Movies like Lover and the Sea (2021)
The best movies like Lover and the Sea (2021) are Strangers When We Meet (1960), Unfaithful (2002) and Not Easily Broken (2009). If Lover and the Sea hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLa Dolce Vita (1960)8.0/10 from 2,103 votes
- NewestSpirit World (2025)Released 2025
Strangers When We Meet (1960)
A suburban architect loves his wife but is bored with his marriage and with his work, so he takes up with the neglected, married beauty who lives down the street.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnfaithful (2002)
A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Sky (1994)
Hank Marshall is a tough, square-jawed, straitlaced Army engineer and nuclear science expert, assigned to help conduct weapons testing in 1950s America. Hank has become a thorn in the side of the Army, though, for a couple of very different reasons. He is an outspoken opponent of atmospheric testing, though his superiors hold contrary views and want to squelch his concerns...and his reports. The other problem is his wife, Carly. She is voluptuous and volatile, wreaking havoc in his personal life and stirring up intrigue at each new Army base.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCloser (2004)
The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMadame Bovary (1949)
In 19th-century France, doctor's wife Emma Bovary seeks to escape her dull provincial life through various extramarital affairs and extravagant spending, leading to tragic consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFifty Shades Darker (2017)
When a wounded Christian Grey tries to entice a cautious Ana Steele back into his life, she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance. As the two begin to build trust and find stability, shadowy figures from Christian’s past start to circle the couple, determined to destroy their hopes for a future together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPersuasion (2007)
Anne Elliot was once in love with Frederick Wentworth, a commander in the Royal Navy who was rejected by her snobby parents eight years ago. When the family hits hard times and are forced to rent out their mansion to his brother-in-law, Frederick returns as a captain - but will he remember Anne?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mother (2003)
A grandmother has a passionate affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Burning Plain (2008)
A trailer is burning in the middle of a plain. The bodies of two adulterous lovers are found. Scenes from both families, before and after the dramatic events, suggest an unusual connection between them. But what is their secret?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThird Person (2014)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisDeep Water (2022)
A well-to-do husband who allows his wife to have affairs in order to avoid a divorce becomes a prime suspect in the disappearance of her lovers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisEffie Gray (2014)
A look at the mysterious relationship between Victorian art critic John Ruskin and his teenage bride Effie Gray.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAddicted (2014)
A gallerist risks her family and flourishing career when she enters into an affair with a talented painter and slowly loses control of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAdulterers (2016)
On a steamy New Orleans afternoon, Sam Deuprey decides to surprise his beautiful wife, Ashley, for their anniversary and comes home early. But Ashley is not alone in the bedroom. She and her lover, Damien are about to learn how far a jealous husband will go.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeatwave (2022)
A woman's life takes an unexpected turn when she falls for her boss's wife. She must soon defend herself as she becomes entangled in a web of malice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDream Lover (1994)
Not long after they cross paths at an art gallery, architect Ray Reardon and hypnotically sensual Lena are married with children. But as strange incidents occur, Ray begins to realize he may not really know the woman he married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Only Living Boy in New York (2017)
When a young man learns that his overbearing father is having an affair, he tries to stop it, only to be seduced by the older woman as well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShirley (2020)
A famous horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHead-On (2004)
With the intention to break free from the strict familial restrictions, a suicidal young woman sets up a marriage of convenience with a forty-year-old addict, an act that will lead to an outburst of envious love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDon Juan DeMarco (1994)
John Arnold DeMarco is a man who believes he is Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and mask, DeMarco undergoes psychiatric treatment with Dr. Jack Mickler to cure him of his apparent delusion. But the psychiatric sessions have an unexpected effect on the psychiatric staff and, most profoundly, Dr Mickler, who rekindles the romance in his complacent marriage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwept from the Sea (1998)
The film tells the story of Russian emigree and the only survivor from ship crash Yanko Goorall and servant Amy Foster in the end of 19th century. When Yanko enters a farm sick and hungry after the shipwreck, everyone is afraid of him, except for Amy, who is very kind and helps him. Soon he becomes like a son for Dr. James Kennedy and romance between Yanko and Amy follows.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsk the Dust (2006)
Mexican beauty Camilla hopes to rise above her station by marrying a wealthy American. That is complicated by meeting Arturo Bandini, a first-generation Italian hoping to land a writing career and a blue-eyed blonde on his arm.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLa Dolce Vita (1960)
Episodic journey of journalist Marcello who struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWild at Heart (1990)
Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpirit World (2025)
Legendary singer Claire Emery flies to Japan for a final sold-out concert. But when the show ends, so does Claire’s life on earth. However, an unexpected new life in the spirit world - where she will be guided by Yuzo, one of her biggest fans - awaits.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Science of Sleep (2006)
A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is lovestruck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrue Romance (1993)
Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInsomnia (2002)
Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lover and the Sea?
The closest matches to Lover and the Sea are Strangers When We Meet (1960), Unfaithful (2002) and Not Easily Broken (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lover and the Sea?
Start with Strangers When We Meet (1960), the closest match to Lover and the Sea.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lover and the Sea?
La Dolce Vita (1960), rated 8.0/10 by 2,103 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lover and the Sea?
Spirit World (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Lover and the Sea chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lover and the Sea, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.