Best movies like Sweet Bird of Youth
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The melodrama of a failing, aging movie star who takes up with an ambitious masseur who takes her home only to show off in front of his former girl friend and her powerful father.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 622
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: southern gothic, psychological, atmospheric, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, stylized, gloomy
Best tv shows and movies like Sweet Bird of Youth (1989):
Similar in 78%
Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
Plot Summary:
Gigolo and drifter, Chance Wayne, returns to his home town as the accompaniment of a faded movie star, Alexandra Del Lago, whom he hopes to use to help him break into the movies. Chance runs into trouble when he finds his ex-girlfriend, the daughter of the local politician Tom 'Boss' Finley, who more or less forced him to leave his daughter and the town many years ago.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: emotional, southern gothic, intense, atmospheric, serious, tense, realistic, psychological, clever, talky
Similar in 90%
Anna (1987)
Plot Summary:
Czech refugee Krystyna (Paulina Porizkova) travels to New York in search of her actress idol and fellow expatriate, Anna (Sally Kirkland). After her own arrival in the Big Apple, Anna finds that celebrity often doesn't travel well, and she must go through a battery of humiliating auditions to try and get work in her adopted land. But when Krystyna and Anna finally meet, they provide a support structure for each other.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 795
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, talky, gloomy
Similar in 88%
Stand-ins (1997)
Plot Summary:
Six women who came to Hollywood with the dream of becoming famous find themselves working as stand-ins for the glamorous stars of the late 1930s. Gathering for a birthday celebration at their local watering hole, they introduce a new member to the group -- instigating a turn of events that will change their lives forever.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 191
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: independent film, atmospheric, serious, realistic, stylized, gloomy, period piece
Similar in 76%
There Must Be a Pony (1986)
Plot Summary:
Marguerite Sydney is a celebrated Hollywood star attempting a comeback after a stay in a mental hospital, as well as trying to re-establish a relationship with her teenage son, and risking a romance with a mysterious stranger.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 206
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, stylized
Similar in 76%
Anton Chekhov's The Duel (2010)
Plot Summary:
Set in a seaside resort in the Caucasus, the story centers on n'er do well, Laevsky (Andrew Scott) and his illicit relationship with his mistress Nadya (Fiona Glascott). Laevsky has convinced Nadya to leave her husband for him, but now wants to abandon her.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 718
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, captivating, realistic, psychological, period piece, serious, stylized, period drama
Similar in 87%
Video Girl (2011)
Plot Summary:
Lorie Walker ( Meagan Good), attends a ritzy private school in a small southern town. Raised by her grandmother Valerie ( Ruby Dee), she often daydreams of becoming a professional dancer. After a chance meeting with a renowned music video director, her lifestyle changes completely. She finds herself struggling to stay grounded in this new, provocative, glamorous world.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 772
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, serious
Similar in 80%
Fairfield Road (2010)
Plot Summary:
Noah McManus is leaving his job with the Boston mayor's office for a dream gig in Washington, D.C. But in a single day, he finds out his new boss in Washington can no longer employ him and that his girlfriend has been cheating on him. Devastated, Noah travels to a quaint Cape Cod town and unexpectedly finds himself at home.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 887
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, captivating, sincere, touching, semi serious
Similar in 81%
Chorus (2015)
Plot Summary:
A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 511
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, touching, realistic, bleak, serious, black and white, gloomy, crying
Similar in 78%
Fool for Love (1985)
Plot Summary:
A woman is waiting in a motel for her boyfriend, when an old flame turns up and tries to take her back to the life she is trying to leave behind.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: retro, grindhouse, psychological, atmospheric, serious, realistic, contemplative, talky, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 89%
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Plot Summary:
Mike Nichols’ film from Edward Albee's play brought new themes to the film industry. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton have never been more brilliant together as they portray an experienced married couple who love each other yet verbally attack one another when they see how boring their naïve newlywed guests have made their night.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: tense, black and white, psychological, clever, black comedy, dark comedy, rough, captivating, minimal cast, atmospheric
Similar in 82%
Cracks in the Shell (2011)
Plot Summary:
Fine suffers from not being seen but she also does her best at not being noticed, even though she is an acting student. At night, when her mentally handicapped sister Jule cannot get to sleep and stereotypically bangs her head against the wall, Fine turns the recorder on and gives a firework of singing, acting and dancing. However in the acting school she lacks self confidence to uninhibitedly storm the stage. After the well known director Kasper Friedemann invites Fine for an audition, she convinces him with her acting.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 995
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Labrador (2011)
Plot Summary:
A desolate, windswept island. Stella and Oskar, a young couple, visit Stella's father Nathan who lives alone with his labrador. Stella is pregnant and looking forward to having a baby, but Oskar appears to have doubts. When Oskar falls prey to Nathan's provocations and feels bewildered by the relationship between father and daughter, a clash between the two men is inevitable, and Stella is caught in between.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 323
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, captivating, emotional, contemplative, tense, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Knifer (2010)
Plot Summary:
After his father death, Nikos moves from Ptolemaida to Athens. His uncle offers him food and shelter while he starts taking care of his dogs. Alone in an isolated suburb, he's wearing down into his misery routine, till the moment his relationship with his aunt changes everything.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Cyprus, Greece
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, psychological, captivating, disturbing, bleak, realistic, stylized, gloomy, weird
Similar in 75%
Di Di Hollywood (2010)
Plot Summary:
Bar worker Diana Diaz (Elsa Pataky) leaves Madrid for Miami and with new boyfriend, Robert (Luis Hacha), they then head for Hollywood, prepared to do anything for fame.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 697
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, atmospheric, cynical, sexy, serious, sexual, soap opera
Similar in 81%
The Wager (2007)
Plot Summary:
An actor at the pinnacle of his Hollywood career finds himself buckling to temptation after he accepts the lead in a classic tale of good versus evil. Michael Steele has just been nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. In the wake of that announcement, Michael is cast in what may be the role of a lifetime. He's set to play the lead in an incredible story of monumental conflict, but will all of the swirling gossip around Michael cause him to stumble on the path of righteousness? His marriage is in jeopardy and his career is on the line. This man who has always tried to do the right thing must find the courage and conviction needed to set his life straight.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 402
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: christian film, serious, realistic, thought provoking, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Amazon Falls (2010)
Plot Summary:
Amazon Falls tells the story of a faded B-movie actress JANA who refuses to let go of her dream of being a star. Famous for her roles in Amazon movies where she portrayed a variety of pre-Xena warrior-princesses, she desperately tries to keep her leg in the B-movie game, and pursues her career with a zealous fervor.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 110
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, serious, gloomy, semi autobiographical
Similar in 78%
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1984)
Plot Summary:
Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie. His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 588
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, talky, gloomy, sexual, southern gothic
Similar in 80%
A Quiet Little Marriage (2008)
Plot Summary:
A Quiet Little Marriage is the love story of Dax and Olive, who manage to find harmony even as they juggle family, romance and intimacy, but that all changes the night she asks him for a baby. Writer/director Mo Perkins’ intense and profound, raw feature debut is laced with sly humor, exquisitely rendered characters, and a pitch-perfect emotional honesty.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 361
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, realistic, captivating, sincere, serious, talky, independent film
Similar in 77%
The Pornographer (1999)
Plot Summary:
A socially inept man's amateur porn film wins him a contract with a small-time pornography distribution company, where he faces a series of moral crises and is forced to face his own porn addiction.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 845
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: erotic, sensual, psychological, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, sexual, independent film
Similar in 81%
Silver Tongues (2011)
Plot Summary:
Two lovers travel from town to town playing a dark game of deceit that soon spirals out of control, threatening their very relationship.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 751
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, realistic, captivating, mind bending, serious
Similar in 83%
A Streetcar Named Desire (1995)
Plot Summary:
Blanche Dubois goes to visit her pregnant sister and husband Stanley in New Orleans. Stanley doesn't like her, and starts pushing her for information on some property he know was left to the sisters. He discovers she has mortgaged the place and spent all the money, and wants to find out all he can about her. Even more friction develops between the two while they are in the apartment together.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 156 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, touching, serious, emotional, atmospheric, realistic
Similar in 86%
3 Backyards (2010)
Plot Summary:
An executive, a housewife and a youngster spend a day in their Long Island suburban town during the course of one curious autumn day afternoon.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 753
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, serious, tense, sincere, gloomy, independent film, psychological thriller, psycho film
Similar in 90%
They Shoot Movies, Don't They? ...The Making of 'Mirage' (2000)
Plot Summary:
They Shoot Movies, Don't They? is a voyeuristic look at first time director Tom Paulson and the movie he wrote called Mirage. Frank Gallagher is the documentarian whose camera waits and watches as Paulson navigates through a jungle of investors, colleagues, friends and family, searching for money to finish his film. They Shoot Movies, Don't They? offers a line-blurring examination of what one might give up, in order to succeed.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 133
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, clever, captivating, independent film, mockumentary, humorous, fake documentary, cult film
Similar in 76%
Mentor (2006)
Plot Summary:
A thought-provoking drama about the power that a famous university professor holds over his students and assistants.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 226
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, serious, captivating, touching, emotional, independent film, sexual, sexy
Similar in 87%
Marathon (2010)
Plot Summary:
Drama by Biju Viswanath, Marathon was adapted from Harteis's memoir of the same name. Explores the relation ship between two poets Richard Harteis and William Meredith former US poet laureate and winner of every major American award for poetry including the 1988 Pulitzer prize.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 58
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, sentimental, gloomy, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 83%
All the Light in the Sky (2012)
Plot Summary:
An insomniac actress is facing the waning days of her career, when her niece pays a visit to her Malibu house.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 751
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: mumblecore, realistic, atmospheric, serious, captivating, sincere, gloomy
Similar in 84%
2nd Take (2011)
Plot Summary:
Reclusive writer takes aspiring actress under his wing.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 183
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, touching, serious, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Purpose (2002)
Plot Summary:
A software developer becomes a billionaire and is distracted by fame, greed and power, then must save his invention and company from a hostile takeover.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 986
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, captivating, psychological, atmospheric, serious, stylized, independent film
Similar in 75%
Full Body Massage (1995)
Plot Summary:
Nina, an art dealer, has her weekly massage appointment and is surprised to find out her usual masseur, Douglas, has sent a replacement named Fitch. The pair develop an easy rapport during the session, with talk about past relationships. As Nina lies topless on the massage table, Fitch also takes time to explain various massage techniques, including those used by Hopi medicine men.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sexy, serious, realistic, talky, sincere, erotic, mystic, clever, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Hysterical Blindness (2002)
Plot Summary:
Set in the 1980's, Debby Miller (Uma Thurman) goes out in New Jersey looking for a man after she is diagnosed with "hysterical blindness".
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: psychological, stylized, touching, serious, sincere, emotional, realistic, talky, scary, dark