Best movies like Shirley Adams
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Shirley Adams spends her days caring for her disabled son, Donovan - he was shot in the back of the neck on his way home from school one afternoon over a year ago. Since then the Adams family has lost all their worldly possessions to medical bills. Shirley has no money, no job and no husband - he left. The shooter is one of Donovan's childhood friends. Her reaction to the betrayal is so overwhelming that she chooses not to tell Donovan in fear of further damaging his already unstable emotional state. Determined to make a change in their lives, Shirley actively decides to embrace their new circumstances, hoping that Donovan will follow her example.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 124
Genere: Drama
Country: South Africa, USA, UK
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Best tv shows and movies like Shirley Adams (2009):
Similar in 75%
Yesterday (2004)
Plot Summary:
After falling ill, Yesterday learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and young daughter to tend to, Yesterday's one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Africa
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, touching, emotional, serious, realistic, gloomy, masterpiece
Similar in 83%
Octavia (1982)
Plot Summary:
Everybody has a little murder in their heart... somewhere.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 140
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, sexual, sexy
Similar in 80%
Bridge to Silence (1989)
Plot Summary:
A woman with a hearing problem tries to get het life back together after a car accident that killed her husband.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 253
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 81%
Between Us (2009)
Plot Summary:
Abruptly abandoned by her husband in a country completely foreign to her, Colombian native Mariana (Paola Mendoza) struggles to take care of herself and her two young children on the unforgiving streets of New York City. Sebastian Villada, Laura Montana and Anthony Chisholm also star in this gritty independent drama jointly written and directed by Mendoza and her collaborator Gloria La Morte.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, serious
Similar in 79%
Girlfriend (2010)
Plot Summary:
A young man with Down's Syndrome romantically pursues a small town single mom who is still mixed up with her volatile ex-boyfriend.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 713
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, melancholic, independent film, realistic
Similar in 83%
About Sunny (2011)
Plot Summary:
As things unravel for a struggling single mother in Las Vegas, she must decide what she's willing to give up to get by.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 380
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, emotional, psychological, independent film, sincere, touching, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Choco (2012)
Plot Summary:
A young woman raising alone her children while her husband gets drunk but when she breaks free nothing will be the same.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 292
Genere: Drama
Country: Colombia
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, touching, gloomy
Similar in 83%
I Am from Titov Veles (2007)
Plot Summary:
Burdened by memories of their late father, three sisters struggle to escape the suffocating environment of the dying town of Veles. A contemporary story of urban decay, „Jas sum od Titov Veles“ employs a stark realism to depict the vivid landscape of post-Communist Macedonia.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 617
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, France, Slovenia
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, bleak, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 78%
Hidden in America (1996)
Plot Summary:
Story of a man Bill Januson whose pride in being the head of his family won't let him accept help from his sick daughters doctor. He has to prove to his kids that even with the death of his wife and the loss of his job that they can and will survive. After hitting brick wall after brick wall comes a glimmer of hope.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 538
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: crying, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, disturbing, gloomy
Similar in 75%
Orphan (2009)
Plot Summary:
A Chilean family deals with the new values in a quickly changing world.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 207
Genere: Drama
Country: Chile, France, Germany
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, realistic, sincere
Similar in 88%
Life, Above All (2010)
Plot Summary:
A touching mother-daughter relationship that reflects the modern South Africa.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Africa, Germany
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, serious, emotional, psychological, realistic
Similar in 80%
The Dollmaker (1984)
Plot Summary:
Jane Fonda gives an Emmy-winning performance as Gertie Nevels, a pioneer woman and the mother of five from the Kentucky hills who is forced to uproot her children to follow her husband Clovis (Levon Helm) to Detroit when he finds work during World War II. One setback follows another and shattering tragedy strikes the family. It's all up to Gertie to find new strength, courage and determination to keep her family together and strong.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 946
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic
Similar in 83%
Offline (2012)
Plot Summary:
A man attempts to reclaim the life that prison took from him but his dark past threatens to ruin everything.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 876
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Mississippi Damned (2009)
Plot Summary:
Three poor Black kids in rural Mississippi reap the consequences of their family's cycle of abuse, addiction, and violence.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 988
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, touching, emotional, informative, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 80%
The End of Love (2012)
Plot Summary:
Mark is a struggling actor stuck between the life he once knew and the one waiting for him. When the mother of his two-year-old son suddenly passes away, Mark is forced to confront his shortcomings. Their fates, now intertwined, hang in the balance as Mark grapples with his ability to grow up. When he meets Lydia, a young mother, he is no longer able to live in the comfort of denial.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sad, independent film, gloomy, tragic
Similar in 75%
Bluebird (2013)
Plot Summary:
On a freezing January evening, school bus driver Lesley completes her route, but her final inspection abruptly ends when a bluebird comes into view. What happens next shakes her small Maine logging town, proving that even the slightest actions have enormous consequences.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 976
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, bleak, serious, realistic, independent film, atmospheric, gloomy
Similar in 89%
Master Harold ... and the Boys (2010)
Plot Summary:
This movie is of Hally, an adolescent white South African. He is stuck between his intolerant father's outlook of him and those of his caretaker, Sam. Sam is a black waiter and Hally's friend and teacher. Hally is required to laugh at his father's racist jokes, by contrast, Sam exposes Hally to uplifting experiences. One day Hally was terribly humiliated by his father and Sam shows Hally how to be proud of something he can achieve.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 580
Genere: Drama
Country: South Africa
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 88%
Two Gates of Sleep (2010)
Plot Summary:
After preparing for their mother's imminent death, two brothers go on an arduous upriver journey to honor her final request.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 266
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, sincere, atmospheric, serious, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 85%
The Wool Cap (2004)
Plot Summary:
This film, originally made for tv, stars William H. Macy as a mute superintendent of a apartment building that is falling apart who becomes the unwilling guardian to a young girl with a bit of an attitude. The film is an updated and Americanized version of the 1962 feature film Gigot starring Jackie Gleason, who also wrote the original story.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, serious, realistic, feel good, spiritual
Similar in 88%
Empire of Dirt (2013)
Plot Summary:
Like many Native families, Lena Mahikan grew up in the cycle of abuse. Her father, a residential school survivor, was an alcoholic until he killed himself when Lena was 10. Her mother, only 14 years her senior, turned to the slots. By the time Lena was 15, she was pregnant and, before giving birth, was kicked to the curb by her mom. The cycle continues and Lena is now watching helplessly as her own daughter, Peeka, spirals out of control, landing herself in the hospital following a drug overdose. As a final attempt at survival, Lena decides to return home and face her own mother and a past she’s desperate to escape.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 259
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Phantom Pain (2009)
Plot Summary:
Marc is a passionate cyclist and urban slacker who avoids work and responsibility. Marc's life changes from one moment to the next when he suffers a life-changing accident. He can either wallow in self-pity or tackle the beast called life with the help of love and willpower.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 930
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, psychological, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 87%
Steam (2007)
Plot Summary:
Three women — a young coed, a forty-something single mother, and one a senior-aged widow — meet in the sauna of the local gym, where they gradually get to know one another and bond over their respective trials and tribulations.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 213
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, talky, erotic, realistic, gloomy, sexual, sexy
Similar in 85%
Angus Buchan's Ordinary People (2012)
Plot Summary:
The plot follows the individual journeys of three ordinary South African men in the build up to their attendance of the 2010 Mighty Men Conference, where their lives are forever changed by God's message for them.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 146
Genere: Drama
Country: South Africa
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, emotional, realistic, art house, christian film, independent film
Similar in 80%
Cries from the Heart (1994)
Plot Summary:
A drama directed by Michael Switzer.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 312
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Harrison Montgomery (2008)
Plot Summary:
In a rundown apartment complex in San Francisco's Tenderloin, a septuagenarian seer is waiting for his final message. For decades the eccentric recluse has chronicled the phrases of the Wheel of Fortune and deciphered their hidden meaning - the details of a mission to save his neighbors from their troubles.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 85
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film
Similar in 77%
...First Do No Harm (1997)
Plot Summary:
When Lori Reimuller learns that her young son Robbie has epilepsy, she first trusts the judgment of the hospital staff in how best to bring it under control. As Robbie's health slides radically downhill, however, she becomes frustrated and desperate, and so does her own research into the existing literature on treatments. When she decides to try an alternative treatment called the Ketogenic Diet, devised long ago by a doctor from Johns Hopkins, she is met with narrow-minded resistance from Robbie's doctor, who is prepared to take legal action to prevent Lori from removing him from the hospital.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: edutainment, sentimental, sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, controversial
Similar in 88%
Dawn Anna (2005)
Plot Summary:
The true story of a single mom who overcomes many of life's obstacles.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, realistic, touching, serious, emotional
Similar in 76%
Fly Away (2011)
Plot Summary:
The poignant yet humor filled story about a single mother of a teenager severely impacted by autism, forced to reckon with her daughter's future. As her child becomes an adult, what used to work, no longer does. What will sustain her daughter, and herself? A parent-child love story, when love means letting go.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 374
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, emotional, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 88%
A Long Way Home (2003)
Plot Summary:
Family members struggle to heal their emotional wounds after an incident of sexual abuse.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 216
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, emotional, realistic, serious, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Swimmers (2005)
Plot Summary:
After an accident in a small Maryland fishing town, 11-year-old Emma begins to question the nature of the adults around her.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 458
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy