10 Streaming Movies That Will Change Your Life In Under 2 Hours

Movies have the power to change our lives, and some great films manage to do this with an impressive under-two-hour runtime. It seems like movies are getting longer and longer these days, but there really is something to be said for a film that can knock it out of the park without the need for excessive length or indulgence.

Whether it’s a small-scale legal drama, a nostalgic rom-com, a dark thriller, or a modern Christmas classic, there’s something special about a film that manages to deliver life-changing results with a swift runtime. It’s even better when they are easily found on streaming services, as Apple TV, HBO Max, Prime Video, and Netflix all offer great releases.

His Three Daughters (2023)

Clocking in at just over 100 minutes, His Three Daughters is an incredible Netflix drama defined by its incredible performances. With Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olsen playing three siblings coming together as their father comes to the end of his life in hospice care at home, this film deals with pressing questions about the nature of life, love, and death.

It’s true that times of intensity bring out complex emotions as these siblings are confronted with death head-on and are finally forced to say all the things they had kept bottled up for years. The death of a parent is a hardship that many can understand, and His Three Daughters depicts it like few movies before it.

At exactly two hours, Sound of Metal can be streamed on Prime Video and explores topics around hearing loss in a powerful and moving manner. With Riz Ahmed as a heavy metal drummer who loses his hearing, Sound of Metal showcases how difficult life can be when the one thing that gave it meaning is taken away.

As an evocative, visceral viewing experience, Sound of Metal allows audiences to truly understand the challenges faced by members of the deaf community and is a moving, complex film. As a Best Picture nominee, Ahmed also earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance, but it was the film's incredible editing that ultimately earned a well-deserved Oscar.

CODA (2019)

AppleTV released its own Best Picture winner in 2019 with CODA, another movie that powerfully represents deaf communities. Telling the story of 17-year-old Ruby Rossi, played by Emilia Jones, the only hearing member of her family, this film highlights how challenging it can be when someone already struggling with adolescence must also serve as the ears for their entire family.

CODA was commended by activist groups for featuring real deaf actors and for portraying its characters as anything but helpless, as the family ran their own successful fishing business. CODA did well at the Oscars in a year with plenty of tough competition, ultimately winning Best Picture over releases such as The Power of the Dog, Drive My Car, and Dune.

One Night In Miami (2020)

One Night in Miami tells the fictionalized account of the night of February 25, 1964, when Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke met in a room at the Hampton House. Based on the stage play of the same name, the film explores race relations in America and civil rights during a formative period in the movement.

Directed by Regina King and featuring some truly astonishing performances, One Night in Miami is a grand exploration of larger-than-life figures. While the men passionately spoke about the biggest challenges society faced in the 1960s, what made the story meaningful was the realization of just how relevant these topics remain today.

Paddleton (2019)

Netflix is filled with incredible, life-changing hidden gems if you know where to look. A prime example of this is Paddleton, starring Ray Romano and Mark Duplass as two friends who come together during a time of great difficulty. Duplass plays Michael, a middle-aged man with terminal cancer who decides to end his life, and Romano plays Andy, his neighbor and best friend.

Paddleton is a slow-burning drama that blends humor and tragedy in a way that is both poignant and profound. The emotional intensity of its story is heightened by two incredible performances, with Romano showcasing his dramatic talents and proving his sitcom skills aren’t the only thing audiences love about him.

Palm Springs (2020)

Ever since Groundhog Day hit theaters back in 1993, it seems like every time loop movie has played out exactly the same as viewers are forced to relive the same film again and again. However, Palm Springs felt like a fresh take on an old formula as Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti excelled in one of the best comedies of the 2020s.

At a swift 90 minutes, Palm Springs sees two strangers caught in a time loop during the night of a wedding. As a highly ambitious film, Palm Springs shakes up the tropes and clichés of time-loop stories while balancing big themes, landing an incredibly difficult landing, and being truly hilarious the whole way through.

Juror No. 2 (2024)

Clint Eastwood has directed some life-changing films over his illustrious career, with Best Picture winners like Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby standing out. However, he’s still doing great work even in his 90s, as the courtroom drama Juror No. 2 proves.

With Nicholas Hoult playing a man on a jury who starts to realize he might be the one responsible for a death that someone else is on trial for, this life-changing film tackles tough questions around morality and ethics. Juror No. 2 is a heavy thriller that does not shy away from difficult issues and highlights the systemic failures of the American legal system.

Blue Jay (2016)

Blue Jay tells the story of a man, played by Mark Duplass, who returns to his hometown and has a chance encounter with his high school girlfriend, played by Sarah Paulson. With simple and strong performances, this intimate drama explores themes of nostalgia, the weight of the past, regret, and the complexities of rekindling old love.

As a quiet and beautiful meditation on love, Blue Jay will appeal to any hopeless romantic who just can’t help taking a trip down memory lane. This is the ultimate what-if movie, as its characters dive into the question of what life would be like if they had made different choices.

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

Scottish director Lynne Ramsay has made some truly life-changing movies, such as We Need to Talk About Kevin and, more recently, Die My Love. However, one incredibly underrated release from her is You Were Never Really Here, which features Joaquin Phoenix as Joe, a traumatized mercenary hired by a politician to rescue his daughter after she is kidnapped.

With Phoenix giving one of his most underrated performances, this intense psychological thriller doesn’t shy away from tough themes of human trafficking and the dark, seedy underbelly of underground crime networks. Almost unbearably intense, You Were Never Really Here packs a lot into its 90-minute runtime.

Klaus (2019)

It’s not often we are gifted a new true Christmas classic, but Netflix’s Klaus managed to do just that as it delivered an origin story for Santa Claus that was truly ingenious. Set in a remote island town, the plot revolves around a haphazard postman who befriends a reclusive toymaker.

Klaus is rich in emotional depth and balances an incredible story with heart and humor. Adding to Klaus’s incredible narrative is its beautiful hand-drawn animation, which stands in sharp contrast to the almost gaudy CGI that has characterized so many modern kids' movies. Even though it’s a relatively new release, Klaus already feels like a classic.