Movies that are most closest and similar to real life, but NOT based on a true story
The Expanse, one of my favorite Shows ever
Anything in the mockumentary genre because that’s kind of the point. My personal favorite is a film called Kenny from 2006.
It takes a certain kind of person to do what I do. No-one’s ever impressed; no-one’s ever fascinated. If you’re a fireman, all the kids will want to jump on the back of the truck and follow you to a fire. There’s going to be no kids willing to do that with me. So, I don’t do it to impress people - it’s a job, it’s my trade, and I actually think I’m pretty good at it.
The Martian.
Aside from the macguffin that left Matt Damon stranded, the science was solid. Furthermore, the casual dysfunctionality and administrative infighting of the governments and agencies was brilliantly on point.
There’s one person on Mars in that film but in reality there’s zero people on Mars. That’s a really small margin of error
Copland.
Read this article and tell me you think these cops are all 100% clean
Contagion.
Writers Crystal balled that shit
This movie made me want to be an epidemiologist it was so good
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Children of Men
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Gattaca
Both feel like extremely realistic portrayals of possible near futures.
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There’s a submarine comedy called Down Periscope from the 90s. The story is, of course, absolute ridiculousness (albeit highly entertaining ridiculousness).
I’ve repeatedly been told by navy veterans, however, that it comes closest to portraying actual life in the navy - in particular, that virtually every character in the film is someone you can (and likely will) actually encounter in the navy.
My dad was in the Navy (submariner) in the 80s and he loves that movie. He told me they didn’t do the thing with the string like they do in the movie … Instead they strung it up when they were at depth and took bets on when it would break on the way back up.
You couldn’t pay me enough to be that far underwater.
Office Space. Although, it is a little too real sometimes.
Even though I havent seen the movie, I heard about the birthday cake scene.
The other week staff member had a birthday, when she wasnt there. So we all had cake, while the birthday person didnt.
WarGames. Everything but the AI was very realistic. (Well, also except for the fact that the movie’s NORAD headquarters was apparently way fancier than it was in real life.)
Don’t Look Up
The Room
Yeah, it really does match the incoherent conversations and relationships that a lot of people have in a way that most scripted movies don’t.
It doesn’t make for a good movie, but when I did watch it the characters reminded me of people I knew.
Fargo is not a true story, though some of it was inspired by true events (wood chipper)
I got called to Minnesota to serve two years as an LDS missionary back in 2000. I absolutely loved the place. But my first day was I was stationed in Brainerd MN, and my apartment was on the edge of a frozen lake. I took a picture of it, and colored in the old brick BBQ to look like a wood chipper with feet sticking out of the top, and a large red stain across the ice, and sent it to my sister. That picture sat in her cubicle for years after that. I can’t think of that scene without thinking of it.
That’s amazing
There are a bajillion, but maybe you are looking for a specific genre that nails it on the head.
As someone mentioned, there are thousands of social drama films that could’ve easily happened. The success of that type of film is selling a “day in the life” plot.
Someone else mentioned Office Space. That film is a satire, but it condenses and delivers refined representations of the banality of cubicle life that we all can easily relate to. The characters truly seem to be facsimiles of people we’ve known in our working lives.
Someone else mentioned Michael Clayton. It’s an excellent thriller with flawed characters with believable motives that yes, it could be real. And maybe something like that has happened?
What genre will help us answer your question?
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- Civil War
- The Ides of March
- Michael Clayton
- A Most Wanted Man
