Best movies like The Poker House
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: realistic, rough, serious, emotional, dark, teen, bleak, tear jerker, tearjerker
Best tv shows and movies like The Poker House (2008):
Similar in 86%
The Book of Stars (1999)
Plot Summary:
A tale of two sisters. Penny (Masterson) cares for her younger sister Mary (Malone), who suffers from cystic fibrosis. "Cares for" is a questionable term, as the hardened, edgy Penny secretly makes her living in the world's oldest profession while popping pills to help numb her from the grim reality of her job and the impending loss of her sister. Mary, a romantic daydreamer who faces her disease with a graceful, knowing spirit, remembers the days when her big sister was a "brilliant" published poet, and she pours her every thought, memory, and dream into a lovingly crafted scrapbook she calls "the book of stars.".
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 627
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: independent film, fairy tale, sentimental, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 89%
Glassland (2014)
Plot Summary:
In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, disturbing, emotional, social, bleak, ambiguous ending, no music
Similar in 78%
Out of the Blue (1980)
Plot Summary:
Dennis Hopper is a hard-drinking truck driver who loses control of his truck under the influence and slams it into a busload of screaming children. After serving his five year jail sentence, Hopper finds his daughter, Cebe (Linda Manz), the love of his live, grown into a rebellious punk in a backwater town, having barely been looked after by her junkie mon (Sharron Farrell). Cebe's hopes of once again becoming a "normal" family painfully proves to be doomed, as she desperately tries to hold everyone together. Hopper's loose, naturalistic style and sympathetic, yet critical attitude infuses the drama with a painful power that finally erupts in a devastating and thrillling conclusion.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: depressing, neo noir, controversial, tense, serious, realistic, disturbing, gloomy, independent film, beautiful
Similar in 83%
A Brother's Kiss (1997)
Plot Summary:
Two brothers, Lex and younger Mick, are living in Harlem. Mick is a policeman, and Lex, who spent youth years in reformatory because of injustice after he confronted the cop who tried to sodomize Mick on the street, is living with his wife Debbie trying to make ends meet and failing. One day Lex calls Mick - he has a problem.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 412
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, serious, rough, bleak, erotic, independent film, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 89%
The Rose Seller (1998)
Plot Summary:
13-year-old Monica leads a street life, making her living by selling flowers to couples in local nightspots, she is joined by 10-year-old Andrea who runs out of her house after her mother beats her.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Colombia
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: social, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 80%
1 Out of 7 (2011)
Plot Summary:
Runaway teen Lexi find herself alone and pregnant on the streets. Seemingly beyond hope, she must turn to Devon, a woman with her own demons, to help her find a way back from her past mistakes.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 199
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, serious, realistic, bleak, independent film
Similar in 79%
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 76%
White Irish Drinkers (2010)
Plot Summary:
A coming of age story set in 1975 working-class Brooklyn, in which two teenage brothers living with their abusive father and their well-meaning but ineffective mother are caught up in a life of petty crime. Older brother Danny concocts a daring scheme to steal enough money for the two to escape, timed around the chaos of an upcoming Rolling Stones concert. The sensitive younger brother, Brian, ultimately has a choice: remain loyal to the brother with whom he shares a powerful love-hate bond, or use his hidden talent as an artist as his own ticket out of their dead-end existence.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sincere, emotional, sentimental, bleak, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 89%
In Bloom (2013)
Plot Summary:
Eka and Natia leave their childhood behind and ignore societal customs to escape from their turbulent family lives.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Georgia, Germany, France
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, serious, captivating, social, art house, transgressive, sincere, queer cinema
Similar in 81%
For the Love of a Child (2006)
Plot Summary:
1959, support from US troops based in Asia and later from the Sates enables two actresses to start a charity for mixed-race 'orphans' who are locally neglected as outcasts. Thus originates Childhelp, which later runs multi-disciplinary centers for abused and/or neglected children in the States. Among them is bright Jacob Fletcher, whose stepfather, a lawyer, terrorized him into utter trauma and reclaims him shortly after 10 months in jail. Jacob's peers have distressing stories of their own, but competent, devoted staff helps most of them decisively on the former farm, using animal therapy.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 431
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: touching, disturbing, rough, thought provoking, tense, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 76%
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 82%
Crackie (2009)
Plot Summary:
Life on the Rock never seemed easy, but for Mitsy it is especially rough. The teenager has been abandoned by her mother, a particularly unfit parent prone to both the bottle and the sex trade. She is left to be brought up by her mercurial grandmother Bride, who is well-meaning but oppressively suffocating. Mitsy's dreams for the future hinge on her desire to be a hairdresser, but her current emotional well-being revolves around a wee dog named Sparky, an unwanted canine misfit to whom she becomes hopelessly attached. After Bride agrees to let Mitsy take the dog in as a pet, the teen tries desperately to create a happy, safe place for Sparky to thrive.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 175
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 81%
Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004)
Plot Summary:
An adaptation of Bishop T.D. Jakes' self-help novel, chronciling a woman's struggle to come to terms with her legacy of abuse, addiction and poverty.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, independent film, realistic
Similar in 82%
Nobody Owns Me (2013)
Plot Summary:
The story of a lone father's relationship with his daughter, of the destructive power of alcohol, of a child's vulnerability, but also of love, betrayal and socialist politics in 1970s Sweden. A unique and moving story freely based on Åsa Linderborg's best-selling novel.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, social
Similar in 76%
Lost Angels (1989)
Plot Summary:
Rich L.A. party brat Tim (Adam Horovitz) spins into a cycle of despair after his parents divorce, and trying to fill the void with drugs and trouble only buys him a ticket to an asylum. But with the help of a psychiatrist (Donald Sutherland) who has taken an interest in him, will Tim try to pull himself out of the muck of teenage rebellion and ennui?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, thought provoking, suspenseful, independent film, rough, captivating, gloomy, cult film
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 83%
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004)
Plot Summary:
The dysfunctional twenty-three years old Sarah takes her six year old natural son Jeremiah from the home of his beloved foster parents with the support of the social service to live with her. Along the years, the boy shares her insane and lowlife style and is introduced to booze and drugs and mentally, physically and sexually abused by Sarah, her lovers and her religiously fanatic family.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, UK, France, Japan
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, rough, serious, depressing, realistic, art house, controversial, stylized, intense
Similar in 84%
Rebounce (2011)
Plot Summary:
REBOUNCE is a colorful, tough and powerful film featuring Frederikke Dahl Hansen in the leading role. She plays opposite Anne Sofie Espersen and Dar Salim, and despite being only 16 years old she portrays toughness, charm, and vulnerability admirably. REBOUNCE is an intense drama. Louise's mother is just out of prison and in the eyes of a teenager she's cool, tough and enchanting. To win her love, Louise follows her lead and enters a world of partying, drugs, fast cash and men. Meanwhile, everyone seems to forget that she is just a teenager.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 330
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: realistic, rough, captivating, emotional, psychological, tense, serious
Similar in 77%
Marfa Girl (2012)
Plot Summary:
A disaffected Texas teen spends his 16th birthday getting high, hanging out and having casual sex.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, serious, independent film, erotic, art house, sensual, hispanic, bleak, realistic
Similar in 77%
Little Glory (2011)
Plot Summary:
After his parents’ death, Shawn, 19 and mildly delinquent, tries to look after his little sister to cash in on his dad’s life insurance. But you can’t buy love -- and you sure can’t ignore it. Shawn will find out he’s got more to gain by giving than taking.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 188
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, emotional, psychological, gloomy
Similar in 79%
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 83%
White Water (2015)
Plot Summary:
White Water is the story of a 7 year-old black kid in segregated 1963 Opelika, Alabama who becomes obsessed with the desire to taste the water from the "white's only" drinking fountain and sets out on a quest to do the unthinkable: drink from it.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 209
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 76%
Winter's Bone (2010)
Plot Summary:
17 year-old Ree Dolly sets out to track down her father, who put their house up for his bail bond and then disappeared. If she fails, Ree and her family will be turned out into the Ozark woods. Challenging her outlaw kin's code of silence and risking her life, Ree hacks through the lies, evasions and threats offered up by her relatives and begins to piece together the truth.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 148000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: depressing, atmospheric, harsh, bleak, disturbing, tense, gloomy, serious, neo noir, independent film
Similar in 86%
On the Outs (2004)
Plot Summary:
Follows the choices made by three young women - one a drug dealer, one an addict, one a pregnant teen - in Jersey City.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 692
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: rough, touching, serious, emotional, anthology, bleak, realistic, independent film
Similar in 79%
Gracie's Choice (2004)
Plot Summary:
For as long as she can remember, 16 year-old Gracie has been raising her four siblings, each of whom has a different, absent father and their mother is on the fast track to self-destruction. When these children's lives are about to be pulled apart, Gracie will have to do the impossible and make the ultimate sacrifices to keep her family together.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, emotional, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 83%
Augusta, Gone (2006)
Plot Summary:
Martha is a businesswoman and divorced mother of two children - Augusta and Jack. However, when docile Augusta becomes a teenager, feelings of anger and self-hate cause her personality to undergo a scary transformation, and Martha realizes that this is not just typical teen angst. Augusta begins doing drugs, drinking, and ends up on the streets. Her concerned mother and father reach out to an educational consultant, who advises them to send Augusta to a strict wilderness camp for troubled teens. However, even the institution's experienced and tough administrators find Augusta a difficulty to keep under control. Martha comes to realize that there is no answer to her daughter's behavior.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, rough, disturbing, depressing, dark, sad, teen, serious, realistic
Similar in 79%
Foxes (1980)
Plot Summary:
A group of friends come of age in the asphalt desert of the San Fernando Valley, as set to a blazing soundtrack and endless drinking, drugs and sex.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: stylized, social, sexual, rough, serious, realistic, gloomy, scary, road movie, sexy
Similar in 89%
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
Plot Summary:
Difficult tale of poor, struggling South Carolinian mother & daughter, who each face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance. The film won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries or a Special" and was nominated for "Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or a Special", "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special", and "Outstanding Made for Television Movie". It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: disturbing, emotional, realistic, touching, suspense, thought provoking, serious, heartbreaking, depressing, gothic
Similar in 84%
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
Similar in 83%
Kids (1995)
Plot Summary:
A controversial portrayal of teens in New York City which exposes a deeply disturbing world of sex and substance abuse. The film focuses on a sexually reckless, freckle-faced boy named Telly, whose goal is to have sex with as many different girls as he can. When Jenny, a girl who has had sex only once, tests positive for HIV, she knows she contracted the disease from Telly. When Jenny discovers that Telly's idea of "safe sex" is to only have sex with virgins, and is continuing to pass the disease onto other unsuspecting girls, Jenny makes it her business to try to stop him.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: disturbing, depressing, psychedelic, independent film, bleak, teen, rough, erotic, sexy, realistic