'Julie & Julia,' 'Rain Man,' and Other Movies Based on a True Story
While compelling storylines come in many forms, there’s something distinctly satisfying about a movie based on real life. Not only can you continually remind yourself that what you’re watching on screen really did happen (even when the likes of Brad Pitt or Meryl Streep are the stars), you can also find joy in learning about a captivating tale based on true events. Whether you're looking for a serial killer mystery, a feel good tale of finding oneself, or a classic underdog story, these films take all of the facts and spin them into stories that will inspire, astound, and haunt long after you've finished watching. From Julie & Julia to Rain Man, here are some of the greatest films of all time based on true stories.
Kathryn Bigelow's 2012 masterwork is a gripping action film depicting the decade-long CIA manhunt for Osama bin Laden following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While Jessica Chastain's character is a fictional CIA operative meant to be a composite of various agents who worked on the case, all the events in the movie are very much real, including the years of interrogations it took to discover bin Laden's hiding location in a Pakistan compound that finally culminated in the 2011 nighttime SEAL Team Six raid that killed the Al-Qaeda leader.
Inspired by American savant Laurence Kim Peek, Rain Man tells the story of car dealer Charlie Babbitt (played by Tom Cruise), who discovers that his recently deceased (and estranged) father left his $3 million fortune to the mental institution that his brother—who he never knew—lives. Babbitt is initially motivated by the money, so checks his brother Raymond out of the institution to return to LA, only to embark on a life-changing road trip, where the two brothers form an incredible bond.
Based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir of the same name, Eat Pray Love chronicles Gilbert’s post-divorce “journey” around the world, where she embarks on the “search for everything,” from indulging in Italy’s culinary delights to mastering prayer in India.
Based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a homeless father who raised his son while aspiring to be—and eventually become—a stock broker. The Pursuit of Happyness is a heart wrenching film that details how this one man battled with losing his home, navigating a new career, and keeping his son in good spirits amidst the chaos of life.
Based on Michael Lewis's 2003 book, Moneyball tells the story of how the Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (played Brad Pitt), joins forces with Ivy Leaguer Peter Brand (played by Jonah Hill) to transform the struggling team despite its limited budget. By using a “sabermetric” approach to scouting players (basically shifting focus to cold hard statistics), the two pull together an underdog team of game winners.
As one of the most classic sports movies of its era, Raging Bull was adapted from Jake LaMotta's memoir, Raging Bull: My Story, and details the life of an angry-yet-gifted boxer as he rises to fame, falls in love, and battles with his internal demons.
This Best Picture-winning film also brought Colin Firth the Best Actor Oscar for his complex portrayal of King George VI. Unexpectedly ascending the throne after his brother abdicates, the king is forced to find a solution for his life-long stutter with the help of an unconventional speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush).
Based on the memoir by Baroness Karen von Blixen (also known as Isak Dinesen), the movie tells the story of a Danish aristocrat who buys a coffee plantation in Kenya, where she falls in love with an American big-game hunter played by Robert Redford. This Best-Picture winner has sumptuous scenery, Meryl Streep doing an accent, and, well, Robert Redford.
This feel good comedy starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep is based on Julie Powell’s daily blog, where she documented her attempt to recreate each of Julia Child’s recipes from her cookbook "Mastering The Art Of French Cooking” (all 524 of them). Foodies and aspiring home cooks alike will love this upbeat classic.
Based on the life of music legend Ray Charles, the film follows Charles (in an Oscar-winning performance by Jamie Foxx) as he makes his way in the music industry, overcoming racism and discrimination against his blindness to become a hit. But fame isn't without its drawbacks, and Charles must confront his own demons to ensure that his star doesn't burn out before its time.
Based on Cheryl Strayed's memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, and starring Reese Witherspoon, Wild tells the story of the author, who, after a series of losses and struggles, from the death of her mother (played by Laura Dern) to the crumbling of her marriage, decides to embark on a journey of self-discovery by hiking 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.
In a rare dramatic role for comedy icon Melissa McCarthy—for which she was nominated for an Oscar—she plays the real-life Lee Israel, a writer struggling with alcoholism, financial trouble, and a string of career failures, who resorts to forging letters from deceased authors in order to make ends meet. The film is based on Israel's confessional memoir of the same name.
Fernando Meirelles’s biographical drama takes viewers behind the walls of the Vatican, telling the story of how Pope Benedict and Pope Francis had to come together to create a new vision for the modern Catholic Church.
A skilled con man and forger, 17-year-old Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) becomes the most successful fraudster in the U.S. Pursued by FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), Abagnale has to resort to increasingly desperate gambits to stay one step ahead of the law.
A reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Henriad” plays, The King tells the story of Henry, Prince of Wales, who is crowned King Henry V after his father and brother (the intended heir to the throne) both die. While King Henry spent most of his days drinking and fooling around—with a general disregard for the war policies of his father— once crowned, he is determined to be nothing like his father.
This 2001 biographical drama is based on the life of Nobel Prize-winning mathematician and economist John Nash (and inspired by the Pulitzer-winning book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar). Russell Crowe plays the brilliant Nash, whose rising career and stardom is at risk of being derailed by his own personal demons. A Beautiful Mind won four Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly).
This Clint Eastwood-directed drama stars Bradley Cooper as real-life Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who was the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history with 255 kills. But his battleground acuity—he did four tours in the Iraq War—inevitably took a heavy toll on his personal and family life, eventually leading to tragedy.
A wealthy racehorse owner, a boxer-turned-jockey, and a dedicated trainer work together to turn a long-shot horse into victory in Depression-era America in this adaptation of one of the most successful thoroughbreds in American history.
Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson fight widespread, systematic discrimination to continue their work as human computers at NASA in the 1960s, playing a vital—and previously unsung—role in the effort to send astronauts into space.
Centered on the final period of Abraham Lincoln's life as he attempts to guide a nation torn by Civil War and ensure the passage of the 13th Amendment to ban slavery, this Steven Spielberg film stars Daniel Day-Lewis in an Academy Award-winning turn as the doomed president.
Ava DuVernay directed this historical drama that is based on the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery led by Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, and Hosea Williams, and which led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
One of the most iconic Queens of all time serves as the subject of this historical drama. Cate Blanchett earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as Elizabeth I as she grew from a young princess caught in a succession struggle to a legendary monarch with the help of the master spy, Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Russh), her secret lover (Joseph Fiennes), and her own iron will.
What could have been a tedious procedural is instead a gripping ensemble thriller about a team of Boston Globe investigative reporters who uncover the decades-long effort by the Catholic church to suppress information about scores of abuse charges against priests.
Businessman and Nazi party member Oskar Schindler works to save innocent lives and protect the Jewish workers that staff his factory during World War II.
Based on the play by Peter Morgan, which was in turn inspired by real events, this Oscar-nominated drama pits TV personality David Frost (Michael Sheen) against former president Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) in a series of televised, on-on-one interviews that Nixon hopes to use to rehabilitate his reputation in a post-Watergate world, while Frost tries to ferret out a news-making story that could revamp his career.
A story of historic malevolence and heroic survival, 12 Years a Slave portrays the cruelty of slavery in the South in the years before the Civil War through the eyes of a free black man who is kidnapped and sold into bondage.
An adaptation of Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas chronicles the life of young Mafia mobster Henry Hill as he ruthlessly climbs his way to the top, oblivious to the effects his actions have on others and on himself.
A towering performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman defines this film about Truman Capote, the author of Breakfast at Tiffany's, as he sets out to write a piece for the New Yorker about the brutal murder of a family in Kansas. He is accompanied by his good friend Harper Lee (author of To Kill a Mockingbird) for the project that would eventually become In Cold Blood.
Eddie Murphy plays Rudy Ray Moore, the late comedian and "Godfather of Rap" who rose to fame in the '70s for his alter ego, Dolemite. The film charts his ascent from struggling artist to the widely influential figure he became—Snoop Dogg once said, "without Rudy Ray Moore, there would be no Snoop Dogg."
Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney star in this true story tale about the largest public school embezzlement in U.S. history that took place in a tony Long Island suburb. Jackman plays Frank Tassone, a charismatic superintendent who, with his associate Pamela Gluckin (Janney), stole $11.2 million from the school budget to finance a Park Avenue apartment, trips to Vegas, expensive suits and cars, and plastic surgery, among other things.
Based on the viral 2015 New York Magazine piece by Jessica Pressler, Hustlers tells the story about a group of strippers who enrich themselves by drugging and stealing from the rich men who frequent their club. At the very least, watch for J.Lo, who delivers the absolute best performance of her career.
Based on the eponymous memoir by Bryan Stevenson, the lawyer, social justice activist, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, Just Mercy is about a young Stevenson who goes to Alabama to help those who can't afford proper legal representation. He meets Walter McMillian, an African-American man on death row for the murder of a white woman, which he did not commit. The film, with its A-list cast (Michael B. Jordan as Stevenson, Jamie Foxx as McMillian), depicts Stevenson's struggle with deep South racism and a problematic criminal justice system as he fights to exonerate McMillian.
Based on the autobiographies of Johnny Cash, this film follows the country musician (Joaquin Phoenix) from his youth through his ascent to stardom, and his struggles with drugs, infidelity, and guilt over the childhood death of his brother. It's only with the help of June Carter (Reese Witherspoon, in an Oscar-winning performance) and her family that Cash is finally able to turn his life around.
Despite grim warnings, two dogged reporters investigate a connection between a White House staff member and the attempted 1972 burglary of the Democratic Party Headquarters at Watergate, with the help of a mysterious source. Their reporting ultimately leads to the resignation of President Nixon.
Inspired by the 1970s FBI ABSCAM investigation, American Hustle tells the story of two con men on a sting operation in New Jersey. From the dance moves to the double-crossing, the hustle of crime might bring everyone's world crashing down.
United 93 recounts the events of September 11, 2001 as they took place on United Airlines Flight 93, one of four planes seized by Al-Qaeda terrorists. The film, which makes use of real 911 calls and other audio, follows the passengers as they decide to take action. Flight 93 was the only plane not to hit its intended target, but instead went down in a field in Pennsylvania.
Chilly aristocrat Claus von Bülow is convicted of the attempted murder of his wife, wealthy American socialite Sunny von Bülow, in 1979, but after hiring super lawyer Alan Dershowitz (upon whose book this movie is based), von Bülow's conviction is overturned and he is later acquitted. This story is simultaneously a saga of wealth and betrayal—which earned Jeremy Irons an Oscar for Best Actor—and a story of the American court system and the fundamental rights of all who stand accused of a crime.
Based on the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, Ron Howard's film follows the story of three astronauts desperately struggling to bring their ship back into Earth's orbit after an oxygen tank explodes, threatening their survival.
Based on the memoir of fraudulent stockbroker Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street makes crime look fun (or at least exhilarating) as Martin Scorcese's film follows the young broker's hedonistic lifestyle of sex, drugs, and white-collar crime.
Starring Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey Jr., and Jake Gyllenhaal, this twisty, disconcerting mystery-thriller follows the investigation into the identity of the infamous 1960s Zodiac killer in San Francisco.
When Hutu military forces initiate a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Tutsi minority in Rwanda, hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina struggles to protect Tutsi refugees and his wife as the violence around them escalates into what is now known as the Rwandan genocide.
In The Farewell, writer-director Lulu Wang dramatizes a true story from her own life: when her grandmother was given weeks to live, her whole family reunited to see her one last time. The catch? Her grandma had no idea she was ill.
There's been no shortage of debate about exactly how closely this drama, about the rise of Facebook, sticks to the facts, but this collaboration between screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher nonetheless taps into the intrigue and ingenuity that have become synonymous with the social media giant.
An adaptation of Wladyslaw Szpilman's autobiography, The Pianist follows a glamorous Jewish musician who is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, separated from his family, and made to hide in various locations in the city's ruins during the German occupation of Poland during World War II.
James Franco stars as hiker Aron Ralston in this heart-wrenching true story about an adventurer who finds himself trapped under a boulder for five days. Based on Ralston's memoir, the film chronicles his agonizing decision to amputate his own arm in order to survive.
Naturalist Diane Fossey moved to Rwanda to study gorillas and devoted herself to studying their family groups—and advocating for their protection from poaching. Sigourney Weaver gives a tour-de-force (and Oscar-nominated) performance as the passionate and enraged Fossey, and the sumptuous scenes of Africa will make you fall in love with the great apes and weep at the tragic fate that seems to befall everyone.
Tough-talking Erin Brockovich becomes a clerk to a lawyer in a small California town, eventually becoming instrumental in building a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company of California in 1993.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this Academy Award-winning biopic of the enigmatically brilliant billionaire Howard Hughes, from his early years as a film director and aviation enthusiast to his downward spiral into the mental illness and phobia that would define the tycoon's later years.
Based on the book by Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild tells the story of a Christopher McCandless, a recent Emory University graduate who gives up all of his material possessions and journeys alone out into the Alaskan wilderness.
The Imitation Game charts how Alan Turing's game-changing innovations helped the Allies win the war—then, tragically, shows his country would persecute him anyway.
This serial killer drama becomes extra eerie once you realize it is based on a true story. Lost Girls, the film adaptation of the 2013 book of the same name, tells the story of a woman who takes investigations into her own hands after her daughter goes missing. The initial investigation leads police to discover the bodies of several sex workers, which are all thought to be linked.
These days, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon are a comedic power couple. But, as The Big Sick shows, they almost didn't end up together at all. Najiani and Gordon co-wrote this rom-com about the very real, very traumatic medical emergency that brought them together.
Based on the best-selling book by Michael Lewis, The Big Short tells the story of a small cadre who saw the 2008 financial crash coming. The acting is superb—what with Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt, how could it not be?—and the film manages to make the minutiae of Wall Street comprehensible, even interesting.
The extraordinary life of Stephen Hawking is told from the perspective of his relationship—from falling in love at Cambridge, to getting married, to their eventual divorce—to Jane Wilde (the film is based on her memoir). Eddie Redmayne earned a Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of the brilliant physicist, who defied all odds to become one of the most legendary figures in history.
Harvey Milk is a hero for the ages, and Milk tells his story with sensitivity and honesty. If you're not familiar with Milk, one of America's first openly gay elected officials, let this be your starting point; if you're already a fan, celebrate his legacy with yet another rewatch.
Among the list of infamous serial killers, Ted Bundy is often the first to come to mind. This crime thriller, starring Zac Efron as Bundy, chronicles the serial killer’s vicious crimes from the perspective of his girlfriend.
'Julie & Julia,' 'Rain Man,' and Other Movies Based on a True Story
While compelling storylines come in many forms, there’s something distinctly satisfying about a movie based on real life. Not only can you continually remind yourself that what you’re watching on screen really did happen (even when the likes of Brad Pitt or Meryl Streep are the stars), you can also find joy in learning about a captivating tale based on true events. Whether you're looking for a serial killer mystery, a feel good tale of finding oneself, or a classic underdog story, these films take all of the facts and spin them into stories that will inspire, astound, and haunt long after you've finished watching. From Julie & Julia to Rain Man, here are some of the greatest films of all time based on true stories.
Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.
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