List Rules Movies about child abuse and domestic violence.
Child abuse and domestic violence have steadily increased throughout the years, and sadly it is a common problem in many American homes. There are a number of movies out there that take a detailed, and sometimes graphic approach to the topic of child abuse. While some of the movies on this list are fictional, others are completely based on real-life events. The films on this list are the best movies that look at the issue of child abuse.
There’s nothing better than a movie that discusses a true event that happened in a person’s life, detailing the way they overcame the odds that were stacked against them and rose to the challenges before them. Movies like The Blind Side and Antwone Fisher capture the true stories of child abuse victims and their fight to overcome the pain and trauma that was left behind due to their home lives.
This list has the best child abuse movies, including: Precious, The Color Purple, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, One Missed Call, Mommy Dearest, This Boy’s Life, Once Were Warriors, The Girl Next Door, and Tideland.
Vote up the most well done film about child abuse or add one you love that isn't already on the list.
Bastard out of Carolina is a 1996 film made by Showtime Networks, directed by Anjelica Huston. It is based on a novel by Dorothy Allison and adapted for the screen by Anne Meredith. In 1997 the ...more
Precious is a 2009 American drama film, directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels. Precious is an adaptation by Geoffrey S. Fletcher of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film stars Gabourey ...more
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The Color PurpleOprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurence Fishburne
The Color Purple is a 1985 American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was Spielberg's eighth film as ...more
An American Crime is a 2007 American crime-drama film starring Ellen Page and Catherine Keener. The film is based on the true story of the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens by Indianapolis ...more
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The Girl Next DoorCatherine Mary Stewart, William Atherton, Mark Margolis
The Girl Next Door is a 2007 American horror film adaptation of Jack Ketchum's 1989 novel of the same name. The film is loosely based on true events surrounding the Sylvia Likens by Gertrude ...more
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No Child of MineBrooke Kinsella, Colin Salmon, Billy Geraghty
No Child of Mine is a 1997 drama film written by Guy Hibbert and directed by Peter Kosminsky.
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ChrissyBaker added Radio FlyerTom Hanks, Elijah Wood, Adam Baldwin
Radio Flyer is a 1992 drama-fantasy film from Columbia Pictures. It is a Stonebridge Entertainment Production in association with Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions. The film, directed by Richard ...more
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SerenityMatthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane
Serenity is a 2019 American noir thriller-drama film directed by Steven Knight. The mysterious past of a fishing boat captain (Matthew McConaughey) living in the Caribbean comes back to haunt ...more
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This Boy's LifeLeonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Eliza Dushku
This Boy's Life is a 1993 film adaptation of the memoir of the same name by American author Tobias Wolff. It is directed by Michael Caton-Jones and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Tobias Wolff, ...more
The Blind Side is a 2009 American semi-biographical sports drama film. It was written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael ...more
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Leora Nesya Nechama added Flowers in the AtticHeather Graham, Ellen Burstyn, Kiernan Shipka
Flowers in the Attic is a 2014 Lifetime movie, starring Kiernan Shipka, Ellen Burstyn, Mason Dye, and Heather Graham. It is the second adaption of the 1979 novel of the same name by V. C. ...more
Sybil is a 2007 American docudrama directed by Joseph Sargent. The teleplay by John Pielmeier is based on the 1973 book of the same name by Flora Rheta Schreiber, which fictionalized the story ...more
Something About Amelia is a 1984 TV movie which explores family trauma caused by incest. The film starred Ted Danson, Glenn Close, Missy Francis and Roxana Zal. Zal became the youngest primetime ...more
Carrie is a 1976 American supernatural horror film based on Stephen King's first major 1974 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Brian De Palma and written by Lawrence D. Cohen. The ...more
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a 2012 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film, and an adaptation of the 1999 epistolary novel of the same name; it was written and directed by the novel's ...more
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Antwone FisherDenzel Washington, Viola Davis, Salli Richardson
Antwone Fisher is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by and starring Denzel Washington in his feature film directorial debut. He also stars in the film as the psychiatrist Jerome ...more
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Lost Children
Lost Children is a 2004 documentary film directed by Ali Samadi Ahadi and Oliver Stoltz.
The Elizabeth Smart Story is a 2003 television movie about the high profile Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case. It was broadcast less than eight months after her recovery. It was based on the book ...more
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things is a 2004 drama film co-written and directed by Asia Argento and starring Argento, Jimmy Bennett & Dylan and Cole Sprouse. It is based on JT LeRoy's ...more
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Jojo Smile added Good Will HuntingBen Affleck, Robin Williams, Matt Damon
Good Will Hunting is a 1997 American drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, and starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver and Stellan Skarsgård. Written by Affleck and ...more
Not Without My Daughter is a 1991 drama film depicting the escape of American citizen Betty Mahmoody and her daughter from her husband in Iran. The film was shot in the United States, Turkey and ...more
Gracie's Choice is a 2004 television movie that premiered on Lifetime, written by Joyce Eliason and directed by Peter Werner, and starring Kristen Bell, Anne Heche, Diane Ladd, and Kristin
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Katelynn Rose Leeann Leach added Daddy's Little GirlsGabrielle Union, Idris Elba, Louis Gossett
Daddy's Little Girls is a 2007 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Tyler Perry and produced by Perry and Reuben Cannon. It stars Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba. The film was ...more
Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story is an American TV film directed by Peter Levin. It was first released on April 7, 2003 in the United States. This movie is adapted from Liz Murray's ...more
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS was the most riveting, provocative, and hotly debated film of the year. Despite their predilection for ...more
