper Raiff is a star-to-be.

What it's about: "A young man who works as a Bar Mitzvah party host strikes up a friendship with a mother and her daughter who's autistic."

Here's the trailer:

14.Tea and Sympathy (1956) follows a "sensitive" prep school teen who's bullied by the other students and teachers for being different. He finds solace in an older woman, played by Deborah Kerr, and the whole thing is just sooooo pretty to look at.

What it's about: "A new senior at a boy's prep school finds himself harassed by the machismo culture of his classmates and the unfeeling behavior of his father, only being treated with decency by his roommate and with affection by the coach's wife."

Here's the trailer:

15.Shame (2011) stars Michael Fassbender as a sex addict in search of genuine human connection. It's raw, intimate, spicy, and a breath of fresh air.

What it's about: "A nymphomaniac's carefully cultivated private life falls apart after his sister arrives for an indefinite stay."

Here's the trailer:

16.Torch Song Trilogy (1988) is an unapologetically queer story that makes me want to beg Harvey Fierstein to write more movies. It also has Anne Bancroft and a young Matthew Broderick, so, like, what more could you want?

What it's about: "Arnold is a gay man working as a drag queen in 1971 New York City when he meets a handsome bisexual man."

Here's the trailer:

17.Origin (2023) had me sobbing so loudly in a theater that the random woman on my right offered me tissues and asked if I was okay. This movie will teach you so much about the world, make you fall in love with its real-life characters, and tear your heart into a million pieces.

What it's about: "While grappling with tremendous personal tragedy, Isabel sets herself on a path of global investigation and discovery while crafting one of the defining American books of our time."

Here's the trailer:

18.All of Us Strangers (2023) is a realllllly tender, emotional story about love, loss, and the ghosts that linger in our lives. Andrew Scott got an Oscar nod for his performance (but should have won!), and I'll never forgive the Academy for not giving Jamie Bell a nomination.

What it's about: "A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbor while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 years ago."

Here's the trailer:

19.Parting Glances (1986) is a groundbreaking movie that features Steve Buscemi in one of his first acting roles ever. It's a really tiny film that most people don't even know exists, but, wow, it sure does pack a punch.

What it's about: "As Michael and Robert, a gay couple in New York, prepare for Robert's departure for a two-year work assignment in Africa, Michael must face Robert's true motives for leaving while dealing with their circle of eccentric friends, including Nick, who is living with AIDS."

Here's the trailer:

20.The Lobster (2015) is one of the most bizarre movies you'll ever watch. This black comedy stars everyone from Colin Farrell to Rachel Weisz to Olivia Colman, and it'll completely mess with your head.

What it's about: "In a dystopian near future, according to the laws of The City, single people are taken to The Hotel where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in 45 days or else they're transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods."

Here's the trailer:

21.Mysterious Skin (2004) stars a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a devastating, raw, and powerful look at how trauma can impact you and your life forever.

What it's about: "Two pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event, and it later affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless and adventurous sex worker, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction."

Here's the trailer:

22.The Defiant Ones (1958) is a gripping, thought-provoking story about survival and trust. Both Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier received Best Actor Oscar nominations for their roles, with Sidney becoming the first Black person to ever be nominated in the category.

What it's about: "Two chained-together escaped convicts, one white and one Black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture."

Here's the trailer:

23.Her (2013) is a really thought-provoking story about love, connection, and loneliness. This one stars Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, and Amy Adams, and it'll stay with you longggggg after you finish watching.

What it's about: "In the near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need."

Here's the trailer:

24.A Woman Under the Influence (1974) is a masterpiece from writer and director John Cassavetes. So many famous actors list this movie + Gena Rowlands's performance as the best they've ever seen, so I guess you just need to trust them (and me).

What it's about: "Although wife and mother Mabel is loved by her husband Nick, her mental illness places a strain on the marriage."

Here's the trailer:

25.Beach Rats (2017) stars my king, Harris Dickinson, in an intimate, messy look at what it's like to grow up and struggle to find your place in the world.

What it's about: "A Brooklyn teenager spends his days experimenting with drugs and looking online for older men to meet."

Here's the trailer:

26.Sorry to Bother You (2018) stars LaKeith Stanfield in a really creative satire that'll make you laugh, cringe, and question absolutely everything.

What it's about: "In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a universe of greed."

Here's the trailer:

27.And finally, About Time (2013) is one of the most heartwarming, bittersweet movies I've ever seen. This is one of those rare gems you'll be able to watch over and over again, and it's further proof that Rachel McAdams is pure magic.

What it's about: "At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens (and has happened) in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out to not be as easy as you might think."

Here's the trailer:

If you have a favorite life-changing movie that wasn't included on this list, please share it in the comments below!