Best movies like Knowing Aaron
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
After witnessing a traumatic event as a child, Aaron is now haunted by hallucinations. He spends much of his time alone, endlessly drawing as a way to cope with these dark images. Though this has gone on for years, as he gets older it becomes harder and harder to keep this secret from colliding into his school and social life. His grades and behavior in school start slipping as does his relationships. While he continues his struggle to identify what it is that he is seeing and what that means, he and his brother work to keep this secret from everyone else in the close-knit community. However, after Aaron's art becomes well known due to an art competition, Aaron grows into something of a local celebrity in the small town. Aaron gladly adjusts to all the attention and praise, but his brother soon becomes worried that the sudden limelight could ruin all the work they have done in keeping Aaron's secret. Aaron is comfortable with the risk in return for a happier life, but as things start.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 24
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, bleak, suspenseful, stylized
Best tv shows and movies like Knowing Aaron (2010):
Similar in 82%
American Gun (2002)
Plot Summary:
A brilliant story with an unexpected twist. A father uses the serial number on a hand gun in an attempt to track down his daughter's killer. The truth he uncovers is an unsettling reminder of the dangers of keeping handguns. Stars the legendary James Coburn and the incredibly gifted Virginia Madsen. Written and directed by Alan Jacobs.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, emotional, suspenseful, thought provoking, bleak, realistic, stylized, gloomy
Similar in 87%
Kodachrome (2017)
Plot Summary:
Matt Ryder is convinced to drive his estranged and dying father Benjamin Ryder cross country to deliver four old rolls of Kodachrome film to the last lab in the world that can develop them before it shuts down for good. Along with Ben's nurse Zooey, the three navigate a world changing from analogue to digital while trying to put the past behind them.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: road movie, psychological, sincere, captivating, suspense, disturbing, philosophical, depressing, sad, independent film
Similar in 78%
The 19th Wife (2010)
Plot Summary:
Fundamentalist sect member BeckyLyn is accused of killing her husband. Queenie, another wife in the polygamist sect, doesn't believe BeckyLyn is capable of such violence and desperate to prove her innocence reaches out to her excommunicated son Jordan for help in freeing his mother.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 729
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, disturbing, psychological, tense, captivating, rough, bleak, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
War Story (2014)
Plot Summary:
Lee is a world-weary American woman who arrives in an Italian city. Her tangles with hotel staff, incessant smoking and her disregard of the persistently ringing telephone hint at her volatility brewing beneath the surface. Between fitful naps, she wanders the streets, snapping pictures of refugees as if her camera were both weapon and olive branch. Struggling to confront her demons, Lee resolves to help a beautiful young woman in need.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 791
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, psychological, serious, bleak, contemplative, stylized, gloomy
Similar in 80%
Diamond Island (2016)
Plot Summary:
Bora, an 18-year-old, leaves his village to work on the construction sites of Diamond Island, a project for an ultra-modern paradise for the rich and a symbol of tomorrow’s Cambodia. He befriends his fellow workers and finds his elder brother, the charismatic Solei, who went missing five years earlier. Solei introduces him into an exciting world, that of an urban and wealthy youth, its girls, nights and illusions.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 467
Genere: Drama
Country: Cambodia, France, Germany, Qatar, Thailand
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: tense, psychological, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspenseful, contemplative
Similar in 86%
The Wrong Woman (2013)
Plot Summary:
In this fresh take on Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Wrong Man,” Ellen Plainview, a sweet, caring, working wife and mother, answers the door one afternoon to learn that she is under arrest for attempted murder.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 789
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, psychological, tense, captivating, rough, mind bending, suspenseful, crying
Similar in 81%
Cross Bronx (2004)
Plot Summary:
This Bronx-based coming-of-age drama follows four high school friends as they navigate the treacherous waters of independence, love and careers on their individual paths toward achieving their dreams.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 151
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: realistic, captivating, psychological, atmospheric, semi serious
Similar in 84%
On the Farm (2016)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, a powerful study of the dysfunction and disorder in the police and criminal justice systems that allowed a wily psychopath to murder nearly 50 marginalised women from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 60
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, thought provoking, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 88%
The Sound of Silence (2019)
Plot Summary:
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, emotional, dark, poignant, depressing, bleak, stylized, cerebral
Similar in 78%
Native Son (2019)
Plot Summary:
A young African-American man named Bigger Thomas takes a job working for a highly influential Chicago family, a decision that will change the course of his life forever.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: bleak, suspenseful, psychological, surprise ending, disturbing
Similar in 77%
The Stone Boy (1984)
Plot Summary:
One summer morning, 12-year-old Arnold Hillerman and his 17-year-old brother Eugene wake at dawn to pick peas and perhaps shoot a wild duck on their family's Montana farm. In a nearby pasture, Arnold's gun fires accidentally. His brother is killed instantly. Isolated by emotions he can't comprehend, Arnold (Jason Presson) must now come to terms with his grieving family - including his angry father (Academy Award®- winner Robert Duvall), his frightened mother (Oscar®- nominee Glenn Close), his antagonistic uncle (Oscar®- nominee Frederic Forrest) and his gentle, straight-talking grandfather (Wilford Brimley) - while his family must come to terms with Arnold. Linda Hamilton and Dean Cain co-star in this haunting drama that critic Richard Freedman of Newhouse Newspapers calls "profoundly moving- a magnificently acted tribute to the human spirit!".
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 830
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 76%
The Hand of God (2021)
Plot Summary:
In 1980s Naples, young Fabietto pursues his love for football as family tragedy strikes, shaping his uncertain but promising future as a filmmaker.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, psychological, captivating, disturbing, surreal, stylized, semi autobiographical, rough, masterpiece, beautiful
Similar in 82%
Like a Puppet Out of Strings (2006)
Plot Summary:
Two Brothers; Tom and Felipe, have moved up the ranks of the street gangs because they have no greater devotion than the protection of each other. Luis, former gang member, is now a cop, his life having been turned around by Angelica, a female cop. When Tom is blamed for the shooting death of Angelica, a crime his brother Felipe committed, Felipe is forced to agree to Luis' terms in order to save Tom. Luis decides to convert Felipe just like he had been converted 10 years earlier. Eventually the brothers must face each other on the opposite sides of the law and chose between right and wrong, thier past and their future.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 14
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
Through the Valley (2008)
Plot Summary:
An innocent man framed for murder, and the system that just wants another minority conviction.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 74
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 82%
And Then I Go (2017)
Plot Summary:
Two teenage outsiders are demoralized daily at school, until an idea for vengeance offers them a terrifying release.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, unusual plot structure, psychological, thought provoking, suspenseful, disturbing, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
George Washington (2000)
Plot Summary:
Set in the landscape of a rural southern town, "George Washington" is a stunning portrait of how a group of young kids come to grips with a hard world of choices and consequences. During an innocent game in an abandoned amusement park, a member of the group dies. Narrated by one of the children, the film follows the kids as they struggle to balance their own ambitions and relationships against a tragic lie.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, bleak, independent film, meditative, lyrical, touching, realistic, stylized, southern gothic, thought provoking
Similar in 84%
All Good Children (2010)
Plot Summary:
After experiencing a tragedy, Irish brothers Dara and Eoin move to rural France, where they become friends with young Bella, whose beauty and charm bewitches the emotionally unstable Dara.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 285
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland, UK, Belgium, France
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, realistic, psychological, captivating, tense, sincere, gloomy
Similar in 88%
Almayer's Folly (2011)
Plot Summary:
A tale of an occidental merchant, Kaspar Almayer, whose dreams of riches for his beloved daughter, Nina, collapse under the weight of his own greed and prejudice.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 808
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, France
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, psychological, captivating, bleak, serious, emotional
Similar in 76%
Blackout (2007)
Plot Summary:
BLACKOUT takes you inside the personal journey of what went down and what it was really like in Brooklyn, NY on August 14. It examines the nature of man to take advantage of his own fellow man outside of normal conditions, in times of weakness and vulnerability.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 609
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, psychological, bleak
Similar in 84%
No One Would Tell (2018)
Plot Summary:
Laura Collins (Shannen Doherty), single mom to daughter Sarah (Matreya Scarrwener), has had a history of rocky relationships, so when Sarah begins dating the popular and charismatic Rob Tennison (Callan Potter), Laura is thrilled with what she sees. But when it becomes increasingly clear that Rob has a darker, possessive side, Laura lives in a state of denial about her daughter’s relationship until Sarah goes missing. Laura must find the will to fight for justice for Sarah when a case against Rob is brought to trial and presided over by a powerful judge (Mira Sorvino).
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 874
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: bad ending, rough, suspense, psychological, thought provoking, captivating, suspenseful, disturbing, bleak, emotional
Similar in 83%
Crossroads (2006)
Plot Summary:
The life of a young Jesuit seminarian is turned upside down when he falls in love with a young woman while working as a volunteer at a soup kitchen.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 300
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, realistic, psychological, captivating, sincere, touching, serious, sexual
Similar in 90%
Return to Innocence (2001)
Plot Summary:
Director Rocky Costanzo's searing legal drama centers on a highly credentialed child psychologist named Glen Erskine (Richard Meese) whose life is shattered when he's accused of sexually assaulting a young boy he's been treating. Based on the novel of the same name by Gary M. Frazier, this poignant tale also stars Andrew Martin, Steve De Forest, Jeff Harman and Brett Chukerman.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 823
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, serious, art house, bleak, independent film
Similar in 82%
Tag (2015)
Plot Summary:
Billy is the self-designated leader of a group of teenagers living in a shelter. Jacob and Rae, Billy's oldest childhood friends, live there as well as part of "the family". Billy has an AIDs-like virus, which he has passed on to his blood brother Jacob. Billy and Rae are boyfriend and girlfriend, much to the dismay of Jacob who has always loved Rae from afar. Billy's philosophy of life, and how that interfaces with having a deadly virus, comes to a head when Billy and Jacob compete in a very unique game of "Tag", with the future of Rae and "the family" dependent upon the outcome.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 280
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, suspenseful, unusual plot structure, suspense, contemplative, grindhouse, independent film
Similar in 85%
Jess + Moss (2011)
Plot Summary:
Jess, age 18, and Moss, age 12 are second cousins in the dark-fire tobacco fields of rural Western Kentucky. Without immediate families that they can relate to, and lacking friends their own age, they only have each other. Over the course of a summer they venture on a journey exploring deep secrets and hopes of a future while being confronted with fears of isolation, abandonment and an unknown tomorrow.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 980
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, realistic, contemplative, stylized, psychological, captivating, teen, aesthetic, sincere, touching
Similar in 81%
Anatomy of a Hate Crime (2001)
Plot Summary:
This MTV film dramatizes the horrific hate-crime killing of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard (Cy Carter) in Wyoming. In 1998, Shepard, a gay college student, was savagely beaten by Russell Henderson (Ian Somerhalder) and Aaron McKinney (Brendan Fletcher), who left their victim to die. Flashbacks paint a picture of Shepard's life and provide insight into why the killers, who initially set out to rob the young man, would commit such a brutal murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 316
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: disturbing, thought provoking, emotional, bleak, serious, realistic, controversial, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
Woyzeck (1979)
Plot Summary:
Having fathered an illegitimate child with his lover, Marie, feckless soldier Franz Woyzeck takes odd jobs around his small town to provide some extra money for them. One of them is volunteering for experiments conducted by a local doctor, who puts Woyzeck on a diet of peas. This serves to drive him close to madness, and the discovery that Marie is involved in an affair with the local drum major exacerbates the situation. Pushed too far, Woyzeck resorts to violence.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: West Germany
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, bleak, disturbing, dark comedy, social, sad, tense, serious, realistic
Similar in 85%
Lebanon, Pa. (2010)
Plot Summary:
Will, a charming 35-year-old Philadelphia ad man, heads to Lebanon, Pa. to bury his recently deceased father. He forms an unexpected friendship with CJ, his bright, newly pregnant 17-year-old cousin. As Will becomes interested in CJ's married teacher and CJ confronts her conflicted father, both struggle with formidable decisions about the path their lives will take. Can we vault our differences and meet in the middle? This bittersweet comic drama tenderly explores the cultural divide in America through the lives of one extended family.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 584
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, psychological, captivating, sincere, clever, touching, serious, independent film
Similar in 88%
Color of Justice (1997)
Plot Summary:
Four young black men kill a white woman, the D.A. is very cautious in how to proceed.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 228
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Hello Herman (2012)
Plot Summary:
Set in the not so distant future, in Any Town USA, sixteen year old Herman Howards makes a fateful decision. He enters his suburban school and kills thirty nine students, two teachers, and a police officer. Just before his arrest he emails his idol, famous journalist Lax Morales, sending him clips of the shootings captured with Herman's own digital camera. In the clips Herman tells Lax, "I want to tell my story on your show". Lax, haunted by his own past, is now face to face with Herman.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, serious, disturbing, realistic, tense, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 85%
The Donner Party (2009)
Plot Summary:
Based on the real events of The Donner Party tragedy. The Donner Party was a group of California-bound American settlers caught up in the western expansion of the 1840s. After becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada during the winter of 1846-1847, a number of the trapped settlers joined together in a final effort to reach California and organize a rescue party.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, serious, realistic, mysterious, suspenseful, bleak, wild