Best movies like Love the Hard Way
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Claire, a brilliant student, seeks answers to the meaning of life in the calm of her biology laboratory. One day, she meets a mysterious young man, Jack, at the cinema, and is intrigued by his style, assurance and audacity. Apart from his artistic activities, Jack has a regular scam going, ripping off foreign businessmen with his loyal mate Charlie and two actresses. But his tough guy exterior conceals a secret passion for old books, and he dreams of writing a novel one day. Jack falls hard for Claire's purity and curiosity. An unusual romance develops between them. But Jack is scared of their growing intimacy and rejects Claire, withdrawing into his shell. Abandoned and confused, Claire gradually begins to neglect her studies and embarks on a spiraling course of self-destruction, whilst Jack, who tries to ignore her, concentrates on his criminal activities. However, a sharp detective, named Linda Fox, is following his dodgy tracks.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Crime, Romance
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: neo noir, bleak, serious, realistic, romantic, romantic drama, independent film, gloomy, detective
Best tv shows and movies like Love the Hard Way (2001):
Similar in 75%
Being at Home with Claude (1992)
Plot Summary:
It's hard to review this movie without giving anything away. Suffice it to say that it depicts the crime of one member of a gay male relationship and the desperate struggle for the lead character to make those around him understand the reason for his crime.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 654
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, serious, realistic, contemplative, talky, gloomy, sexual, neo noir, sexy
Similar in 84%
Traveller (1997)
Plot Summary:
A young man, Pat, visits the clan of gypsy-like grifters (Irish Travellers) in rural North Carolina from whom he is descended. He is at first rejected, but cousin Bokky takes him on as an apprentice. Pat learns the game while Bokky falls in love and desires a different life. Written by Jeff Hole.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: road movie, neo noir, independent film, offbeat, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, light, romantic
Similar in 85%
Siberia (1998)
Plot Summary:
Goof and Hugo are flatmates in Amsterdam who have made a tidy sum from having sex with tourists, then robbing them. Their goal is to spend the money together on a world trip and their scam is going well until they meet Lara, originally from Siberia, whom Goof becomes besotted with (IMDB).
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 956
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 81%
Simple Men (1992)
Plot Summary:
Bitter about being double-crossed by the women he loved, (and with the police after him to boot), Bill vows to seduce the next woman he sees, then throw her away. His brother Dennis, meanwhile, is equally determined to track down their long lost father, a revolutionary who has been in hiding for 20 years. For different reasons, both leave New York and head for Long Island, out of money, and short on ideas. D:"Long Island is a a terminal moraine." B:"What's that?" D:"It's the material left behind when a glacier recedes." D:"Gee, then what the hell are we waiting for?"D: "She's a bit jumpy..." B: "Jumpy women are great!".
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Italy, USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: road movie, talky, witty, realistic, art house, independent film, clever, humorous, retro, esoteric
Similar in 78%
Artworks (2003)
Plot Summary:
A police chief's daughter, a sales agent for a home-security firm, meets an art gallery owner. Love and envy lead them to hatch a plot to steal overlooked but valuable paintings from her wealthy clients.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 369
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, realistic, tense, exciting, melancholic
Similar in 82%
Speedway Junky (1999)
Plot Summary:
A naive drifter runs away from his army father in hopes of making it on the car racing circuit. In Las Vegas, he meets a young scam artist, who develops a crush on him. He is then introduced to a whole gang led by a young hustler. The racer-to-be then gets a lesson in the wild side, getting involved in one situation after another. Patsy Kensit makes a cameo as another hustler and Daryl Hannah appears as the scam artist's surrogate mom.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Israel
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: talky, serious, realistic, slang, feel good, light, independent film, gloomy, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 76%
The Nark (1982)
Plot Summary:
A Paris police detective (Richard Berry) plays rough with a prostitute (Nathalie Baye) and her pimp/lover (Philippe Léotard), whom he wants as an informant.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: neo noir, anthology, detective, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crying, eighties
Similar in 82%
As Tears Go By (1988)
Plot Summary:
Two parallel stories of Wah caught in the mist of a love affair with his beloved cousin, Ngor and his relationship with his triad brother, Fly, who seems to never fall out of trouble.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: neo noir, mind bending, psychedelic, surreal, crime drama, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, black comedy
Similar in 82%
Burnt Money (2000)
Plot Summary:
Set in Argentina in 1965, the story follows the tumultuous relationship between two men who became lovers and ultimately ruthless bank robbers in a notoriously famous footnote in the annals of crime history. After a large-scale hold-up that turns bloody, the two men must flee. It is not long before the police are surrounding the building they are in and they must confront their demons to survive.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Argentina, Spain, Uruguay
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: sexy, erotic, intense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, lgbt cinema, hispanic, crime drama, homoerotic
Similar in 89%
Captives (1994)
Plot Summary:
A beautiful young dentist working in a tough British prison starts to become attracted to a violent inmate after the break-up of her marriage, and embarks upon an illicit affair with him, with terrible consequences for all.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, erotic, tense, serious, realistic, sexual, independent film, tension, light, romantic
Similar in 87%
Flirt (1995)
Plot Summary:
The same situation is played out in different cities (New York, Berlin and Japan). A lover has to choose whether to commit to a partner who is returning home. In each case there are other people involved, an ex-partner and someone else in a "permanent" relationship, what do they choose to do?.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Germany, Japan
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: art house, clever, witty, talky, anthology, independent film, retro, offbeat, humorous, realistic
Similar in 90%
And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen... (2002)
Plot Summary:
A jazz singer and a British jewel thief are brought together by their mutual desire to forget the past.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France, UK
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: touching, melancholic, light, lyrical, tricky, serious, realistic, romantic, clever, stylized
Similar in 78%
The Tenants (2005)
Plot Summary:
The story of a Jewish novelist, Harry Lesser, struggling to complete his latest work, and his antagonistic relationship with a black writer who moves in down the hall.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic
Similar in 86%
Slingshot (2005)
Plot Summary:
Two cunning and manipulative drifters venture into Farifield County, Connecticut looking to seduce wealthy and lonely housewives.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 708
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, tense, rough, realistic, suspenseful, sentimental, touching, exciting, light, captivating
Similar in 81%
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)
Plot Summary:
A penniless middle-aged spinster scrapes by giving piano lessons in the Dublin of the 1950s. She makes a sad last bid for love with a fellow resident of her rundown boarding house, who imagines she has the money to bankroll the business he hopes to open.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, crying, independent film
Similar in 86%
Whirlygirl (2006)
Plot Summary:
After a run in with a hot exotic dancer one wintry night straight-laced prep school student James will find himself on the ride of his life. Risking his future he follows this mysterious woman to New York City - ditching school dodging cops and partying at hot nightclubs along the way.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, captivating, disturbing, light, sex comedy, serious, hot
Similar in 89%
Charlotte Sometimes (2002)
Plot Summary:
Michael, a young mechanic, is forced to choose between a daring tryst with an alluring stranger and the habitual comfort of his bittersweet obsession: his beautiful young roommate.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sincere, sexy, light, captivating, romantic, romantic drama, erotic, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 90%
Mississippi Mermaid (1969)
Plot Summary:
Adapted from a story by William Irish, it's a noirish tale of a man who orders a mail-order bride but receives instead a con woman.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, anthology, atmospheric, serious, realistic, gloomy, detective, french noir
Similar in 90%
Earthly Possessions (1999)
Plot Summary:
A bored wife, who is planning to run away from her minister husband, is taken hostage in a bank robbery. However, she sees the thrill in being involved in the chase and becomes an accomplice to helping the younger robber escape his pursuers. As things progress, she learns he pulled the robbery to get enough money to help his pregnant girlfriend leave a home for unwed mothers. The two have a brief flirtation, but it is clear the housewife just needs something to enliven her life.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sincere, captivating, suspense, humorous, realistic, talky, semi serious, corny
Similar in 86%
B. Monkey (1998)
Plot Summary:
When wistful introvert Alan Furnace meets quick-witted bombshell Beatrice, he has no idea of her secret life as "B. Monkey" -- the top thief-for-hire in London's criminal underworld. Charmed by Furnace's innocent and chivalrous ways, Beatrice resolves to reform. But to cash in on her first chance at real love, she must escape her former partner in crime, the ruthless Paul Neville -- and a dark past that seems to haunt her every step.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: neo noir, black comedy, cult classic, serious, realistic, surprise ending, independent film, dark comedy, erotic, romantic
Similar in 78%
Days of Being Wild (1990)
Plot Summary:
The movie is set in Hong Kong and the Philippines in 1960. Yuddy, or 'York' in English, is a playboy in Hong Kong and is well-known for stealing girls' hearts and breaking them. His first victim is Li Zhen who suffered emotional and mental depression as a result of Yuddy's wayward attitude. Li Zhen eventually seeks much-needed solace from a sympathetic policeman named Tide.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: surreal, artsy, atmospheric, contemplative, mind bending, psychedelic, depressing, sad, sexual, aesthetic
Similar in 83%
Personal Velocity (2002)
Plot Summary:
Three women's escapes from their afflicted lives. Each struggles to flee from the men who confine their personal freedom.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: talky, stylized, intense, touching, psychological, sincere, serious, realistic, anthology, erotic
Similar in 88%
Third Person (2013)
Plot Summary:
An acclaimed novelist struggles to write an analysis of love in one of three stories, each set in a different city, that detail the beginning, middle and end of a relationship.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Belgium, USA, UK, Germany, Italy, France
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: tricky, twisted, suspense, intense, touching, stylized, inspirational, sincere, sexy, teen
Similar in 90%
The Yards (2000)
Plot Summary:
In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, neo noir, emotional, talky, intense, rough, realistic, atmospheric, psychological
Similar in 77%
The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997)
Plot Summary:
Neal Cassady is living the beat life during the 1940s, working at The Tire Yard and and philandering around town. However, he has visions of a happy life with kids and a white picket fence. When his girlfried, Joan, tries to kill herself he gets scared and runs away. But when Joan reappears will he take the chance at that happiness, or will he turn his back on it?.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: talky, stylized, independent film, erotic, retro, atmospheric, clever, offbeat, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 81%
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 84%
Jamesy Boy (2014)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of teenager James Burns who goes from a suburban street gang to a maximum-security prison cell surrounded by hardened criminals. He turns his life around in prison thanks to the unexpected friendship he forms with a convicted murderer who becomes his mentor.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, serious, realistic, crime drama, crying
Similar in 76%
Summer of Sam (1999)
Plot Summary:
Spike Lee's take on the "Son of Sam" murders in New York City during the summer of 1977 centering on the residents of an Italian-American South Bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, tense, stylized, sexual, psychological thriller
Similar in 88%
The Last Seduction (1994)
Plot Summary:
Looking to escape her unhappy marriage, villainous femme fatale Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) convinces her husband, Clay (Bill Pullman), to sell cocaine, then steals the profits and runs out on him. She stops in a small town en route to Chicago, where she ensnares her next conquest, insurance man Mike Swale (Peter Berg). After getting a job at his insurance company, Bridget convinces Mike to run a scam -- but things take a deadly turn when she recruits him to help get rid of her husband.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sexy, neo noir, erotic, sexual, suspense, black comedy, tense, suspenseful, sensual, psychological
Similar in 90%
Elegy (2008)
Plot Summary:
Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life -- which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood" -- thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sexy, sincere, suspenseful, enigmatic, romantic, touching, sad, serious, sentimental, thought provoking