Movies Like Adolescence on Netflix: 7 Haunting Coming-of-Age Films You Must Watch
- Satish Sharma
- Apr 25
- 4 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Netflix's Adolescence (2025), created by Stephen Graham, is more than a crime drama—it's an aching, atmospheric portrait of what it means to grow up when the world expects you to stay silent. Jamie Miller’s story is fragile and ferocious, a slow-burning rebellion against judgment, misunderstanding, and trauma. If you felt seen, haunted, or quietly shaken by Adolescence, you’re not alone.
Some stories stay with us because they whisper the truths we couldn't say out loud when we were younger. If you’re searching for movies like Adolescence on Netflix, the following seven films echo that same quiet power. These aren’t just coming-of-age films—they’re memory, grief, defiance, and healing stitched into celluloid.
1. Udaan (2010) – The Silent Scream for Freedom
Language: Hindi | Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
Set in Jamshedpur’s oppressive lanes, Udaan follows Rohan, a teenager expelled from boarding school and forced into the brutal routine of his authoritarian father. But rebellion doesn’t always roar—sometimes, it writes poems late at night. Rohan's resistance is literary, internal, and hauntingly personal.
Like Jamie, he finds freedom not through violence but through the decision to walk away. This film feels like a long-held breath finally released.
“I didn’t want to run away. I wanted to fly.”
Why watch: It captures the invisible wounds of toxic parenting and the courage it takes to choose oneself.
2. Eighth Grade (2018) – The Loneliness of Being Seen
Language: English | Director: Bo Burnham
Kayla is 13. Awkward, anxious, and painfully relatable, she films self-help vlogs she’s too shy to share. She scrolls, compares, cringes. Bo Burnham’s directorial debut is less a story and more a mirror—one held up to our insecurities and digital masks.
Kayla and Jamie could’ve gone to the same school. Both are walking contradictions: full of feeling, unable to articulate it.
Why watch: For the rawness of pre-teen anxiety and the ache of trying to connect in a world that never stops performing.
3. Lady Bird (2017) – A Love Letter to the Ones Who Raised Us
Language: English | Director: Greta Gerwig
Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson wants out—out of Sacramento, out of expectations, out of her mother’s tightly wound love. Greta Gerwig paints adolescence not as a crisis, but a constant negotiation between wanting to stay a child and needing to become an adult.
Like Jamie’s silent war with authority, Lady Bird's emotional skirmishes feel familiar—heartbreakingly so.
Why watch: For the complex mother-daughter love story and the push-pull rhythm of teen rebellion.
4. Masaan (2015) – Guilt, Grief, and Ganges
Language: Hindi | Director: Neeraj Ghaywan
If Adolescence speaks of secrets behind closed doors, Masaan walks into the ruins those secrets leave behind. Set in Varanasi, it follows two intersecting journeys: Devi’s fight against societal shame and Deepak’s against caste and destiny.
It's less about youth and more about what youth is forced to endure. What happens when your dreams are considered sins?
Why watch: For its poetic treatment of trauma and the tenderness of finding light in despair.
5. Boyhood (2014) – Growing Up, One Year at a Time
Language: English | Director: Richard Linklater
Filmed over 12 real years, Boyhood isn’t a story. It’s life unfolding. From early curiosity to adolescent detachment, we watch Mason grow up without dramatic twists—just fleeting moments: a haircut, a breakup, a quiet drive.
If Adolescence is a storm, Boyhood is a steady drizzle—soaked in time, memory, and unanswered questions.
Why watch: To remember that sometimes, just growing up is the most radical act.
6. Moonlight (2016) – Three Faces of a Boy Becoming a Man
Language: English | Director: Barry Jenkins
Told in three chapters, Moonlight is Chiron’s journey from neglected child to emotionally armoured adult. His story of queerness, racial identity, and silence burns quietly—like Jamie’s unspoken truths.
Each frame feels like a bruise and a balm. It's about what happens when softness is punished and vulnerability becomes a threat.
Why watch: For its visual poetry, its aching performances, and the reminder that masculinity can also mean pain.
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) – Healing in Fragments
Language: English | Director: Stephen Chbosky
Charlie isn’t okay—and neither were many of us at his age. But through mixtapes, literature, and late-night drives, he begins to mend. This film doesn’t glamorize trauma—it simply holds space for it.
If Jamie’s journey in Adolescence is about being misunderstood, Charlie’s is about being accepted. Both search for someone to say, “You are not alone.”
Why watch: For its kindness, its honesty, and that one unforgettable line: “We accept the love we think we deserve.”
Final Thoughts
Adolescence on Netflix reminded us that coming-of-age isn’t just about first loves or awkward dances. Sometimes, it’s about surviving silence, confronting shame, and learning to exist in your own skin.
These seven films—whether Indian indies or Hollywood classics—mirror that journey. Watch them not just as entertainment, but as emotional companions. They’ll meet you where you are, and maybe, like Jamie, help you find your own voice.
Liked this list? Drop your favorite coming-of-age movie in the comments. Let’s build this cinephile circle, one memory at a time.
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