Best movies like Leonie
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In the lush tradition of the glorious films of Merchant and Ivory, comes the true life story of Leonie Gilmour (Emily Mortimer), whose life crossed continents, wars and cultures, embodied with courage and passion in search of art and freedom. A tender and inspiring story of a remarkable woman who nurtures the amazing artistic talent of her son who has only one way to succeed and one person to guide him, as he grows into the world renown artist, Isamu Noguchi.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 573
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: France, UK, Australia, Germany, Belgium, USA, Japan, Netherlands
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, realistic, stylized, retro, crying, period piece, period drama
Best tv shows and movies like Leonie (2010):
Similar in 82%
Shirley (2011)
Plot Summary:
Shirley is the youngest of eight children from a mixed race marriage. By the time she is a toddler the family have moved to the all white area of Splott and by the time she is 12 Shirley has discovered she has an extraordinary voice and can earn money singing in pubs around the docks after her father if jailed for sexual crimes. As a young teenager she begins singing and dancing in 'coloured review shows'. But it is a chance meeting with struggling agent Mike Sullivan that changes her life forever. He promises to make her a star, but has no idea of the personal sacrifice that will mean for the teenaged Shirley.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 201
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic
Similar in 79%
Stevie (1978)
Plot Summary:
Portrayal of British poet/author Stevie Smith and her life with her beloved aunt through direct dialogue with the audience by Stevie, as well as flashbacks, and narration by a friend. The movie mainly focuses on her relationship with her aunt, romantic relationships of the past, and the fame she received late in her life.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 538
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: independent film, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, sexual, sexy
Similar in 90%
We of the Never Never (1982)
Plot Summary:
Based on the well-loved Australian classic by Mrs. Aeneas Gunn, this is the remarkable true story of Jeannie Gunn, a woman who fought to overcome sexual and racial prejudice amid the harsh beauties of the outback. Leaving her Melbourne existence for a new life on her husband's isolated ranch, Jeannie's feisty, good-natured attitude soon wins over the misogynistic stockmen, but she faces a much tougher challenge in trying to change their racist attitudes towards the indigenous aboriginal population.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 456
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, realistic, crying, period piece, period drama
Similar in 77%
Pandemonium (2000)
Plot Summary:
Set in England during the early 19th century, Pandaemonium evokes late-1960s America in its depiction of the relationship between Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Linus Roach) and William Wordsworth (John Hannah). Instead of going to Vietnam, Wordsworth goes off to fight against the French while Coleridge stays at home and promotes utopianism. After the war, the poets live and work together with Coleridge's wife, Sara (Samantha Morton), and Wordsworth's sister, Dorothy (Emily Woof). At first this communal arrangement works to the advantage of Coleridge--who does some of his best writing while Wordsworth stagnates--until Coleridge becomes addicted to opium. Wordsworth, meanwhile, doesn't find his voice until he abandons his friend. In 20th-century vernacular, Wordsworth is the yuppie, Coleridge the hippie.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 875
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, realistic, captivating, costume drama, cult classic, crying, independent film, period drama
Similar in 84%
Coco Before Chanel (2009)
Plot Summary:
2009 biopic about the early life of Coco Chanel. Several years after leaving the orphanage, to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar both. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: stylized, inspirational, sexy, period piece, costume drama, factual, atmospheric, touching, educational, art film
Similar in 77%
Burton and Taylor (2013)
Plot Summary:
TV drama based on Richard Burton's diaries, about his last performance in 1983 with ex-wife Elizabeth Taylor. They meet after several years and he agrees to her suggestion that they star in a stage revival on Broadway of Noel Coward's comedy 'Private Lives', although Elizabeth Taylor has never before performed on stage. Burton soon regrets his agreement, however, when her pill-popping and lack of discipline causes problems already during the rehearsals. The play opens to a critical trashing, but is popular with audiences because they just want to see Taylor. After a two month troubled run, the curtain comes down and Taylor tells Burton she has always loved him and still does. A year later he is dead.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, stylized, cult classic, historical drama, crying
Similar in 76%
Black Butterflies (2011)
Plot Summary:
Confronted by Apartheid and a father who was Minister of Censorship, Ingrid Jonker searched for a home, searched for love. With men like Jack Cope and André Brink she found much love, but no home. Later, in his first speech to the South African Parliament Nelson Mandela read her poem "The Dead Child of Nyanga" and addressed her as one of the finest poets of South Africa.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Netherlands, Germany, South Africa
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, captivating, sexy, edutainment, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Summer in February (2013)
Plot Summary:
The Newlyn School of artists flourished at the beginning of the 20th Century and the film focuses on the wild and bohemian Lamorna Group, which included Alfred Munnings and Laura and Harold Knight. The incendiary anti-Modernist Munnings, now regarded as one of Britain's most sought-after artists, is at the centre of the complex love triangle, involving aspiring artist Florence Carter-Wood and Gilbert Evans, the land agent in charge of the Lamorna Valley estate. True - and deeply moving - the story is played out against the timeless beauty of the Cornish coast, in the approaching shadow of The Great War.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, retro, historical drama, realistic, stylized, costume drama, period drama
Similar in 84%
Enid (2009)
Plot Summary:
Edwardian child Enid Blyton begins to tell stories to her brothers as an escape from their parents' rows before the father deserts the family.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, costume drama, cult classic, period drama, weird
Similar in 83%
A Quiet Passion (2016)
Plot Summary:
The story of American poet Emily Dickinson from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive, unrecognized artist.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, Belgium, Canada, USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: historical drama, costume drama, romantic drama, period drama, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Tom & Viv (1994)
Plot Summary:
The story of the marriage of the poet TS Eliot to socialite Vivienne Haigh-Wood, which had to cope with her gynaeological and emotional problems and his growing fame.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: romantic, psychological, romantic drama, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, independent film, light
Similar in 87%
Bright Star (2009)
Plot Summary:
In 1818, high-spirited young Fanny Brawne finds herself increasingly intrigued by the handsome but aloof poet John Keats, who lives next door to her family friends the Dilkes. After reading a book of his poetry, she finds herself even more drawn to the taciturn Keats. Although he agrees to teach her about poetry, Keats cannot act on his reciprocated feelings for Fanny, since as a struggling poet he has no money to support a wife.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: Australia, UK, France
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: heartbreaking, period piece, romantic, touching, sad, costume drama, emotional, colorful, sentimental, witty
Similar in 89%
Georgia O'Keeffe (2009)
Plot Summary:
Biopic of American artist Georgia O'Keeffe and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 958
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, art film, stylized, crying
Similar in 81%
Seraphine (2008)
Plot Summary:
The tragic story of French naïve painter Séraphine Louis aka Séraphine de Senlis (1864-1942), a humble servant who becomes a gifted self-taught painter. Discovered by prominent critic and collector William Uhde, she came to prominence between the wars grouped with other naïve painters like Henri Rouseau only to descend into madness and obscurity with the onset of Great Depression and World War II.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, sentimental, surprise ending, heartbreaking, avant garde, independent film, art film, visual, visually stunning
Similar in 77%
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 86%
Camille Claudel 1915 (2013)
Plot Summary:
Winter, 1915. Confined by her family to an asylum in the South of France - where she will never sculpt again - the chronicle of Camille Claudel's reclusive life, as she waits for a visit from her brother, Paul Claudel.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, realistic, factual, sexy, sad, art film, costume drama, visual, slow cinema, aesthetic
Similar in 85%
An Angel at My Table (1990)
Plot Summary:
Janet Frame grows up in a poor family. She is different than the other kids. She is considered abnormal and locked away in a mental institution for eight years. Everything changes when she starts writing books.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA
Duration: 158 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, erotic, depressing, spiritual, ironic, neurotic, cult classic, spooky, sincere
Similar in 81%
Carrington (1995)
Plot Summary:
The story of the relationship between painter Dora Carrington and author Lytton Strachey in a World War One England of cottages and countryside. Although platonic due to Strachey's homosexuality, the relationship was nevertheless a deep and complicated one. When Carrington did develop a more physical relationship with soldier Ralph Partridge, Strachey was able to welcome him as a friend, although Partridge remained somewhat uneasy, not so much with Strachey's lifestyle and sexual orientation as with the fact that he was a conscientious objector.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: costume drama, touching, emotional, talky, sexual, historical drama, independent film, sentimental, sincere, atmospheric
Similar in 83%
Sylvia (2003)
Plot Summary:
Story of the relationship between the poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: depressing, emotional, realistic, psychological, serious, heartbreaking, romantic, neurotic, art house, period piece
Similar in 89%
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 85%
Noble (2014)
Plot Summary:
Christina Noble overcomes the harsh difficulties of her childhood in Ireland to discover her destiny on the streets of Saigon. A true story.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, Vietnam
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, emotional, realistic, serious, gloomy
Similar in 83%
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 84%
My Brilliant Career (1979)
Plot Summary:
A young woman who is determined to maintain her independence finds herself at odds with her family who wants her to tame her wild side and get married.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: independent film, period piece, romantic, historical drama, sentimental, uplifting, touching, feel good, serious, realistic
Similar in 79%
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 88%
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 88%
Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story (2011)
Plot Summary:
Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story is a made-for-TV film starring Australian actress Poppy Montgomery. The film, which was shot in B.C. Canada locations altered to look like British locations, details the journey of struggling single mother J. K. Rowling, her bid to become a published author, and her rise to fame that followed the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The film aired on Lifetime on July 18th and was criticized for being too lacklustre (mainly down to the fiercely private author having no say in the production) but it also shed some light on her personal life and featured scenes such as her highly abusive first husband and the death of her mother. The eponymous J.K. Rowling is the world's first billionaire (in terms of US dollars) author and the films inspired by her books have been the highest grossing films of all time. Poppy Montgomery reportedly got blue contact lenses to play the role of the highly influential author.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, sincere, touching, realistic, inspirational, art film, ridiculous
Similar in 80%
A Cry in the Dark (1988)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Lindy Chamberlain: During a camping trip to Ayers Rock in outback Australia, she claims she witnessed a dingo taking her baby daughter, Azaria, from the family tent. Azaria's body is never found. After investigations and two public inquests, she is charged with murder. The case attracts a lot of attention, turning it into a media sideshow.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Australia, UK, USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: realistic, disturbing, tense, emotional, suspense, thought provoking, serious, sincere, sad, compassionate
Similar in 77%
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 89%
Miss Potter (2006)
Plot Summary:
The story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children's book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", and her struggle for love, happiness and success.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, period piece, costume drama, serious, realistic, sweet, romantic drama, motivational, intellectual
Similar in 77%
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
Plot Summary:
Dorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted with despair.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: intellectual, clever, witty, talky, heartbreaking, serious, captivating, realistic, cynical, independent film