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Public Enemies poster

Movies that feel likePublic Enemies (2009)

Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, Hoover makes Dillinger his first Public Enemy Number One and assigns his top agent, Melvin Purvis, the task of bringing him in dead or alive.

If you loved Public Enemies, the closest films we have are Snowden (2016), The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008) and Donnie Brasco (1997). All three share Public Enemies' gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Room 237 (2012).

🍅 68% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Michael Manngrittyepiccontemplativeparanoid
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium

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If Public Enemies hit the spot, these will too

Snowden poster
Snowden
2016 · dir. Oliver Stone
🍅 61%★ 7.3drama · history · crimeNetflixStarz

Common ground: biography

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Public Enemies does

CIA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press.

The Baader Meinhof Complex poster
The Baader Meinhof Complex
2008 · dir. Uli Edel
🍅 85%★ 7.3action · crime · dramaPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: prison escape

The difference: Sits closer to action than Public Enemies does

When German police viciously quell a protest against the shah of Iran, popular journalist Ulrike Meinhof rebels against her dishonest marriage, walks away from her children and joins radical anarchist Andreas Baader. Together with Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin, they form the violent Red Faction Army, and together perpetrate a slew of terrorist attacks as a way of disrupting the fabric of what they see as an increasingly fascist state.

Donnie Brasco poster
Donnie Brasco
1997 · dir. Mike Newell
🍅 88%★ 7.7crime · drama · thrillerNetflix

Two things both keep coming back to: gangster and surveillance

The difference: Easier on the scale than Public Enemies

An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.

The Lincoln Lawyer poster
The Lincoln Lawyer
2011 · dir. Brad Furman
🍅 83%★ 7.3crime · drama · thriller

Both land grit and stillness at once

Mick Haller is a charismatic defense attorney who does business out of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Mick spends most of his time defending petty crooks and other bottom-feeders, so it comes as quite a surprise when he lands the case of a lifetime: defending a Beverly Hills playboy who is accused of attempted murder. However, what Mick initially thinks is an open-and-shut case with a big monetary reward develops into something more sinister.

Raging Bull poster
Raging Bull
1980 · dir. Martin Scorsese
🍅 92%★ 8.1drama · historyPrime Video

Both are built on the same subject: biography

The difference: 29 years apart, and the 1980s show

The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.

Dogtooth poster
Dogtooth
2009 · dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
🍅 94%★ 7.1drama

Drama with a pulse of paranoia, in both cases

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet. The trio spend their days listening to endless homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family abode is instantly assigned a new meaning. Hence 'the sea' refers to a large armchair and 'zombies' are little yellow flowers. Having invented a brother whom they claim to have ostracized for his disobedience, the uber-controlling parents terrorize their offspring into submission.

The Little Things poster
The Little Things
2021 · dir. John Lee Hancock
🍅 44%★ 6.3drama · crime · thrillerRent or buy

The same preoccupation in both: surveillance

Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon joins forces with Sgt. Jim Baxter to search for a serial killer who's terrorizing Los Angeles. As they track the culprit, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke's past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.

The Legend of Zorro poster
The Legend of Zorro
2005 · dir. Martin Campbell
🍅 27%★ 6action · adventure · western

Epic crime, and it commits to that

Despite trying to keep his swashbuckling to a minimum, a threat to California's pending statehood causes the adventure-loving Don Alejandro de la Vega and his wife, Elena, to take action.

Gone Baby Gone poster
Gone Baby Gone
2007 · dir. Ben Affleck
🍅 94%★ 7.6crime · drama · mysteryParamount+

Gritty history in both cases

When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons—they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live.

The Man in the Iron Mask poster
The Man in the Iron Mask
1998 · dir. Randall Wallace
🍅 32%★ 6.5adventure · action · drama

Both lean on scale more than on drama

Years have passed since the Three Musketeers, Aramis, Athos and Porthos, have fought together with their friend, D'Artagnan. But with the tyrannical King Louis using his power to wreak havoc in the kingdom while his twin brother, Philippe, remains imprisoned, the Musketeers reunite to abduct Louis and replace him with Philippe.

The Negotiator poster
The Negotiator
1998 · dir. F. Gary Gray
★ 7.3action · crime · drama

Crime built on stillness, twice over

The police try to arrest expert hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who insists he's being framed for his partner's murder in what he believes is an elaborate conspiracy. Thinking there's evidence in the Internal Affairs offices that might clear him, he takes everyone in the office hostage and demands that another well-known negotiator be brought in to handle the situation and secretly investigate the conspiracy.

Room 237 poster
Room 237
2012 · dir. Rodney Ascher
🍅 94%★ 6.2documentary

Both lean on paranoia more than on history

A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.

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The best-reviewed films that share Public Enemies’ defining feeling.