Stories that deal with suicide aren’t easy to sit through—but sometimes, they’re the ones we need most. In a world where mental health still struggles to be talked about openly, movies about suicide serve not just as mirrors, but as quiet lifelines. They help put into words—and pictures—feelings that are often buried too deep to explain. Whether it’s a character’s internal breakdown or the aftermath of a tragic decision, these narratives carry the weight of what it means to be human, fallible, and searching for a reason to stay. Movies about suicide that you can stream on Netflix aren’t just depressing dramas. They offer moments of grace, resilience, and even humor, wrapped around the gravity of the subject. Here are 10 such films that handle these complex emotions with sincerity and care.
1. The Starling (2021)
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Kevin Kline
This deeply personal film leans into the silence that surrounds grief. After losing their baby, Lilly (McCarthy) and Jack (O’Dowd) go their separate ways—not physically, but emotionally. Jack checks into a mental health facility after a suicide attempt, while Lilly stays back and struggles with her own disorientation. The metaphor of a hostile starling bird becomes strangely effective as she tries to cope. The film understands that sometimes suicide doesn’t come with a loud cry for help, but a quiet vanishing of will. It’s one of those Netflix movies about suicide that don’t pretend to offer solutions, but rather, acknowledge how messy healing can be.
2. All the Bright Places (2020)
Starring: Elle Fanning, Justice Smith
Adapted from Jennifer Niven’s young adult novel, this story is about two teenagers who connect over their traumas. Violet is grieving the death of her sister, while Finch lives with undiagnosed mental illness that manifests in erratic behavior. Their love story is tender but fragile, and you can feel the ticking clock in every frame. Finch’s final decision is not framed as a twist, but as a truth many live with in silence. It’s one of the more empathetic movies about suicide on Netflix, especially for those dealing with teen depression.
3. To the Bone (2017)
Starring: Lily Collins, Keanu Reeves
Eating disorders and suicidal ideation often go hand in hand, and To the Bone doesn’t shy away from showing that connection. Ellen (Collins) is 20 and exhausted from years of failed treatment. The film follows her time at a group recovery home where each patient is battling their own inner darkness. It doesn’t romanticize anorexia; instead, it looks directly at the isolation, the self-hatred, and the small flickers of hope that make life livable. One of the more unique movies about suicide that you can stream on Netflix, it sheds light on how thin the line can be between survival and surrender.
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4. The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
Starring: Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez
A road-trip dramedy may not sound like a film that belongs on this list, but The Fundamentals of Caring tackles depression and suicidal thoughts through its offbeat tone. Trevor, a teen with muscular dystrophy, lives a highly controlled life until Ben (Rudd), his new caregiver, shakes things up. Both are quietly dealing with their own emotional baggage—Ben is reeling from the death of his son and a failed suicide attempt. This is one of those Netflix movies about suicide that blends humor and heartache, showing that even people who look fine on the outside can be barely holding on.
5. A Silent Voice (2016)
Animated, Japanese | Directed by Naoko Yamada
This anime doesn’t just touch on suicide—it stares it straight in the face. Shoya, once a bully in elementary school, is haunted by the way he treated Shoko, a deaf girl he tormented. Now a teen, he’s isolated and ashamed, struggling with suicidal thoughts. Meanwhile, Shoko too feels unworthy of love and thinks the world would be better off without her. The film’s emotional punch lies in its attention to shame, forgiveness, and reconnection. If you’re looking for movies about suicide that you can stream on Netflix, this anime is a quietly devastating masterpiece.
Also, Read – A Silent Voice: Differences Between the Anime and the Manga
6. Horse Girl (2020)
Starring: Alison Brie, Molly Shannon, Debby Ryan
This psychological drama leans into surrealism to depict mental illness. Sarah (Brie), an awkward, lonely woman, begins slipping into paranoid delusions and dissociative states that blur reality. What makes Horse Girl so effective is its disjointed storytelling—mirroring the mental unraveling of someone teetering on the edge of suicidal breakdown. It’s one of the more unconventional movies about suicide on Netflix, offering no easy conclusions but plenty of unsettling truths.
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller
While this film is better known for its coming-of-age storyline, it’s fundamentally about depression and unresolved trauma. Charlie (Lerman) is an introverted teen with a traumatic past that slowly unravels as the film progresses. His spiral into a mental health crisis, including a suicide attempt, is portrayed with painful authenticity. There’s also a deep sense of quiet resilience here—the kind that makes this one of the more hopeful yet hard-hitting movies about suicide that you can watch on Netflix.
8. Pieces of a Woman (2020)
Starring: Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Burstyn
While not explicitly about suicide, Pieces of a Woman is soaked in grief so intense, it renders its protagonist emotionally and physically paralyzed. Martha (Kirby) loses her newborn during a home birth, and the film becomes a study in the disintegration of her relationship, her identity, and her will to live. Her depressive episodes and complete emotional detachment border dangerously close to suicidal numbness. It’s a slow burn but devastatingly precise portrait of post-traumatic despair—a film that earns its place among movies about suicide that are streaming on Netflix, even without depicting the act itself.
9. I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette
Charlie Kaufman’s haunting drama is like a maze of depressive thought. The film follows a woman traveling with her boyfriend to meet his parents, but timelines collapse, identities blur, and you begin to suspect that none of it is really happening. The title isn’t a metaphor—it’s a literal reflection of the protagonist’s suicidal ideation. This is one of the more cerebral movies about suicide available on Netflix, examining what it feels like to be buried under existential dread.
10. 6 Balloons (2018)
Starring: Abbi Jacobson, Dave Franco
In a single night, Katie (Jacobson) drives around Los Angeles trying to get her brother Seth (Franco) into detox. Seth is a heroin addict on the brink of an overdose, and the situation is laced with emotional and physical urgency. The film is tightly wound, quietly depicting how addiction, hopelessness, and self-destruction are interconnected. Seth may not verbalize suicidal thoughts, but his behavior reflects a complete detachment from the instinct to survive. One of the more underseen movies about suicide that you can stream on Netflix, 6 Balloons is a harrowing portrayal of familial love battling against the pull of self-destruction.
