Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "unhappy-childhood"

1. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.

Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine

Votes: 1,549,775 | Gross: $130.74M

2. Contact (1997)

PG | 150 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt

Votes: 293,303 | Gross: $100.92M

3. Dark City (1998)

R | 100 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi

A man struggles with memories of his past, which include a wife he cannot remember and a nightmarish world no one else ever seems to wake up from.

Director: Alex Proyas | Stars: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt

Votes: 212,437 | Gross: $14.38M

4. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)

PG | 81 min | Comedy, Drama, Family

Alexander's day begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by more calamities. However, he finds little sympathy from his family and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him, his mom, dad, brother and sister - who all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Director: Miguel Arteta | Stars: Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, Ed Oxenbould, Dylan Minnette

Votes: 46,632 | Gross: $66.95M

5. View from the Top (2003)

PG-13 | 87 min | Comedy, Romance

A small-town woman tries to achieve her goal of becoming a flight attendant.

Director: Bruno Barreto | Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Kelly Preston, Mark Ruffalo

Votes: 28,599 | Gross: $15.59M

6. Choke (2008)

R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama

A sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother's hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death.

Director: Clark Gregg | Stars: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald, Kathryn Alexander

Votes: 33,620 | Gross: $2.93M

7. People Like Us (2012)

PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama

While settling his recently deceased father's estate, a salesman discovers he has a sister whom he never knew about, leading both siblings to re-examine their perceptions about family and life choices.

Director: Alex Kurtzman | Stars: Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer, Olivia Wilde

Votes: 44,171 | Gross: $12.41M

8. Character (1997)

R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Jacob Katadreuffe lives mute with his mother, has no contact with his father who only works against him and wants to become a lawyer, at all costs.

Director: Mike van Diem | Stars: Pavlik Jansen op de Haar, Jan Decleir, Fedja van Huêt, Betty Schuurman

Votes: 11,309 | Gross: $0.71M

9. Deewaar (1975)

Not Rated | 174 min | Action, Crime, Drama

Vijay struggles as a dockworker and eventually becomes a leading figure of the underworld, while his younger brother Ravi is an educated, upright policeman. This divide causes problems in their relationship.

Director: Yash Chopra | Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, Parveen Babi

Votes: 11,727

10. Udaan (2010)

Not Rated | 134 min | Drama

Expelled from his school, a 16-year old boy returns home to his abusive and oppressive father.

Director: Vikramaditya Motwane | Stars: Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Manjot Singh, Ram Kapoor

Votes: 47,422 | Gross: $0.01M

11. The Notebook (2013)

R | 112 min | Drama, War

Twin siblings enduring the harshness of WWII in a village on the Hungarian border hedge their survival on studying and learning from the evil surrounding them.

Director: János Szász | Stars: László Gyémánt, András Gyémánt, Piroska Molnár, Ulrich Thomsen

Votes: 3,243 | Gross: $0.07M

12. Woh Lamhe ... (2006)

Not Rated | 156 min | Biography, Drama, Romance

Based upon the life of actress Parveen Babi, this film describes the life of schizophrenic actress Sana Azim and the love of her life: Aditya Garewal.

Director: Mohit Suri | Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Shiney Ahuja, Shaad Randhawa, Purab Kohli

Votes: 1,629

13. Goodbye, Norma Jean (1976)

R | 95 min | Biography, Drama

Aspiring actress Norma Jean Baker lives in squalor in the early '40s as she works at the munitions plant and dreams of being a movie star. Abused as a child and an adult, she lacks ... See full summary »

Director: Larry Buchanan | Stars: Misty Rowe, Terence Locke, Patch Mackenzie, Preston Hanson

Votes: 384

14. The Ancient Magus Bride (2016)

23 min | Animation, Short, Drama

Hatori Chise has lived a life full of neglect and abuse, devoid of anything resembling love. Far from the warmth of family, she has had her share of troubles and pitfalls. Just when all ... See full summary »

Director: Norihiro Naganuma | Stars: Atsumi Tanezaki, Ryôta Takeuchi, Kôki Uchiyama, Aya Endô

Votes: 956

15. A Queer Story (1997)

112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

From an unhappy childhood experience, Law Ka Sing decisively hides his homosexual identity. Sing's partner of 8 years, young boyfriend Sunny is just the opposite, he has never minded publicly revealing his identity.

Director: Kei Shu | Stars: George Lam, Jordan Chan, Christine Ng, Meg Lam

Votes: 194

16. Positive (II) (2007)

19 min | Short, Drama

A growing boy being disgusted of his life because of his father and went to another country, then he returned India after his father got AIDS and to company him.

Director: Farhan Akhtar | Stars: Krsh Chawla, Arjun Mathur, Boman Irani, Shabana Azmi

Votes: 308

17. The Broken Butterfly (1919)

58 min | Drama

Before she parts from him for a while, a woman falls in love with a composer, working on a symphony, who she encounters in the forests of Canada.

Director: Maurice Tourneur | Stars: Lew Cody, Mary Alden, Pauline Starke, Peaches Jackson

Votes: 214

18. Den fantastiske historie om pigen, der ville flyve (2021 TV Movie)

58 min | Documentary, Biography, History

At 95 years old, retired trapeze artist Norma Fox talks about her life. From a young lonely girl in small town Denmark to becoming an international circus star. A life that has also faced many tragedies.

Director: Anne Blume | Stars: Norma Fox, Per Dohm, Olinka Wallenda, Tino Wallenda

Votes: 6

19. The Lighter (2015)

26 min | Short, Action, Crime

A man who really struggles to fulfill his daily financial needs in his life meets a stranger who offers him the money if he wins a game.

Director: Vinu Balakrishnan Kakkarezhathu | Stars: Pradeesh Jacob, Sarath Krishna, Sruthi Madhavan, S.P. Sreekumar

Votes: 7

20. The Simpsons (1989– )
Episode: Hurricane Neddy (1996)

TV-14 | 30 min | Animation, Comedy

After a hurricane destroys Ned Flanders' house, he suffers a nervous breakdown and is forced to confront repressed problems from his childhood.

Director: Bob Anderson | Stars: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith

Votes: 3,881

21. Biography (1987– )
Episode: Anthony Hopkins (2007)

TV-14 | Documentary, Biography, History

Anthony Hopkins turn his back on theater to do film career and earn fame at the early '90s and the present.

Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, Julianne Moore, James Woods

Votes: 148

22. The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019)
Episode: The Maternal Capacitance (2009)

TV-PG | 21 min | Comedy, Romance

Sheldon hits it off with Leonard's psychoanalyst mother, but she drives Leonard and Penny to the bottle.

Director: Mark Cendrowski | Stars: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg

Votes: 5,002

23. The Mentalist (2008–2015)
Episode: Red Badge (2009)

TV-14 | 43 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

A pedophile who Agent Lisbon caught and sent to prison is shot and killed. The evidence points to Lisbon herself and she has no alibi.

Director: Eric Laneuville | Stars: Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Owain Yeoman

Votes: 1,815

24. The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019)
Episode: The Maternal Congruence (2009)

TV-PG | 20 min | Comedy, Romance

Leonard's mother makes a visit to his dismay and Sheldon's delight.

Director: Mark Cendrowski | Stars: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg

Votes: 4,092

25. BoJack Horseman (2014–2020)
Episode: BoJack Hates the Troops (2014)

TV-MA | 25 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama

BoJack gets into trouble after taking muffins a Navy Seal had "dibs" on and then calling American soldiers jerks on live television.

Director: JC Gonzalez | Stars: Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins

Votes: 5,900

26. The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (2014)
Episode: Get Action (1858-1901) (2014)

TV-PG | 112 min | Documentary, Biography, History

The adventurous life, political rise and personal tragedies of Theodore Roosevelt. The sheltered youth of his 5th cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The unhappy childhood of Teddy's niece and FDR's future wife, Eleanor Roosevelt.

Director: Ken Burns | Stars: Peter Coyote, Clay Jenkinson, George F. Will, David McCullough

Votes: 174

27. Ah! Vous écrivez? (1976–1980)
Episode: André Rollin, exorciste de lui-même (1978)

13 min | Short, Talk-Show

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Director: Nicolas Ribowski | Stars: Bernard Pivot, André Rollin