Coming-of-age movies have always been - and will always be - relatable and popular. If viewers watch movies that deal with the trials and tribulations of growing up when they are in the process of growing up, they’re likely to strike a chord. If they are a little older or have already come of age, then these films can evoke feelings of nostalgia and longing, bringing back memories of times long gone but no less impactful.
That’s the clearest way to describe coming-of-age movies: they’re about the trials and tribulations of growing up and usually center on characters who are children, teenagers, or sometimes even young adults. These can be funny, heartwarming, crushingly sad, or all of the above, and the genre itself is destined to never grow out of style.What follows are some of the greatest coming-of-age movies of all time, ranked from great to greatest.
Director: Peter Weir
Robin Williamsis the star ofDead Poets Society, afunny movie that’s not quite a comedybut a coming-of-age story that focuses on a group of boarding school students. Williams plays Mr. Keating, an English teacher who inspires them to think outside the box, which clashes with the old-fashioned attitudes of their school and its headmaster.
Dead Poets Societyis sentimental but earnest and ultimately powerful, and its final scenes are likely to move even those viewers with the most hardened of hearts. It’s also notable nowadays for featuring one ofEthan Hawke’s earliest performances. At just 18, Hawke played Todd Anderson, one of the students and the film’s de-facto protagonist.
Dead Poets Society
Rent on Amazon
24’The Perks of Being a Wallflower' (2012)
Director: Stephen Chbosky
ThoughStephen Chbosky’s2021 filmDear Evan Hansencertainly doesn’t rank as one of the great coming-of-age movies, his 2012 filmThe Perks of Being a Wallflowercertainly does. Interestingly, he wrote the novel on which it was based, adapted it into a screenplay, and then directed the film.
It’s set in the early 1990s and focuses on a shy high schooler named Charlie, the titular wallflower, who becomes more confident after befriending an older student and her stepbrother.The Perks of Being a Wallflowerhits all the right notes and feels impeccably bittersweet, featuring a fantastic soundtrack to boot and some of the most memorable quotes in modern teen cinema.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Based on the novel by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower tells the story of Charlie Kelmeckis, a high school freshman with a troubled past and history of mental health issues whose friendship with two seniors comes to define his first year of high school in surprising and dramatic ways. Logan Lerman stars as Charlies, alongside Emma Watson and Ezra Miller.
Watch on Hulu
23’Boyz n the Hood' (1991)
Director: John Singleton
A compelling crime/dramathat also doubles as a powerful coming-of-age movie,Boyz n the Hoodfollows a group of teenagers living in South Central Los Angeles. It’s ultimately about the struggles of growing up in an area where drug dealing and violence can sometimes seem like everyday occurrences, even for those who don’t want to be directly involved in such a lifestyle.
It’s one of the bleaker and more intense coming-of-age movies out there, but it has to be to accurately convey such a lifestyle and not sugarcoat it.Boyz n' the Hoodhas stood the test of time and helped influence an entire sub-genre-the so-called Hood Movies. However, it still stands as arguably the best of the lot, a truly groundbreaking film that only gets better with age.
Boyz n the Hood
Watch on Netflix
22’Persepolis' (2007)
Directors: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Persepolisis another animated film that shows animation is more a medium rather than a genre itself. Here, it’s used to tell an emotionally resonant and intensely personal coming-of-age story. This is a French-language film about a young girl named Marjane growing up in Iran during a turbulent time in history, with things beginning around the time of the 1979 Iranian revolution.
With an animation style as unique as the story it tells,Persepolisis an eye-opening historical document and a compelling, powerful coming-of-age journey. The intimate and personal nature of the film likely comes from the fact thatPersepoliswas based on an autobiographical graphic novel, too, by French-Iranian author/filmmakerMarjane Satrapi, who also co-directed this film adaptation.
Persepolis
Persepolis is an animated biographical film directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud. Based on Satrapi’s graphic novel of the same name, the film chronicles her youth in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution. It explores themes of resistance, identity, and cultural upheaval through the eyes of a young girl navigating the complexities of political and personal transformation.
21’Say Anything…' (1989)
Director: Cameron Crowe
FilmmakerCameron Croweis no stranger to the coming-of-age genre, and neither was actorJohn Cusack, who started his career in the 1980s as a teenager/young adult. The two collaborated on 1989’sSay Anything…, which might be best known as that movie where Cusack holds a boombox over his head (it’s an admittedly easy image to reference).
Of course, the movie itself is much more than just 100 minutes of John Cusack holding a boombox, with the main plot involving a relationship blossoming between an average student (Cusack) and the year’s valedictorian (Ione Skye). With a 1989 release, it just sneaks into the 1980s, a decade well-renowned for the quantity and, for the most part, quality of coming-of-age movies released during it. Instantly iconic and deeply relatable,Say Anything…is clever, witty, and heartwarming, a defining piece of Gen X culturethat remains impactful today.
20’Pather Panchali' (1955)
Director: Satyajit Ray
When a filmmaker as great asAkira Kurosawastates a film is among his favorites, it’s probably worth seeking it out. Such is the case forPather Panchali, a movie loved by Kurosawa and millions of others, and the first part of the acclaimedApu trilogymade by legendary Indian filmmakerSatyajit Ray.
Apu is ultimately the main character of the trilogy, but as he’s only a young child in this first installment, the focus is probably more on his family’s lives, particularly his father and mother, who face hardships when it comes to providing for their children in a small Bengal village. Although watching the sequels is crucial to truly appreciating Apu’s story,Pather Panchaliis a remarkable and rewarding film about humanity and universality, a modern classic and nothing short of a masterpiece.
Watch on Plex TV
19’Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.' (2023)
Director: Kelly Fremon Craig
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.was an acclaimed novel released all the way back in 1970, and it surprisingly took more than half a century to get adapted into a feature film. The story centers on an 11-year-old named Margaret and follows her pre-adolescent journey after her family moves from New York City into the suburbs of New Jersey.
Thankfully, the 2023 adaptation did the novel justice.Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaretalready feels like an essential coming-of-age moviedespite its relatively recent release. It captures the awkwardness and anxieties experienced by girls as they approach their teenage years, doing so in a way that’s honest yet accessible, balancing the hardships present in such a premise with heart and humor.
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.
18’Harold and Maude' (1971)
Director: Hal Ashby
Hal Ashbywas an acclaimed yet underrated filmmaker who had a fantastic run throughout the 1970s. His hot streak debatably began with 1971’sHarold and Maudeand ended with1979’sPeter Sellers-starringBeing There. Ashby was impeccably good at crafting dramedies that were equal parts moving and funny, whichHarold and Maudeexemplifies particularly well.
Of the title characters, Harold is the one coming-of-age, as he’s a young adult, while Maude is 79 years old. The two have an unlikely friendship and later romance, which may sound alarming and uncomfortable to modern audiences. However,Harold and Maudehandles the extreme premise with care and empathy, making for an odd yet endearing movieabout the bond between two people. It might not necessarily be accessible, butHarold and Maudeis insightful and wickedly biting, the kind of bold comedy audiences don’t see much of nowadays.
Harold and Maude
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
Watch on Pluto TV
17’Lady Bird' (2017)
Director: Greta Gerwig
Before directing the highly acclaimedBarbiemovie and reinterpretingLittle Womenfor a modern audience,Greta Gerwig’s directing career first took off with 2017’sLady Bird. It’s a dramedy with a simple premise, following a girl named Christine who wants to move from California to attend college in New York, which causes her to clash with her mother.
There are plenty ofmovies about the bonds between mothers and daughters, butfew coming-of-age movies are as compelling, complex, or insightful asLady Bird. Gerwig’s screenplay might be up there with the best in recent memory, as it’s both funny and heartbreakingly true-to-life, whileSaoirse RonanandLaurie Metcalfboth shine in Oscar-nominated performances. An instant classic and a defining movie for the Z generation,Lady Birdis the rare dramedy that stays in the audience’s mind.
In 2002, an artistically inclined 17-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.
16’The Last Picture Show' (1971)
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Capturing angst and realism in a way that many acclaimed American films of the late 1960s and 1970s did,The Last Picture Showis perhaps the greatest entry inPeter Bogdanovich’s body of work. It takes place in a desolate Texas town, following a group of young people as they work out how they can break free from such a life while also trying to survive the boredom that permeates it.
Thankfully, it manages to capture a dull and tedious way of life that’s far from dull and tedious to actually watch. It’s beautifully shot in black and white and has great performances from the likes ofJeff Bridges,Cybill Shepherd,Ellen Burstyn, andCloris Leachman, who won an Oscar for her work. Bleak and tragic yet thought-provoking,The Last Picture Showis a melancholic love letter to melancholy itself, an outstanding portrayal of confusion and despairthat remains striking and piercing.
