In modern society, capitalism shapes the views of the world and the way people operate on a daily basis. Some struggle to feed their families and afford basic necessities, while others enjoy the luxuries that life offers. Now, more than ever, it’s easy to pinpoint class inequality everywhere a person looks. Everyone’s hungry for money, to earn more, and to become someone unreachable.
However, for those who aren’t as fortunate as others, movies sometimes serve as a sanctuary and a clear image of what could have been if society (and life) worked out differently. All in all, it’s nice to watch people climb from the bottom to the top, given how it makes people feel that it’s all truly possible. These movies, showing various walks of life and different time periods, showcase the American Dream in action, for better or for worse. Here are the best rags-to-riches movies.
Update February 1, 2024: This article has been updated with even more great rags to riches movies and where you can stream each title.
10 The Great Gatsby (2013)
Released back in 2013, The Great Gatsby is a historical romantic drama based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel of the same name. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, the movie remains his highest-grossing-spectacle to this day, with $353 million earned worldwide. What fans may not have known is that Jay-Z himself served as an executive producer of both the movie and its stellar soundtrack. As for the storyline, the plot follows Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, the millionaire, and his neighbor Nick Carraway (played by Tobey Maguire), who makes his way into Gatsby’s Roaring Twenties chaos.
Nick’s Infatuation with Gatsby
The tenacious Gatsby was born to impoverished farmers and allegedly amassed his vast fortune through bootlegging and his connections with organized crime. The story is retold from Nick’s point of view in retrospect, and it’s more than certain that it wasn’t just a grand admiration he held for the man. Many interpret it as a queer-coded story of a man who, because of his feelings, followed another man from the quietness of his home to the craze of his fancy life. One of the most influential books of the 20th century still speaks to audiences in the 21st century as the aspirational hope of going from nothing to something, only for all the money to never be able to buy you happiness. Rent/Buy on Apple TV+
9 Dumb Money (2023)
The newest release on this list, Dumb Money, is based on the novel The Antisocial Network and follows the infamous 2021 GamesStop short squeeze case. The movie is an ensemble piece that stars Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, America Ferrera, Pete Davidson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Myha’la Herrold, Nick Offerman, Sebastian Stan, Shalinee Woodley, and Anthony Ramos. The film was directed by Craig Gillespie, whose recent films like I, Tonya, and the television series Pam & Tommy show him examining key moments and figures in recent memory and exploring their impact on media coverage and how they inform the modern world.
Smart Movie That Spoke To The Time
Dumb Money might have been a box office disappointment when it hit theaters, but it has found a new life on streaming. The film taps into the idea that anyone can play the stock market game and win and come out on top. It certainly shows the awful side of hedge funds and the risk that comes with it, but one watching it can’t be wrapped up in the story and not want to imagine with just a few key investments, they could make millions, if not billions, and change their life. Stream on Netflix.
8 The Pursuit Of Happyness (2006)
Starring both Will and Jaden Smith, The Pursuit Of Happyness is a 2006 biographical drama directed by Gabriele Muccino. The emotional weight of the story garnered positive reviews and critical acclaim. Based on a real story, the plot follows Chris Gardner (Will Smith), a homeless salesman who takes custody of his son (Jaden Smith) and does his best to provide for both of them while having no shelter.
A Truly Moving Biopic
Starting literally from the bottom and having nothing, Gardner manages to own a multimillion-dollar brokerage firm due to nothing else but his hard work and persistence. The touching picture was adapted from Gardner’s best-selling memoir, with the businessman and motivational speaker feeling compelled to tell his inspiring story in order to raise awareness of the social issues he faced. Gardner told CNN: “When I talk about alcoholism in the household, domestic violence, child abuse, illiteracy, and all of those issues—those are universal issues; those are not just confined to ZIP codes.” Stream on Peacock
7 Scarface (1983)
There are many ways to go from rags to riches, right? Rather than looking down on criminals, Scarface decides to tell a story of a last resort the refugees see when coming to America and wishing for the American dream. Starring Al Pacino in the lead role, the plot tells a story of a Cuban refugee who arrives penniless to Miami and turns to crime to earn a living, becoming one of the most powerful drug lords.
Cult Classic Status
Scarface is considered one of the greatest gangster movies of all time and has become a bonafide cult classic. It showcases the unrealistic chase of the American dream, which is really only reserved for the already-wealthy white American men and reserves no place for refugees, who are forced to turn to crime in their pursuit of it. The Times UK declared in their retrospective review, “Scarface has become a touchstone of pop culture, one of the half dozen or so most frequently referenced films of our era.” Rent/Buy on Prime Video
6 Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Yet another movie told in flashbacks, Slumdog Millionaire, is a drama movie loosely adapted from a book by Desi author Vikas Swarup. Although produced by a British company, the plot tells the story of Jamal Malik from the slums of Mumbai, who, because of his life experiences, manages to answer every question correctly on the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? show, winning $1 million. Since he comes from a poor background, the police accuse him of cheating.
An Oscar-Winning Spectacle
There were some mixed reviews, especially from Desi people, whom the story is about, primarily towards the stereotypical depiction of poverty in India. Nonetheless, the movie serves as the perfect example of people’s naivety and the belief that all the suffering in our lives might just have an important meaning, which isn’t always the truth. Slumdog Millionaire took home an impressive eight Academy Awards, winning Best Picture and Best Director for Danny Boyle. Stream on Hulu
5 The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)
Considered one of the greatest movies of the 2010s, The Wolf Of Wall Street is yet another biographical movie, this time a black comedy, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in the lead roles. Based on a memoir of the same name by Jordan Belfort follows the life of stockbroker Belfort as well as both his spectacular rise and downfall. Belfort was engaged in corruption and fraud on Wall Street and the story is told from his point of view.
Guinness World Record-Worthy
The movie raised concerns about the constant use of profanity, implicit sexual content, depictions of the use of hard drugs, and many others. It even holds a Guinness World Record for the most swearing in a movie, averaging 2.81 profanities per minute. What a movie to portray yet another unhinged ’80s businessman, and it’s no surprise that The Wolf of Wall Street garnered five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, with DiCaprio nabbing the Golden Globe for his brilliant performance. Stream on Paramount+
4 The Social Network (2010)
This list will unsurprisingly end on another biographical note, this time a masterpiece directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. The Social Network tells the story of Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, and Sean Parker, and their journey to founding one of the biggest social networks in history, Facebook, and the lawsuits that later came with it.
A Brilliant & Revered Masterpiece
All three core actors — Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake — were praised for their performances and for delivering the rags-to-riches story. The engrossing movie has a strong reputation in the film industry as one of the best movies of the 21st Century. It shows how Zuckerberg lost his friends by diluting their shares in the company and removing their names from the masthead, and it is widely regarded as a highly influential and esteemed cinematic triumph. Buy/Rent on Apple TV+
3 Goodfellas (1990)
Goodfellas
- Release Date
- September 12, 1990
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
Widely revered as one of the finest films ever to grace the silver screen, Martin Scorsese’s epic crime drama Goodfellas is based on the non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi and chronicles the life and rise to prominence and power of Lucchese crime family associate Henry Hill, with the late and great Ray Liotta knocking it out of the park as the notorious criminal. Liotta is joined by legendary Hollywood heavy hitters Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Paul Sorvino in the acclaimed gangster picture.
Scorsese’s Triumphant Crime Drama
At a young age, Hill became entranced by the Mafia presence in his Brooklyn working-class neighborhood, and he worked his way up the ranks within the crime underworld before becoming an equally feared and respected mobster himself, enjoying the many fruits of his illegal labor. Goodfellas skyrocketed the career of Liotta and helped pave the way for future gangster movies, with Scorsese describing the lauded drama as “a mob home movie” that focuses on money because “that’s what they’re really in business for.” Rent/Buy on Prime Video
2 Citizen Kane (1941)
Citizen Kane
- Release Date
- April 17, 1941
- Cast
- Orson Welles , Joseph Cotten , Dorothy Comingore , Agnes Moorehead , Ruth Warrick , Ray Collins
There’s a reason Orson Welles’ first phenomenal directorial endeavor Citizen Kane is lauded as one of the greatest pictures ever created, as the undisputed classic depicts famously newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane’s (Welles) glorious transformation from a young boy at a Colorado boarding house to one of the world’s most wealthy publishers and businessman. Kane’s rise to fame and vast fortune is front and center in the celebrated ’40s drama, which many believed was based on the life of William Randolph Hearst.
Major Hollywood Showdown
The release of Citizen Kane was plagued by controversy, as outraged media baron Hearst waged an all-out war against Welles due to the unflattering portrait he received in the picture; he used his endless connections and influence to pressure theaters to not play the drama. Despite earning nine Oscar nominations and garnering critical acclaim, Citizen Kane faded into film obscurity due to Hearst’s influence and it wasn’t until over fifteen years later that it re-emerged as the prestigious triumph it is. Rent/Buy on Prime Video
1 There Will Be Blood (2007)
Acting chameleon Daniel Day-Lewis partnered up with director Paul Thomas Anderson to deliver a superb adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil! in the epic period drama There Will Be Blood, with the decorated performer dazzling audiences as Daniel Plainview, a struggling silver miner who embarks on a merciless crusade to acquire wealth and power at the turn of the century during California’s oil boom. As Daniel grows his massive fortune and becomes a self-made mogul, his moral compass becomes compromised.
Day-Lewis’ Brilliance Shines Again
There Will Be Blood tackled themes of greed and capitalism and highlighted their overwhelming prevalence in America, with many citing Day-Lewis’s impassioned “I have a competition in me” speech as an exceptional example of this honest analysis. Anderson wrote the screenplay specifically with Day-Lewis in mind to portray Plainview, and the renowned silver screen star rightfully won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his complex and fearless work in the gripping drama that is considered by many to be one of the greatest films of all time. While many films on this list explore the fun side of going from rags to riches, this is a movie that explores its dark side. Stream on Paramount+
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
