Best movies like Johnny Was

Similar in 83%

Shottas (2002)

Plot Summary:

A raw urban drama about two friends raised on the dangerous streets of Kingston, Jamaica. Biggs and Wayne take on the "Shotta" way of life to survive. As young boys, they begin a life of crime, eventually moving to the US where they begin a ruthless climb from the bottom. They remain bound to each other by their shottas loyalty as they aggressively take control of the Jamaican underworld.

Similar in 80%

Baseline (2010)

Plot Summary:

The Baseline is the centre of the East London grime club scene and the queue regularly stretches around the block. Danny works on the door - breaking up fights and managing drunk kids. However, when he rescues Terry, the club owner and local gang leader, from a hitman, Danny is suddenly plunged deep into an underworld he had tried so hard to avoid. Danny is promoted to manager, but only on the condition that he turns a blind eye to the shady goings on both on and off the dance-floor. Danny and his girlfriend Jessica dream of setting up their own club, but Danny is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice when he has to choose between loyalty, morality and his own dreams of escape.

Similar in 85%

Shifty (2008)

Plot Summary:

Shifty, a young crack cocaine dealer in London, sees his life quickly spiral out of control when his best friend returns home. Stalked by a customer desperate to score at all costs, and with his family about to turn their back on him for good, Shifty must out-run and out-smart a rival drug dealer, intent on setting him up for a big fall.

Similar in 77%

Shiner (2000)

Plot Summary:

The past catches up with a ruthlessly ambitious boxing promoter.

Similar in 88%

Sugarhouse (2007)

Plot Summary:

Tom is a middle-class city boy whose life has reached breaking point. he thinks D - a young desperate drug addict can give him what he needs. But what D’s offering comes with more than just a price tag…. Tom is completely out of his depth when he finds himself in D's abandoned warehouse attempting to do a deal with him. The two enter into an irrational, deadly game of cat and mouse. The tense drama escalates when local crime lord, Hoodwink, wakes up to find his gun missing. With this impending threat at their backs, both men play an intense game of cat and mouse; scrambling to cut a deal and make sense of the very lives they may be about to lose.

Similar in 76%

Played (2006)

Plot Summary:

An examination of the malevolent London underworld with it's despicable criminal underground. Ray (Mick Rossi) just finished an eight year prison sentence after getting set up. Now he is back on the streets to settle the score.

Similar in 88%

The Escapist (2002)

Plot Summary:

Denis Hopkins, a pilot, lives with his pregnant wife Valerie and has a comfortable lifestyle. When a gang of criminals led by the sadistic Ricky Barnes breaks into his home, he offers whatever the criminals want to protect his wife and unborn child, but the evil Ricky kills Valerie anyway. Their baby is saved, and later Barnes is arrested and sentenced to life in the maximum security prison, Sullen Voe. Denis fakes his own suicide, then assaults a police car in order to get himself arrested and sent to prison with the intention of tracking down and killing Ricky Barnes. He does not reveal his true name and is called John "What" by the prisoners and guards. Denis escapes from successive prisons, forcing his eventual transfer to Sullen Voe. When he reaches his objective, Ricky Barnes schedules a confrontation, but things do not quite turn out the way Denis had expected.

IMDB Rating: 6.1

IMDB Votes: 2000

Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Country: UK

Duration: 88 min

Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, tense, serious, rough