feelsalike.comSign in
Snowden poster

Movies that feel likeSnowden (2016)

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

If you loved Snowden, the closest films we have are Public Enemies (2009), The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008) and The Lincoln Lawyer (2011). All three share Snowden's contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Accountant² (2025).

🍅 61% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Oliver Stonecontemplativeepicgrittytenseparanoid
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

Stream it:Netflix ↗
See it on the Mood Map

When is Snowden streaming? →

If Snowden hit the spot, these will too

Public Enemies poster
Public Enemies
2009 · dir. Michael Mann
🍅 68%★ 6.9crime · history · drama

One thread runs through both: biography

The difference: Takes it somewhere less tense than Snowden does

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.

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

The same mix in both: stillness, then scale

The difference: Leans harder into action than Snowden 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.

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

Gritty where it counts, tense underneath

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.

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

Both lean on paranoia more than on drama

The difference: Reviewed even better

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

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

Contemplative crime in both cases

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.

Conclave poster
Conclave
2024 · dir. Edward Berger
🍅 93%★ 7.4drama · thrillerStarz

Thriller built on tension, twice over

After the unexpected death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with managing the covert and ancient ritual of electing a new one. Sequestered in the Vatican with the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders until the process is complete, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could lead to its downfall.

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

Gritty history, and it commits to that

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.

Enemy of the State poster
Enemy of the State
1998 · dir. Tony Scott
🍅 71%★ 7.3action · drama · thrillerPrime Video

Drama with a pulse of paranoia, in both cases

When the videotape of the murder of a congressman unknowingly ends up in the hands of labor lawyer and dedicated family man Robert Clayton Dean, he is framed for the murder. With the help of the mysterious Brill, Dean attempts to throw the NSA off his trail and prove his innocence.

Now You See Me poster
Now You See Me
2013 · dir. Louis Leterrier
🍅 51%★ 7.2thriller · crimePrime Video

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: biography

The difference: 36 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.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit poster
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
2014 · dir. Kenneth Branagh
🍅 55%★ 6.2action · drama · thrillerParamount+Starz

Contemplative thriller, and it commits to that

Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.

The Accountant² poster
The Accountant²
2025 · dir. Gavin O'Connor
🍅 75%★ 6.6mystery · crime · thrillerPrime VideoHulu

History with a pulse of tension, in both cases

When an old acquaintance is murdered, Wolff is compelled to solve the case. Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax, to help. In partnership with Marybeth Medina, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies →

The best-reviewed films that share Snowden’s defining feeling.