Best movies like The Glass Castle
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A young girl is raised in a dysfunctional family constantly on the run from the FBI. Living in poverty, she comes of age guided by her drunkard, ingenious father who distracts her with magical stories to keep her mind off the family's dire state, and her selfish, nonconformist mother who has no intention of raising a family, along with her younger brother and sister, and her other older sister. Together, they fend for each other as they mature in an unorthodox journey that is their family life.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: sentimental, thought provoking, emotional, sad, psychological, captivating, exciting, road movie, mind bending, dramatic
Best tv shows and movies like The Glass Castle (2017):
Similar in 89%
The Tender Bar (2021)
Plot Summary:
J.R. is a fatherless boy growing up in the glow of a bar where the bartender, his Uncle Charlie, is the sharpest and most colorful of an assortment of quirky and demonstrative father figures. As the boy’s determined mother struggles to provide her son with opportunities denied to her — and leave the dilapidated home of her outrageous if begrudgingly supportive father — J.R. begins to gamely, if not always gracefully, pursue his romantic and professional dreams, with one foot persistently placed in Uncle Charlie’s bar.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, disturbing, feel good, entertaining, art house, cult classic
Similar in 87%
Rebel in the Rye (2017)
Plot Summary:
The life of celebrated but reclusive author, J.D. Salinger, who gained worldwide fame with the publication of his novel, The Catcher in the Rye.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: exciting, thought provoking, touching, captivating, sincere, disturbing, depressing, anthology, freeze frame
Similar in 75%
The Last Ride (2011)
Plot Summary:
The final days of Hank Williams.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 871
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, captivating, sad, road movie, realistic, crying
Similar in 89%
Stronger (2017)
Plot Summary:
A victim of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 helps the police track down the killers while struggling to recover from devastating trauma.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 49000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: inspirational, touching, emotional, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense, compassionate, feel good, sad, patriotic
Similar in 86%
The Case for Christ (2017)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of an award-winning investigative journalist -- and avowed atheist -- who applies his well-honed journalistic and legal skills to disprove the newfound Christian faith of his wife... with unexpected, life-altering results.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: christian film, biblical, disturbing, psychological, thought provoking, captivating, inspirational, spiritual
Similar in 80%
When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)
Plot Summary:
The story of a son's conflicting memories of his dying father.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, Ireland
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, sincere, realistic, touching, captivating, independent film, serious, crying, light
Similar in 80%
55 Steps (2017)
Plot Summary:
55 Steps is based a the inspiring true story of Eleanor Riese, a mental illness patient herself, who brings a class action suit to give competent mental patients the right to have a say in their medication while they’re in a hospital, and Colette Hughes, the lawyer appointed to her case.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Germany, Belgium
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sincere, captivating, suspense, disturbing, sentimental, inspirational, spiritual, deep
Similar in 81%
Tesla (2020)
Plot Summary:
The story of the Promethean struggles of Nikola Tesla, as he attempts to transcend entrenched technology—including his own previous work—by pioneering a system of wireless energy that would change the world.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: intellectual, serious, stylized, factual, inspirational, freeze frame, clever
Similar in 79%
Vincent & Theo (1990)
Plot Summary:
The tragic story of Vincent van Gogh broadened by focusing as well on his brother Theodore, who helped support Vincent. Based on the letters written between the two.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: France, Netherlands, UK, Germany, Italy, USA
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, scenic, sexy, cult classic, independent film, atmospheric, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Same Kind of Different as Me (2017)
Plot Summary:
International art dealer Ron Hall must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the journey of their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: touching, christian film, inspirational, sincere, captivating, motivational, philosophical, depressing, spiritual, sad
Similar in 82%
My Left Foot (1989)
Plot Summary:
In this true story told through flashbacks, Christy Brown is born with crippling cerebral palsy into a poor, working-class Irish family. Able only to control movement in his left foot and to speak in guttural sounds, he is mistakenly believed to be retarded for the first ten years of his life.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Ireland, UK
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, inspirational, sincere, unusual plot structure, dramatic, sentimental, motivational, sad, captivating, biting
Similar in 81%
Angela's Ashes (1999)
Plot Summary:
Based on the best selling autobiography by Irish expat Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all odds to escape the poverty endemic in the slums of pre-war Limerick. The film opens with the family in Brooklyn, but following the death of one of Frankie's siblings, they return home, only to find the situation there even worse. Prejudice against Frankie's Northern Irish father makes his search for employment in the Republic difficult despite his having fought for the IRA, and when he does find money, he spends the money on drink.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, UK, Ireland
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, depressing, sad, compassionate, serious, melancholic, sincere, gothic, epic
Similar in 76%
This Boy's Life (1993)
Plot Summary:
In 1957, a son and mother flee the East and an abusive boyfriend to find a new life, and end up in Seattle, where the mother meets a polite garage mechanic. The boy continually gets into trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd. The mom marries the mechanic, but they soon find out that he's an abusive and unreasoning alcoholic, and they struggle to maintain hope in an impossible situation as the boy grows up with plans to escape the small town by any means possible. Based on a true story by Tobias Wolff.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 57000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: depressing, touching, emotional, realistic, epic, retro, uplifting, sad, period piece, thinking
Similar in 78%
Skin (2008)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, South Africa
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, captivating, emotional, contemplative, depressing, serious, realistic
Similar in 75%
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Evelyn Ryan, a midwestern housewife who managed to rescue her family from debt by entering contests for ad slogans sponsored by consumer product companies.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: inspirational, sentimental, touching, sincere, uplifting, semi serious, stylized, emotional, intense, motivational
Similar in 79%
Beautiful Boy (2018)
Plot Summary:
After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son Nic, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 93000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sentimental, rough, captivating, social, sad, psychological, touching, intellectual, serious
Similar in 90%
Factory Girl (2006)
Plot Summary:
In the mid-1960s, wealthy debutant Edie Sedgwick meets artist Andy Warhol. She joins Warhol's famous Factory and becomes his muse. Although she seems to have it all, Edie cannot have the love she craves from Andy, and she has an affair with a charismatic musician, who pushes her to seek independence from the artist and the milieu.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: factual, sentimental, melancholic, serious, contemplative, artsy, sexy, erotic, romantic, aesthetic
Similar in 89%
Just Mercy (2019)
Plot Summary:
The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned — including Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence. Bryan fights tirelessly for Walter with the system stacked against them.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 74000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, touching, inspirational, enigmatic, motivational, emotional, educational
Similar in 81%
Conviction (2010)
Plot Summary:
When Betty Anne Waters' older brother Kenny is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in 1983, Betty Anne, a Massachusetts wife and mother of two, dedicates her life to overturning the murder conviction. Convinced that her brother is innocent, Betty Anne puts herself through high school, college and, finally, law school in an 18 year quest to free Kenny. With the help of best friend Abra Rice, Betty Anne pores through suspicious evidence mounted by small town cop Nancy Taylor, meticulously retracing the steps that led to Kenny's arrest. Belief in her brother - and her quest for the truth - pushes Betty Anne and her team to uncover the facts and utilize DNA evidence with the hope of exonerating Kenny.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: Switzerland, UK, USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, emotional, inspirational, sad, thought provoking, disturbing, intense, motivational, entertaining
Similar in 86%
Short Term 12 (2013)
Plot Summary:
Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, works with her boyfriend and colleague, Mason, to help at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: compassionate, emotional, sad, touching, realistic, independent film, depressing, sweet, thought provoking, spiritual
Similar in 82%
Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)
Plot Summary:
A single mother, with dreams of becoming a writer, has a son at the age of 15 in 1965, and goes through a failed marriage with the drug-addicted father.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: emotional, melancholic, sentimental, touching, sad, teen, realistic, humorous, feel good, heartbreaking
Similar in 79%
Joe Bell (2020)
Plot Summary:
The true story of a small town, working class father who embarks on a solo walk across the U.S. to crusade against bullying after his son is tormented in high school for being gay.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, melancholic, talky, inspirational, road movie, thought provoking, anamorphic, crying, independent film
Similar in 88%
Lovelace (2013)
Plot Summary:
Story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sexual, stylized, erotic, sexy, emotional, entertaining, intense, sincere, captivating, teen
Similar in 78%
Fair Game (2010)
Plot Summary:
Wife and mother Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) has a double life as a CIA operative, hiding her vocation from family and friends. Her husband, Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn), writes a controversial article in The New York Times, refuting stories about the sale of enriched uranium to Iraq, Then Valerie's secret work and identity is leaked to the press. With her cover blown and other people endangered, Valerie's career and personal life begin to unravel.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 51000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, United Arab Emirates
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: political, intense, factual, political thriller, thought provoking, realistic, serious, suspenseful, controversial, inspirational
Similar in 80%
The End of the Tour (2015)
Plot Summary:
The story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, 'Infinite Jest.'.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: philosophical, meditative, psychological, sincere, serious, talky, depressing, novela, aesthetic, twisted
Similar in 86%
The Founder (2016)
Plot Summary:
The true story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 171000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Greece
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: inspirational, motivational, realistic, factual, cerebral, dramatic, uplifting, clever, thought provoking, entertaining
Similar in 89%
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
Plot Summary:
The true story of Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in 1995 at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he'd only visited in his mind.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 110000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: touching, inspirational, emotional, depressing, psychological, sincere, breathtaking, visual, motivational, sentimental
Similar in 86%
Temple Grandin (2010)
Plot Summary:
A biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of top scientists in humane livestock handling.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: touching, inspirational, sincere, compassionate, emotional, feel good, thought provoking, intense, visually appealing, psychological
Similar in 84%
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Plot Summary:
Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 206000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: psychological, depressing, serious, crying, captivating, heartbreaking, touching, teen, gothic, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Freedom Writers (2007)
Plot Summary:
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 84000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: inspirational, feel good, touching, sentimental, rough, motivational, hood, emotional, educational, spiritual