Best movies like To Leslie
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A West Texas single mother wins the lottery and squanders it just as fast, leaving behind a world of heartbreak. Years later, with her charm running out and nowhere to go, she fights to rebuild her life and find redemption.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: cerebral, crying, beautiful
Best tv shows and movies like To Leslie (2022):
Similar in 76%
Downtown: A Street Tale (2004)
Plot Summary:
A group of street kids find that the only way to make it through the day is to hold onto their dreams while their reality is eating out of dumpsters, turning tricks and squatting in abandoned buildings.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 113
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Close-Up (2011)
Plot Summary:
"CLOSE-UP" is a dramatic feature film told through the eyes of a failed Philadelphia actor who has succumbed to drug addiction. Our story follows him during the Holidays as he desperately tries to regain everything he has lost in his life; his wife and child, his job, and his pride, before it's too late. Over the course of one day on New Years Eve in New York City, a young vibrant woman, Freebird, shows him how to stand up, discover himself and move on with his life.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 67
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: ambiguous ending, psychological, touching, suspense, suspenseful, contemplative
Similar in 86%
The Blind (2023)
Plot Summary:
In the 1960s Deep South, Phil Robertson seeks to conquer the shame of his past, addiction, and complicated family dynamics, ultimately finding redemption in an unlikely place.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Causeway (2022)
Plot Summary:
A US soldier suffers a traumatic brain injury while fighting in Afghanistan and struggles to adjust to life back home in New Orleans. When she meets local mechanic James, the pair begin to forge an unexpected bond.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: aesthetic, beautiful
Similar in 85%
Full Time (2021)
Plot Summary:
Julie finally gets an interview for a job where she can raise her children better only to run into a national transit strike.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, thrilling
Similar in 89%
Shelter (2014)
Plot Summary:
Hannah and Tahir fall in love while homeless on the streets of New York. Shelter explores how they got there, and as we learn about their pasts we realize they need each other to build a future.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: touching, depressing, captivating, realistic, psychological, rough, serious, social
Similar in 85%
Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
Plot Summary:
An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 45000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, touching, realistic, scenic, rough, philosophical, emotional, political, entertaining
Similar in 85%
Restaurant (1998)
Plot Summary:
A few young waiters at a popular New Jersey restaurant are dreaming of becoming actors or otherwise getting into the artistic community.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 681
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: independent film, clever, offbeat, humorous, realistic, contemplative, talky, semi serious, feel good
Similar in 83%
Mickey and the Bear (2019)
Plot Summary:
In Anaconda, Montana, a strong-willed teenage girl navigates a loving but volatile relationship with her veteran father. In a desperate search for independence and her own identity, she risks family, heartbreak, and her standing in the only place she can call home.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, unusual plot structure, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, social
Similar in 90%
A Million Little Pieces (2018)
Plot Summary:
A young drug-addled writer approaching the bottom of his descent submits to two months of agonizing detox at a treatment center in Minnesota.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, sentimental, captivating, social
Similar in 80%
Earth Mama (2023)
Plot Summary:
With two children in foster care, Gia, a pregnant single mother pitted against the system, fights to reclaim her family. In her close-knit Bay Area community, she works to make a life for herself and her kids.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 408
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: crying, independent film
Similar in 83%
Refuge (2017)
Plot Summary:
The lives of a Hollywood actress battling drug addiction, a teen with a violent past, a teacher fighting to keep a dream alive, and a cop caught in a love triangle are brought together by fate.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 30
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, tense, touching, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 81%
Cook County (2008)
Plot Summary:
After a stint in prison, Sonny returns to his home in East Texas, determined to repair his relationship with his son. Standing in his way is his brother, who has turned the home into a crumbling meth lab (IMDb.com).
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 559
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, atmospheric, disturbing, sentimental, sincere, touching, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
Clean and Sober (1988)
Plot Summary:
Hotshot real estate salesman Daryl has a bad cocaine habit. After embezzling his company's money, he wakes up next to a girl who overdosed. To hide from the police, he checks into a rehabilitation program guaranteeing anonymity. Under the mentorship of counselor Craig, Daryl accepts that he has a substance abuse problem. As he falls in love with fellow patient Charlie, Daryl begins committing to a newly sober life.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, emotional, compassionate, melancholic, sincere, serious, psychological, depressing, spiritual
Similar in 79%
Sherrybaby (2006)
Plot Summary:
After serving time in prison, former drug addict Sherry Swanson returns home to reclaim her young daughter from family members who have been raising the child. Sherry's family, especially her sister-in-law, doubt Sherry's ability to be a good mother, and Sherry finds her resolve to stay clean slowly weakening.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: independent film, emotional, bleak, depressing, serious, sexual, cult classic, realistic, scary, political
Similar in 86%
Down to the Bone (2004)
Plot Summary:
A woman stuck in a stale marriage struggles to raise her children and manage her secret drug habit. But when winter comes to her small town, her balancing act begins to come crashing down.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, scary, bleak, realistic, gloomy, crying
Similar in 75%
Bright Lights, Big City (1988)
Plot Summary:
A young kid from Kansas moves to New York to work on a magazine. He gets caught up in the world of drink and drugs, and starts a steady decline. The only hope is the cousin of one of his drinking partners, can she pull him through it ?.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: intense, serious, sentimental, touching, bleak, realistic, stylized, unusual plot structure, suspense, melancholic
Similar in 86%
Smashed (2012)
Plot Summary:
Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music, laughter… and getting smashed. When Kate’s partying spirals into hard-core asocial behavior, compromising her job as an elementary schoolteacher, something’s got to give. But change isn’t exactly a cakewalk. Sobriety means she will have to confront the lies she’s been spinning at work, her troubling relationship with her mother, and the nature of her bond with Charlie.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: sincere, depressing, touching, realistic, indie film, sentimental, spiritual, mumblecore, cute, informative
Similar in 81%
My Name Is Bill W. (1989)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Bill W. (James Woods), a successful stock broker whose life falls apart after the stock crash of the 20's and how he comes to grips with his alcoholism. Along with a fellow alcoholic (James Garner) he forms a support group that would eventually become Alcoholics Anonymous.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, serious, spiritual, contemplative
Similar in 82%
Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962)
Plot Summary:
The film follows one day in the lives of the Tyrone family, each member is troubled and has been damaged by alcohol and/or drugs. In addition, they have issues with each other that lead to fights and an inability to reconcile completely with one another.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 174 min
Plot tags: tense, depressing, talky, psychological, serious, realistic, grim, clever, retro, spiritual
Similar in 89%
Drunks (1995)
Plot Summary:
At the beginning of a nightly Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Jim seems particularly troubled. His sponsor encourages him to talk that night, the first time in seven months, so he does - and leaves the meeting right after. As Jim wanders the night, searching for some solace in his old stomping grounds, bars and parks where he bought drugs, the meeting goes on, and we hear the stories of survivors and addicts - some, like Louis, who claim to have wandered in looking for choir practice, who don't call themselves alcoholic, and others, like Joseph, whose drinking almost caused the death of his child - as they talk about their lives at the meeting.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, realistic, talky, spiritual, sincere, serious, emotional, thought provoking, clever, depressing
Similar in 82%
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Plot Summary:
An alcoholic falls in love with and gets married to a young woman, whom he systematically addicts to booze so they can share his "passion" together.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: sexy, poignant, realistic, depressing, black and white, bleak, emotional, social, offbeat, spiritual
Similar in 79%
Jesus' Son (1999)
Plot Summary:
A young man turns from drug addiction and petty crime to a life redeemed by a discovery of compassion.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: independent film, grim, cult classic, dark comedy, psychedelic, deep, thought provoking, touching, humorous, realistic
Similar in 82%
The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
Plot Summary:
This movie is a stark portrayal of life among a group of heroin addicts who hang out in Needle Park in New York City. Played against this setting is a low-key love story between Bobby, a young addict and small-time hustler, and Helen, a homeless girl who finds in her relationship with Bobby the stability she craves.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: depressing, disturbing, bleak, rough, serious, controversial, grim, cult classic, realistic, dark
Similar in 83%
Purgatory House (2004)
Plot Summary:
An inside glimpse of how it feels to be a teen in today's disconnected world. PURGATORY HOUSE chronicles the after-life journey of Silver Strand: a lonely teen who abandons her life of turmoil and drug addiction, only to find herself caught somewhere between heaven and hell. There, she must choose whether she will accept her drab existence or discover within herself the power to change.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 470
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: gothic, serious, independent film, realistic, non-linear
Similar in 76%
Half Nelson (2006)
Plot Summary:
Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: depressing, independent film, talky, emotional, serious, inspirational, feel good, melancholic, intense, indie film
Similar in 85%
Everything Must Go (2010)
Plot Summary:
When an alcoholic relapses, causing him to lose his wife and his job, he holds a yard sale on his front lawn in an attempt to start over. A new neighbor might be the key to his return to form.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, feel good, humorous, talky, sincere, semi serious, dark comedy, independent film
Similar in 85%
Ironweed (1987)
Plot Summary:
Albany, New York, Halloween, 1938. Francis Phelan and Helen Archer are bums, back in their birth city. She was a singer on the radio, he a major league pitcher. Death surrounds them: she's sick, a pal has cancer, he digs graves at the cemetery and visits the grave of his infant son whom he dropped; visions of his past haunt him, including ghosts of two men he killed. That night, out drinking, Helen tries to sing at a bar. Next day, Fran visits his wife and children and meets a grandson. He could stay, but decides it's not for him. Helen gets their things out of storage and finds a hotel. Amidst their mistakes and dereliction, the film explores their code of fairness and loyalty.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, intense, sincere, serious, realistic, depressing, compassionate, cult classic, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Dangerous Game (1993)
Plot Summary:
A New York film director, working on his latest movie in Los Angeles, begins to reflect the actions in his movie and real life, especially when he begins an affair with the lead actress.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, melancholic, erotic, rough, art house, independent film, erotic drama, bleak, serious
Similar in 88%
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)
Plot Summary:
The lives of a lawyer, an actuary, a housecleaner, a professor, and the people around them intersect as they ponder order and happiness in the face of life's cold unpredictability.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: philosophical, psychological, bleak, meditative, depressing, touching, serious, contemplative, existential, cerebral