True Crime Movies for Your Next Movie Night Date

True crime movies are dramatisations, so they take liberties with the facts, and that is half the fun of discussing them afterwards. These five range from a light caper to a slow-burn mystery, so you can match the film to the mood of the evening. Check a streaming guide for where to watch, because it changes by country and by month.

For a light, fast caper: Catch Me If You Can

Catch Me If You Can (2002, directed by Steven Spielberg, 141 minutes, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks) is a comedy-drama about the young con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., who poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer while forging checks. It is based on Abagnale’s book, co-written with Stan Redding, but the truth of his story has since been heavily disputed, and he has said the film departs from events. It is a fun way to ask each other how much of a charming con man’s story you would believe.

For a slow-burn mystery: Zodiac

Zodiac (2007, directed by David Fincher, 157 minutes, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr.) follows the manhunt for the Zodiac Killer, who terrorised the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The case remains unsolved. The film is based on Robert Graysmith’s books, and Fincher’s team spent 18 months researching it, with an emphasis on police reports over hearsay. It is long, so start early.

For a classic crime saga: Goodfellas

Goodfellas (1990, directed by Martin Scorsese, 146 minutes, with Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci) follows the Mafia associate Henry Hill from 1955 to 1980. It is based on Nicholas Pileggi’s nonfiction book Wiseguy, and Pesci won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. It is violent in places, so check that it suits you both before you press play.

For a dark comedy: I, Tonya

I, Tonya (2017, directed by Craig Gillespie, 120 minutes, with Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan and Allison Janney) is loosely based on the figure skater Tonya Harding and her link to the 1994 assault on her rival Nancy Kerrigan. It uses darkly comic interviews and an unreliable narrator, and Janney won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Some critics said it takes liberties with the facts, so enjoy it as a story about stories.

For a patient investigation: All the President’s Men

All the President’s Men (1976, directed by Alan J. Pakula, 138 minutes, with Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman) follows two Washington Post reporters as they investigate the 1972 Watergate break-in. It is based on the book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, and it won four Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay for William Goldman. Pick it if you both like watching two people follow a thread.

How to make it a good movie night

Choose one film and check its running time, so you are not still watching at midnight. Agree that either of you can pause it to talk. Afterwards, ask what the film might have changed, because every dramatisation does. Keep the talk kind when it turns to real people, and keep the snacks simple.