Best movies like The Chalk Garden
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A grandmother seeks a governess for her 16 year old granddaughter, Laurel, who manages to drive away each and every one so far by exposing their past, with a record of three in one week! When an applicant with a mysterious past manages to get the job, Laurel vows to expose her. Meanwhile, Laurel's married-divorced-married mother tries to get her back.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, clever, serious, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like The Chalk Garden (1964):
Similar in 85%
Gypsy Girl (1966)
Plot Summary:
A young, lonely, mentaly retarded teenage girl finds solace in burying dead animals after the sudden death of a friend of hers.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 805
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, serious, realistic, vintage
Similar in 85%
Murder in the Hamptons (2005)
Plot Summary:
After multi-millionaire Ted Ammon is found bludgeoned to death at his East Hampton estate, the fingers point to his estranged wife, Generosa Rand, and her lover, an electrician named Danny Pelosi.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 628
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: Canada
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, mind bending
Similar in 87%
After (2014)
Plot Summary:
A haunting and powerful psychological thriller. Set in icy upstate New York in the winter of 2002, "After" is about the Valentinos, a middle class clan facing financial hardship--their family stone cutting business is slowly failing--and coping with the usual rivalries and resentments that affect all but their absent daughter, Samantha, who has recently escaped Rochester for a new life in lower Manhattan. At their center is matriarch Nora (Quinlan), whose cheerful exterior masks an emotional fragility of which the entire family is painfully aware and fiercely protective. But, their delicate balance is threatened by a carefully concealed secret that, once revealed, will change their lives forever.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 215
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, sentimental, captivating, independent film, tense, serious, gloomy, crying
Similar in 79%
Track 29 (1988)
Plot Summary:
Years after a desperate teenage Linda gives up her baby for adoption, she finds herself face-to-face with Martin, a young man claiming to be her long-lost son. Linda embraces Martin and in him finds a welcome reprieve from her unhappy marriage to the neglectful Henry. But soon Martin grows violent and becomes obsessed with Henry -- a philandering man whose only offspring is an expansive model train set that devours his waking hours.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: erotic, grindhouse, psychological, atmospheric, mind bending, serious, realistic, surreal, disturbing, non-linear
Similar in 82%
Story of Jen (2008)
Plot Summary:
A man commits suicide leaving a disturbing note. His wife and his daughter try to cope with it when the step-brother of the deceased visits them.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 153
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: Canada, France
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, psychological, suspense, bleak, realistic
Similar in 78%
Ten Days Wonder (1971)
Plot Summary:
Anthony Perkins, a young sculptor with a weird penchant for waking up in strange hotels with his memory wiped clean and bloodied hands, invites a former professor (Michel Piccoli) to the Gatsby-like provincial manor presided over by his powerful tycoon father (Orson Welles). Welcomed by Welles' young wife (Marlene Jobert), Piccoli soon finds a nest of rats beneath the bourgeoisie voluptuousness -- a clan bound in a circle of illicit romance, blackmail, faked burglaries and, of course, murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 969
Genere: Mystery, Drama
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, atmospheric, mind bending, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Flame in the Streets (1961)
Plot Summary:
Flame in the Streets is a 1961 British drama film directed by Roy Ward Baker. Racial tensions manifest themselves at home, work and on the streets during Bonfire Night in the burgeoning West Indian community of early 1960s Britain. Trades union leader (Mills) fights for the rights of a black worker but struggles with the news that his own daughter is planning to marry a West Indian, much against his own logic and the prejudice of his wife.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 402
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 85%
Dance with the One (2010)
Plot Summary:
Nate's little brother and hippie dad depend on him for literally everything, but the well-meaning, small time pot dealer Nate wants nothing more than to run away with Nikki, the love of his life, and get out of Texas.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 24
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, captivating, suspense, exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 80%
King's Faith (2013)
Plot Summary:
When eighteen-year-old Brendan King attempts to leave his turbulent gang life behind him, his past continues to threaten his new-found faith, family, and future.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 817
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: christian film, realistic, touching, serious, psychological, tense, captivating, sentimental, uplifting, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Where Love Has Gone (1964)
Plot Summary:
A divorced couple's teen-age daughter stands trial for stabbing her mother's latest lover.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: slasher, sincere, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, campy
Similar in 81%
Black Girl (1972)
Plot Summary:
An aspiring dancer and her wicked sister's resent their mother's love for a foster daughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 539
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: social, independent film, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, black cinema
Similar in 90%
A Delicate Balance (1973)
Plot Summary:
The film spans three days in the life of Agnes and Tobias, an upper middle class couple who share their comfortable suburban Connecticut home with her acerbic alcoholic sister Claire. It is matriarch Agnes who helps the quartet maintain a delicate balance in their lives, held together by habit, shared memories, and considerable consumption of dry martinis.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 889
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Canada, USA
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, tense, clever, serious, realistic, talky, crying
Similar in 77%
Zelly and Me (1988)
Plot Summary:
A young orphan who lives with her grandmother in a large Virginian home infatuates herself with the voices of Joan d'Arc. Her French nanny seeks out the help of a rich suitor to take her and the orphan away when she realizes that the grandmother cannot offer the orphan the love that she needs.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 464
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Headwinds (2011)
Plot Summary:
Sarah tells Paul that she wants out of their marriage; the next day she disappears. A year later and Paul along with their children return to his childhood town to start anew after the loss of his wife and their mother.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 81%
The Thirteenth Tale (2013)
Plot Summary:
Margaret Lea, a young biographer, attempts to interview writer Vida Winter, whose health is deteriorating. Vida has previously denied access to the secrets of her life and childhood home. Vida tells her story to Margaret, helping Margaret to confront her past.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: gothic, captivating, touching, serious, psychological, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, slasher, sentimental
Similar in 75%
The Face on the Milk Carton (1995)
Plot Summary:
Based on the book by Caroline B. Cooney, a girl happens to look down at a milk carton one day and she sees herself on the back! Could her parents really have kidnapped her?.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic
Similar in 84%
@urFRENZ (2010)
Plot Summary:
When depressed and withdrawn Catharine meets a secretive boy online, she begins to come out of her shell. But is he a suitor or a stalker, a friend or foe? The mystery of his existence fuels obsession, denial and deceit, sending her to the point of no return. In the midst of cliques, boyfriends, and digital drama, Catharine is trying to make sense of a world of uncertain identities. The film was inspired by the writer-director's own experience parenting his teenage daughter in the world of cyberspace. @urFRENZ was made to serve as a talking point for the subject matter of bullying and cyberbullying, the number one hot button issue between parents and teens today.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 281
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, independent film, tense
Similar in 86%
The Lost & Found Family (2009)
Plot Summary:
When her husband dies, Mrs. Ester Hobbes (Ellen Bry, TV's St. Elsewhere) learns that his wealth was just an illusion. Her only real inheritance is a run-down Southern home occupied by a foster family. Slowly, Mrs. Hobbes finds herself making unexpected connections with rebellious teen Justin (Lucas Till, Hannah Montana: The Movie) and the rest of the unwanted kids. Share the journey of discovery in this touching drama of lives transformed.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 329
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: christian film, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, indie film
Similar in 84%
Missing at 17 (2013)
Plot Summary:
A woman tries to save her adopted daughter from a criminal, with help from the girl's biological mother.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 509
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense, captivating
Similar in 76%
Twelve Mile Road (2003)
Plot Summary:
A divorced farmer takes in his troubled teenage daughter for the summer, a summer which changes the lives of the two of them, and their friends and family.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 83%
A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
Plot Summary:
This fictionalized story, based on the family life of writer James Jones, is an emotional slice-of-life story. Jones is portrayed here portrayed as Bill Willis, a former war hero turned author who combats alcoholism and is starting to experience health problems. Living in France with his wife, daughter, and an adopted son, the family travels an unconventional road which casts them as outsiders to others. Preaching a sexual freedom, his daughter's sexual discovery begins at an early age and betrays her when the family moves to Hanover in America. Her overt sexuality clashes with the values of her teenage American peers and gives her a problematic reputation. Meanwhile, her brooding brother copes with his own interior pain regarding his past, only comfortable communicating within the domestic space.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, UK, France
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: sentimental, clever, realistic, talky, independent film, tense, touching, serious, witty, contemplative
Similar in 84%
Expecting Amish (2014)
Plot Summary:
18-year-old Hannah Yoder is ready to become an Amish adult - which means baptism into the Church and marriage to her boyfriend, Samuel. However, her friends convince her to visit Hollywood for Rumspringa where she meets Josh and the two hit it off instantly. When she returns to Amish country, Hannah must make the painful choice of staying with Samuel or return to Josh and risk being shunned forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 845
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, touching, emotional, realistic
Similar in 82%
Sex & the Single Mom (2003)
Plot Summary:
Jess Gradwell and her teenage daughter boast a superclose relationship. When it comes to sex, however, Mom won't stand for anything less than premarital celibacy. So she gets a pretty healthy dose of her own medicine when she winds up getting pregnant from a brief encounter with a newly single doctor! This new situation poses a major challenge to the mother-daughter dynamic. Tune in to see if Jess and her daughter can rise to the occasion.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 571
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sexual, sexy
Similar in 77%
Wild Iris (2001)
Plot Summary:
A woman and her teenage son move back in with her mother to work together in the family bridal business.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 481
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, talky
Similar in 85%
Amy & Isabelle (2001)
Plot Summary:
In 1971, in the small town of Shirley Falls, in Maine, the odd and lonely secretary Isabelle Goodrow raises her teenager daughter Amy alone. She has only two friends in her job among her gossiper colleagues. When her overprotected daughter is seduced by her mathematic teacher Peter Robertson, the world of Isabelle falls apart. She becomes lost and loses her confidence on Amy, spoiling their relationship. Their bond gets tied again when Isabelle discloses her inner secrets from the past to Amy.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 472
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy
Similar in 85%
Virgin (2003)
Plot Summary:
When a teenager finds herself pregnant, with no memory of having had sex, she determines that she is carrying the child of God.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 601
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, psychological, captivating, erotic, sincere, serious, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 82%
Due East (2002)
Plot Summary:
The movie spotlights an intelligent high school senior and National Merit Scholar (Bryant) who has never been part of the "in crowd." She teaches a high school equivalency night class, tends to the needs of her widower father, Jesse (Forster), and pretty much stays to herself. But when she meets a loner who recently moved to the town of Due East, she feels a sense of belonging for the first time in her life.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 295
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, touching, contemplative
Similar in 77%
The Shanghai Spell (2002)
Plot Summary:
A fourteen year old lad discovers his first love at the point of his pencil whilst drawing the portrait of a sickly but coquettish fifteen year old girl. In the neighbourhood an old freedom-fighter pits himself against bad types, a pretty cinema-ticket girl takes to the streets at night and a young anarchist dedicates himself to telling tall stories. Far away, in Shanghai, a hero of the Republic meets a beautiful femme fatal with oriental eyes. Reality and fiction become fused in an embrace.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 549
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: Spain, France, UK
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, captivating, neo noir, realistic, fairy tale, period drama
Similar in 79%
Invisible Child (1999)
Plot Summary:
A woman with two children believes she has three and her husband and oldest daughter play along with her to keep her balanced (or as close to balanced that a woman with an invisible child can be). However, when the family hires a new nanny, it is all just too much for her and she starts to blab. Written by John Sacksteder.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 824
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, ridiculous
Similar in 79%
Fifteen and Pregnant (1998)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, 15 year old Tina Spangler discovers she is pregnant. Her choices are abortion, adoption, or a lonely, exhausting life as a single parent. Abandoned by her boyfriend, she turns to her mother. Tina discovers although it has torn her world apart, her pregnancy could re-unite her shattered family and help her find her true purpose in life.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, psychological, sincere, talky, ridiculous