Today sees the UK release of Lady Bird, the five-time Academy Award-nominated drama about an artistic 17-year-old girl (Saoirse Ronan) and the strained relationship she has with her mother (Laurie Metcalf).
Like The Maze Runner? Here are the 10 best young adult films on Netflix
If Greta Gerwig’s heartwarming movie leaves you in the mood for more coming-of-age tales, then there are plenty to choose from on Netflix.
From musical comedies and young adult adaptations to gritty crime thrillers and moving biopics, here’s a look at ten you should put in your queue.
Sweet Sixteen
As you’d expect from the master of gritty realism, Ken Loach, this Glaswegian drama isn’t your average happy-go-lucky coming-of-age.
Sweet Sixteen stars a young Martin Compston (Line Of Duty) as a teenage delinquent whose plans to start afresh with his soon-to-be-released convict mother go awry with devastating consequences.
Dope
One of the coolest coming-of-age movies in recent years, this Sundance hit centres on a geeky teen (Shameik Moore) from South Central LA who gets the chance to boost his street cred when he’s invited to an underground party.
While the premise sounds more suited to a brainless high-school comedy, the 90s-obsessed Dope is in fact a charming, witty and vibrant parable which recalls vintage Spike Lee.
Mean Creek
Boasting a cast of hugely talented young actors, this underrated 2004 indie sees a group of teens plot their revenge against the school bully (Josh Peck) on a boating trip in their small hometown.
But the gang’s attempts at humiliation turns into something far more tragic, resulting in an emotionally devastating tale of peer pressure, morality and masculinity, which evokes the ultimate coming-of-age flick, Stand By Me.
Paper Towns
This adaptation of John Green’s same-named novel proves that young adult films aren’t necessarily always about fights to the death, maniacal tyrants and post-apocalyptic worlds.
Indeed, Paper Towns is an intriguing mix of romance, mystery, dramedy and coming-of-age in which Nat Wolff’s high-school outcast investigates the disappearance of his childhood friend (Cara Delevingne).
Nowhere Boy
The young life of John Lennon provides the source material for this moving biopic, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson.
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the legendary Beatle, Nowhere Boy focuses solely on the years between 1955 and 1960, a period in which Lennon sowed the seeds for the band that would later become the most important and influential of all time.
The Way He Looks
Based on the award-winning short film, I Don’t Want To Go Back Alone, this Brazilian high-school romance with a difference became a festival favourite when it hit the circuit in 2014.
Perfectly capturing the trials and tribulations of teenage love, The Way He Looks stars Ghilherme Lobo as a blind student whose world is turned upside down by the arrival of a new classmate named Gabriel.
Adventureland
Who would have guessed that the man behind the juvenile Superbad could produce something so heartfelt and sweet-natured as this 1980s-set dramedy.
Starring Jesse Eisenberg as a cash-strapped college graduate who falls in love while working at a local theme park, Greg Mottola’s indie romance Adventureland is pretty much guaranteed to give you all the feels.
Divines
Part crime thriller, part coming-of–age, part female buddy movie, Divines is an exhilarating, if ultimately tragic, tale based on two best friends who dream of escaping their rundown Parisian neighbourhood.
The directorial debut of French filmmaker Houda Benyamina has inevitably been compared to the similarly themed Girlhood (sadly not on Netflix).
But with its divisive gut-punch climax, Divines ensures that the two actually end up being poles apart.
City Of God
Exploring the violent underbelly of Rio through the eyes of an aspiring photographer desperate to escape his gang-war surroundings, this four-time Oscar nominee also doesn’t pull its punches either.
Fernando Meirelles’ gritty slum tale therefore isn’t for the faint-hearted. But it’s a compelling depiction of the city’s long-running cycle of violence made all the more authentic by its largely non-professional cast.
Sing Street
Set in 1980s Dublin, the Golden Globe-nominated Sing Street sees a teenage outsider attempt to win over the heart of his school crush by forming a band.
Directed by John Carney, the man behind Once and Begin Again, it’s another inherently charming musical with a fantastic soundtrack inspired by some of the decade’s greatest pop acts.
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