Best movies like American Buffalo
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Three inner-city losers plan a robbery of a valuable coin in a seedy second-hand junk shop.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: bleak, talky, stylized, independent film, minimal cast, clever, realistic, semi serious, thought provoking, intellectual
Best tv shows and movies like American Buffalo (1996):
Similar in 77%
Lakeboat (2000)
Plot Summary:
Coming-of-age tale set aboard a shipping freighter traveling America's Great Lakes. Dale is an Ivy League college student who briefly joins a world-weary crew. Exposed to a seafaring lifestyle which falls short of his literary visions, Dale instead finds the experience rich in unexpected ways. The men's bravado and comical posturing gives way as their lively story-telling reveals more about their mythologized view of life than about what actually may have happened.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 734
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: surreal, melancholic, satirical, stylized, humorous, realistic, clever, talky, witty, semi serious
Similar in 82%
Diamond Men (2000)
Plot Summary:
After 30 years on the road, a veteran jewellery salesman is forced to show his young replacement the tricks of the trade. But when the kid introduces him to the ladies of the "Altoona Riding Club," the old dog is introduced to a whole new set of "tricks.".
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, ironic, cynical, feel good, talky, humorous, realistic, semi serious, surprise ending, inspirational
Similar in 90%
Against the Current (2009)
Plot Summary:
Struggling with a tragic past, a man with an urgent calling enlists two friends to help him swim the length of the Hudson River.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: semi serious, humorous, captivating, realistic, talky, stylized, independent film, crying
Similar in 88%
Bigga Than Ben (2008)
Plot Summary:
Spiker & Cobakka are two self-confessed 'pieces of Moscow scum' who come to London to rip it off. This is their guide.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, bleak, realistic, disturbing, gloomy
Similar in 87%
Oleanna (1994)
Plot Summary:
A two character movie, involving a college professor, John, who is confronted by a female student, Carol, who is failing his course. The two spend a long time talking to each other, during which time John says a few things that can be taken the wrong way. After the night the two spent talking, John is slapped with a sexual harassment accusation by Carol.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, serious, realistic, intense, independent film, clever, talky, minimal cast, thought provoking
Similar in 75%
God Is on Air (2002)
Plot Summary:
Two Spanish pan-handlers soon find themselves in over their heads when they stumble upon an opportunity to redeem themselves and perhaps the entire planet. The world appears to suffer from rampant poverty, violence and spiritual desperation and the relentless news media force-feeds these images to the Spanish people. A popular reality television show lets the audience decide between life or death for suspected felons, and one of the opportunistic pan-handlers attempts to escape poverty through this raucous and sensational TV program.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 220
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: clever, cynical, suspense, offbeat, humorous, realistic, semi serious, biting
Similar in 84%
Tape (2001)
Plot Summary:
A three-character ensemble piece set within the confines of a tawdry motor lodge in Lansing, Michigan. After 10 years apart, three disparate people come together to play out the unresolved drama of their final days in high school. Intrigued, we watch as layers of denial are slowly peeled away. Suspense builds as each character is provoked into revealing his or her true nature and motivation. Mesmerized, we are drawn into their lives as they choose which cards to play and which cards to hold.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, minimal cast, independent film, cerebral, sincere, suspenseful, entirely dialogue, clever, realistic
Similar in 83%
Street Days (2010)
Plot Summary:
A middle-aged, unemployed heroin-addict, Checkie, loiters on the Tbilisi street outside his son’s school, where he himself was once a promising student. His wife, meanwhile, struggles to pay the tuition and understand her husband’s lack of interest in the family’s survival—even as the bank repossesses their furniture. But when a group of policemen blackmails Checkie into entrapping the son of his wealthy friend, husband and wife are unified by the uncertainty of their deepening moral dilemma, and a series of worsening foul-ups, in Levan Koguashvili’s lightly humorous yet realistic drama about the fate of a generation left behind in Georgia’s post-Soviet era.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Georgia
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, rough, bleak, serious, gloomy
Similar in 78%
Locke (2013)
Plot Summary:
Ivan Locke has worked hard to craft a good life for himself. Tonight, that life will collapse around him. On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 157000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: talky, minimal cast, neo noir, suspenseful, stylized, atmospheric, clever, emotional, captivating, realistic
Similar in 88%
Ten Benny (1995)
Plot Summary:
The story of a young shoe salesman whose overestimation of his own sharpness leads to gambling debts, pissed-off loan sharks, and overall misery.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 408
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, clever, serious, realistic, contemplative, talky, gloomy
Similar in 89%
The Pleasure of Being Robbed (2008)
Plot Summary:
A curious and lost Eleonore looks for something everywhere, even in the bags of strangers who find themselves sadly smiling only well after she's left their lives. They owe her their thanks.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 71 min
Plot tags: mumblecore, clever, uplifting, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film, offbeat, underground film
Similar in 88%
Interview (2007)
Plot Summary:
After falling out with his editor, a fading political journalist is forced to interview America's most popular soap actress.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada, Netherlands
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, melancholic, talky, stylized, clever, minimal cast, indie film, humorous, realistic
Similar in 83%
Wheels (2014)
Plot Summary:
Two suicidal paraplegic junkies hustle their way through the city streets trying to find a reason to live.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: touching, semi serious, psychological, sentimental, bleak, captivating, sad, mindfuck, realistic, independent film
Similar in 75%
Spring Forward (1999)
Plot Summary:
As the seasons change in a Connecticut town, two men of different age and backgrounds who work together outdoors for the local park system, share thoughts and feelings that gradually deepen into a relationship approaching father and son. Paul is just out of prison for armed robbery, assigned to work with Murph, a middle-aged vet whose grown son Bobby is dying. Paul is trying to control his temper and build a spiritual side based on reading. Murph is a down-to-earth Sancho Panza to Paul's more ethereal ideas. And Murphy seems to need forgiveness for mistakes as a dad. As Murphy's retirement approaches and winter sets in, the men talk and love blossoms.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, talky, independent film, existential, sincere, semi serious, road movie, thought provoking, feel good
Similar in 75%
The Uncertainty Principle (2002)
Plot Summary:
Having lost her place among the social elite, a widow remarries and starts a family.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 416
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Portugal
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: realistic, contemplative, cynical, serious, talky, stylized, clever, offbeat, humorous
Similar in 83%
A Doll's House (1973)
Plot Summary:
Nora Helmer has years earlier committed a forgery in order to save the life of her authoritarian husband Torvald. Now she is being blackmailed lives in fear of her husband's finding out and of the shame such a revelation would bring to his career. But when the truth comes out, Nora is shocked to learn where she really stands in her husband's esteem.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, talky, sincere, clever, independent film, period drama
Similar in 87%
Lana's Rain (2002)
Plot Summary:
This powerful, hard-edged crime drama explores the dark side of the American immigrant experience and dares to ask, "How far would you go to survive?" Lana’s only chance to escape the war-torn Balkans is her long-lost brother, Darko, a street-smart gangster with enemies intent on revenge. Isolated at first by her inability to speak English, Lana desperately hopes that she and her brother can achieve the American dream that she can only glimpse. But her illusions are shattered as she is forced to survive by any means possible on the mean streets of Chicago. As she gets pulled deeper and deeper into her brother’s criminal world while a steely determination grows in her heart, Lana must risk her own life to overcome Darko and his pursuers if she hopes to finally realize her dream.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 189
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, bleak, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 83%
Choking Man (2006)
Plot Summary:
The social anxiety of a morbidly shy Ecuadorian dishwasher working in a Queens diner provides the psychological engine that powers this blend of drama and magical realism.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 597
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, touching, captivating, psychological, sentimental, serious, gloomy
Similar in 89%
25th Hour (2002)
Plot Summary:
The filmed adaptation from David Benioff's novel of the same name. Set in New York, a convicted drug dealer named Monty has one day left of freedom before he is sent to prison. Anger, blame, frustration, betrayal, guilt and loneliness are themes on this last day of friends, family, parties, saying goodbye, and setting things straight. A Spike Lee joint.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 183000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: depressing, psychological, emotional, bleak, atmospheric, rough, serious, captivating, contemplative, neo noir
Similar in 79%
The Stick Up Kids (2008)
Plot Summary:
People always told Santos he was something special. His Uncle told him to get a skill, so he became a hustler and with his three,they became "The Stick Up Kids" Harlem would never be the same. They thought they had it all... Money, cars, the lifestyle and the lingo. The only two words They didn't know were JURISDICTION AND GENTRIFICATION but in their world it was all for one and one for all until an unexpected, mysterious death, forced "The Stick Up Kids"to change their focus from doing crime to stopping the "North Manhattan Project". Now it was up to Santos to pull off one last sting before it destroyed them all. Watch out America. 'The Stick Up Kids" are coming to your town!.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 104
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, captivating, crime drama, independent film, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
True Friends (1998)
Plot Summary:
New York, The Bronx, 1980. Two Italian boys Joey Esposito and Louie Mazerino jump to the defence of a smaller Puerto Rican boy, J.J. Lopez, when J.J. is threatened by six schoolyard bullies. The three boys soon become best friends, and they always look out for each other. However, their innocence is shattered when they witness Big Tony, the local Mob boss kill a man. The three boys vow to each other to keep it a secret. Fifteen years later, the three boys, now in their late twenties are still the best of friends and still living in The Bronx. They dream of opening their own bar. Desperate to better themselves, Joey devises a scheme to steal money from Big Tony and open their own Joint.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 202
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic
Similar in 78%
2 B Perfectly Honest (2004)
Plot Summary:
Business partners Frank and Josh go bankrupt after their dot-com start-up collapses before it goes online. Frank, a bachelor and broke, reluctantly moves back home to live with his parents while Josh, a hippie computer wiz who's married and has a son, is forced to consider the unthinkable - getting a real job.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 271
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: clever, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 76%
True Colors (1991)
Plot Summary:
Two law school friends find themselves at odds when one becomes a Justice Department lawyer and the other goes into politics.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: political, talky, intense, realistic, serious, captivating, clever, tense, sincere, crime drama
Similar in 88%
Straight Time (1978)
Plot Summary:
After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, realistic, psychological, thought provoking, cynical, crime drama, contemplative, independent film, tension
Similar in 82%
Chinese Coffee (2000)
Plot Summary:
When Harry Levine, an aging, unsuccessful Greenwich Village writer is fired from his job as restaurant doorman, he calls on friend and mentor Jake, ostensibly to collect a long-standing debt. Harry solicits his opinion on his latest manuscript, a work of semi-fiction based on their longtime friendship. Although he initially denies having read it, Jake later attacks it on aesthetic grounds, and deep-seated feelings of betrayal and jealousy surface and lead to a traumatic confrontation.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: psychological, clever, serious, talky, existential, philosophical, cerebral, cult classic, independent film, realistic
Similar in 75%
Bodies, Rest & Motion (1993)
Plot Summary:
Rebelling against his dreary life in a small Arizona town, salesman Nick abandons his girlfriend, Beth, and strikes out onto the highway in search of... something else. Encouraged by her best friend, Carol, Beth reluctantly accepts the romantic attentions of Sid, a local housepainter.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, independent film, clever, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, philosophical, thought provoking, intellectual
Similar in 84%
Bar Girls (1994)
Plot Summary:
The life and loves of gay women hanging out at a local tavern are examined in this slice of life film.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 592
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: independent film, clever, humorous, realistic, talky, semi serious, sexual, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
Two Girls and a Guy (1997)
Plot Summary:
Two women confront their boyfriend, a two-timing actor who professed eternal love to each.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: talky, melancholic, light, humorous, realistic, semi serious, sexy, clever, witty, sexual
Similar in 77%
The Sunset Limited (2011)
Plot Summary:
Based on the play of the same name by Pulitzer Prize Winner Cormac McCarthy, this searing two-character drama mixes humor and pathos while examining the relationship between strangers who are brought together by desperate circumstances. Set in a New York tenement apartment, the story focuses on two very different men - a deeply religious black ex-con who thwarts the suicide attempt of an asocial white college professor who tried to throw himself in front of an oncoming subway train, 'The Sunset Limited.' As the one attempts to connect on a rational, spiritual and emotional level, the other remains steadfast in his hard-earned despair. Locked in a philosophical debate, both passionately defend their personal credos and try to convert the other.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: talky, philosophical, minimal cast, thought provoking, psychological, bleak, intellectual, intense, serious, cerebral
Similar in 89%
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Plot Summary:
A naive male prostitute and his sickly friend struggle to survive on the streets of New York City.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 118000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: disturbing, realistic, depressing, controversial, cult classic, psychological, rough, serious, bleak, grim