Beguiling, heartfelt, and often tear jerking, dramas are what you watch to get all the feels. The 90’s was a particularly great time for drama films. Years before superhero movies and CGI-heavy spectacles dominated the big screens, drama movies – often starring Hollywood’s A-lists – were the mainstream. Those were the days when films drew in audiences solely on really great scripts and top notch acting. Here are the Top 5 drama films of the 90’s.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Initially a box office bomb when it debuted in 1994, the feature film adaptation of Stephen King’s novella has since achieved cult classic status. At one point, it was even IMDB’s highest rated film in history.
Set in 1947, Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) is a long-term inmate at the Shawshank State Prison who’s established himself as the procurer of whatever goods the inmates need. Having resigned himself to prison life, his outlook in life is upended with the arrival of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a convicted murderer who insists that he’s innocent and never stops dreaming of freedom. The story unfolds over decades as they undergo the highs and lows of serving time.
An epic story of conviction, friendship, and well, redemption, the film is exceptionally written and wonderfully acted. Forgoing the traditional three-act structure, Shawshank played more like a novel, with loosely interconnected chapters that built up to a revelatory culmination. It had top notch visual, writing, and performance, truly a masterclass in storytelling for the ages.
Forrest Gump (1994)
In his first Oscar-winning performance, Tom Hanks played Forrest Gump, an intellectually-challenged man who changes the lives of everyone around him, except the one girl who continues to elude him. Autobiographical-like though purely fictional, the movie saw Forrest traverse through important moments in America’s 20th century history.
The movie was director Robert Zemeckis in his winning streak era, with the back to back successes of Back to the Future trilogy and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. And how could it not? It’s a family crowdpleaser toplined by the best actors in the game in Hanks and supporting actors like Sally Fields, Robin Wright, and Gary Sinise. In typical 90’s fashion, it’s earnest to a fault, even when covering glum topics like sexual abuse, the tolls of war, and HIV-AIDS. And never forget that luminous score by Alan Silvestri.
Jerry Maguire (1996)
This film had you at hello. From the moment Tom Cruise sauntered to the screen, frantically writing a manifesto in the middle of the night, you know this is something special. Jerry Maguire might be most famous for its romantic lines today, but it’s a solid second coming-of-age drama for the central character, who learns the value of loyalty and belonging over the course of the movie. Endlessly quotable and pretty funny too, this was writer-director Cameron Crowe at the peak of his game.
Tom Cruise’s titular performance had enough of the erratic and a great dose of the charm, something we rarely see anymore given his penchant to predominantly star in action films nowadays. Before Bridget Jones’ Diaries, Renee Zellweger first proved her mettle here as Jerry’s wholesome love interest Dorothy. But the show stealers are Jonathan Lipnicki as Dorothy’s cherubic son Ray and of course, Cuba Gooding Jr. as Jerry’s mouthy footballer client Rod Tidwell.
Life is Beautiful (1997)
A doggedly earnest main character seems to be a pattern of 90’s best dramas, as we’ve seen with Andy Dufresne and Forrest Gump. This film’s no different. Roberto Benigni wrote, directed and starred in this Italian World War II comedy drama about a Jewish man attempting to shield his son from the bleakness of their internment at a Nazi concentration camp.
Roberto Benigni is ever energetic in his role as a father and a husband who never wavers from sunny optimism during the darkest of time. His chemistry with Giorgio Cantarini, the boy playing his son in the film is so endearing and a big part of the movie’s charm. Benigni said as much during his now-legendary Oscar acceptance speech for Best Foreign Film – where he famously jumped atop his seat while clutching Steven Spielberg’s head for balance, no less.
Above all, the story is a bittersweet tale about hope against all odds.
Titanic (1997)
This is arguably the most memorable film of the 90’s as well as the highest grossing film in history for the longest time. A grand romantic epic, it is often ridiculed by modern pundits for its supposed cheesiness – just like many things from the 90’s – but that is indeed part of its charm.
We don’t get many wholeheartedly earnest stories like this anymore, especially on this scale.
Like him or loathe him, James Cameron never makes a film you can ignore, that’s for sure. Titanic boasted fantastic costumes, memorable scores, sumptuous production design, not to mention intricate craftsmanship that went into creating an immersive experience of being at sea, be it practical or visual effect.
The chemistry between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet is electric, despite what many consider to be a rather milquetoast love story. The debate around whether or not Jack Dawson should’ve fit on the door rages on till this day, proving that no matter what people say, this film’s legacy will go on and on.
