Entertainment
Great Movies Set Along the Coast
The coast may seem like a serene destination, but some of the most exciting movies of all time take place near the water. The top seaside movies feature stories about friendship, romantic relationships, and coping with life on the waterfront. This is a list of the top movies set in seaside towns featuring everything from Dan in Real Life to Moonrise Kingdom to Mermaids.
What movies will you find on this list of the top coastal films? Many movie fans would vote Jaws straight to the top. Set in the fictional New England town of Amity Island, this Steven Spielberg classic had movie-goers scared to even dip their toes in the water. Even its setting was authentic: much of Jaws was filmed on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Dolores Claiborne is another good film set in a coastal region. The coast proved to be the perfect setting for the coming-of-age story of the ladies of Mystic Pizza. Other good movies featured on this best coastal films list include About Time, Message in a Bottle, and The Ghost Writer.
Which movie set on the coast do you think is the best? Give your favorites a thumbs up and add any great coastal flicks that are missing.
Ranked by
- 1Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
- Released: 1975
- Directed by: Steven Spielberg
When a young woman is killed by a shark while skinny-dipping near the New England tourist town of Amity Island, police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) wants to close the beaches, but mayor Larry ...more - 2George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
Based on a true story, the film tells of the courageous men and women who risk their lives every working day, pitting their fishing boats and rescue vessels against the capricious forces of nature. ...more - 3Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Robert Eggers
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. - 4Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Duncan (Liam James) is an awkward teen who must spend the summer at a beach house with his mother (Toni Collette), her boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell), and Trent's obnoxious daughter. Trent can't ...more - 5Julia Roberts, Annabeth Gish, Lili Taylor
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: Donald Petrie
"Mystic Pizza" charts the lives and loves of three unforgettable waitresses in a little town called Mystic. For sexy Daisy Araujo (Julia Roberts), her sensible sister Kat (Annabeth Gish) and their ...more - 6Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich
- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Peter Weir
He doesn't know it, but everything in Truman Burbank's (Jim Carrey) life is part of a massive TV set. Executive producer Christof (Ed Harris) orchestrates "The Truman Show," a live broadcast of ...more - 7Peter Ustinov, Colin Blakely, Jane Birkin
- Released: 1982
- Directed by: Guy Hamilton
Agatha Christie's Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov), solves the murder of an actress at a Balkan resort. - 8Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Michel Gondry
After a painful breakup, Clementine (Kate Winslet) undergoes a procedure to erase memories of her former boyfriend Joel (Jim Carrey) from her mind. When Joel discovers that Clementine is going to ...more - 9Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Martin Scorsese
When attorney Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) knowingly withholds evidence that would acquit violent sex offender Max Cady (Robert De Niro) of rape charges, Max spends 14 years in prison. But after Max's ...more - 10Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Martin Scorsese
The implausible escape of a brilliant murderess brings U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner (Mark Ruffalo) to Ashecliffe Hospital, a fortress-like insane asylum located ...more - 11Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Bill Murray
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Wes Anderson
The year is 1965, and the residents of New Penzance, an island off the coast of New England, inhabit a community that seems untouched by some of the bad things going on in the rest of the world. ...more - 12Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Peter Hedges
Dan Burns (Steve Carell), a widower and advice columnist, meets a beautiful stranger (Juliette Binoche) in a bookstore and is instantly smitten. Unfortunately the woman, named Marie, is already ...more - 13Cher, Winona Ryder, Bob Hoskins
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Richard Benjamin
Fifteen-year-old Charlotte Flax (Winona Ryder) is tired of her wacky mom (Cher) moving their family to a different town any time she feels it is necessary. When they move to a small Massachusetts ...more - 14Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Strathairn
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Dolores Claiborne is a 1995 American psychological thriller drama film directed by Taylor Hackford, it is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. In 1995, Dolores Claiborne (Kathy Bates) ...more - 15Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Richard Curtis
When Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) is 21, his father (Bill Nighy) tells him a secret: The men in their family can travel through time. Although he can't change history, Tim resolves to improve his life ...more - 16Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Delroy Lindo
- Released: 1999
- Directed by: Lasse Hallström
The film follows the life of Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire), a precocious orphan who leaves his lifelong home and his loving tutor, Dr. Larch (Michael Caine) to explore the world. While Homer struggles ...more - 17Kevin Costner, Robin Wright, Paul Newman
- Released: 1999
- Directed by: Luis Mandoki
During her morning jog on the beach, journalist Theresa Osborne (Robin Wright Penn) discovers a bottle protruding from the sand. Inside it, she finds a heartbreaking, anonymous love letter. After her ...more - 18Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Dennis Quaid, Bruce McGill
- Released: 2021
- Directed by: Julio Quintana
Blue Miracle is a 2021 American biographical adventure drama film directed by Julio Quintana. To save their cash-strapped orphanage, a guardian and his kids partner with a washed-up boat captain for ...more - 19Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden
- Released: 1954
- Directed by: Billy Wilder
Chauffeur's daughter Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn) returns home from two years in Paris a beautiful young woman, and immediately catches the attention of David (William Holden), the playboy son of her ...more - 20Morgan Saylor, Sophie Lowe, June Squibb
- Released: 2020
- Directed by: Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy
Blow The Man Down is a 2020 American dark comedy directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy. Two sisters (Sophie Lowe and Morgan Saylor) attempt to cover up a gruesome run-in with a dangerous ...more - 21Pierce Brosnan, Ewan McGregor, Kim Cattrall
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Roman Polanski
When a successful ghostwriter, the Ghost (Ewan McGregor), agrees to finish the memoirs of Adam Long (Pierce Brosnan), England's former prime minister, his publisher assures him it's the chance of a ...more - 22Toni Collette, Bill Hunter, Rachel Griffiths
- Released: 1994
- Directed by: P.J. Hogan
Socially awkward Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette) wants nothing more than to get married. Unfortunately, due to her oppressive politician father (Bill Hunter), Muriel has never even been on a date. ...more - 23Tim Curry, Seth Green, John Ritter
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Tommy Lee Wallace
Maine friends struggle with the embodiment of evil. - 24John Cusack, Demi Moore, Joel Murray
- Released: 1986
- Directed by: Savage Steve Holland
After graduating from high school, art school hopeful Hoops McCann (John Cusack) struggles to complete his application to the Rhode Island School of Design. Resigning himself to a summer of boredom, ...more - 25Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Todd Field
Summertime on the coast of Maine, "In the Bedroom" centers on the inner dynamics of a family in transition. Matt Fowler (Tom Wilkinson) is a doctor practicing in his native Maine and is married to ...more
