Movies like Playing Away (2023)
The best movies like Playing Away (2023) are Not Easily Broken (2009), Gabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023) and Maria's Lovers (1984). If Playing Away 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 ratedGabriel's Inferno: Part III (2020)8.3/10 from 1,097 votes
- NewestA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)Released 2025
Not 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 thisGabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023)
After leaving his prestigious post at the University of Toronto, Gabriel embarks on a new journey with Julia, and he is eager to become a father. However, Gabriel's idyllic vision is jeopardized when Julia's intensive program becomes all consuming. When Julia is granted a prestigious opportunity to deliver an academic lecture at Oxford, Gabriel challenges her about the subject of her presentation, which clashes with his own research. In Oxford, their past resurfaces, including an old nemesis determined to humiliate Julia and expose one of Gabriel's well-guarded secrets. Emotions run high, alliances are tested, and the couple must confront the shadows of their shared history in a battle for love, truth, and redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaria's Lovers (1984)
A World War II prisoner returns home to his childhood sweetheart. However, back home, he discovers that he has to compete to win her love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeart of the Country (2013)
With her husband jailed for Wall Street-based fraud, Faith has to leave behind her luxury life in New York to return home to North Carolina and the widower father and dutiful older sister she left behind. Together, they have to deal with the buried emotions of sudden death of Faith’s mother years ago, and learn to be a family again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn to Peyton Place (1961)
Residents of the small town of Peyton Place aren't pleased when they realize they're the characters in local writer Allison MacKenzie's controversial first novel. A sequel to the hit 1957 film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHollywood Dirt (2017)
Hollywood arrives in force to Quincy, the small town where the secret Crown Cola billionaire's live. They want to film about the billionaire's and how they made their fortunes. Summer Jenkins, who was the town pariah, joins forces with the scout, Ben, and finds filming locations, extras, lessons with the town officials and house owners, etc. When Cole Masten arrives, they hate each other, but sparks fly. Cole is running from a nasty divorce, yet is captivated by Summer. Summer is dying to leave town to get away from the gossip. This is a great story about Southern customs, a Southern girl, and a Hollywood star who finds his lady.
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 thisThe Fugitive Kind (1960)
Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlind (2017)
A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForever First Love (2020)
Paul travels the world to capture the perfect photographic moment. Amid the colour and chaos of a crowded Filipino market, destiny intervenes when Paul’s first love, Anna appears in his lens. The travellers spend the day exploring the beauty of a 16th century town and whilst passions reignite, their principles on relationships, religion and morality clash. The night they spend together will change everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Magic of Ordinary Days (2005)
Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLovely, Still (2009)
A holiday fable that tells the story of an elderly man discovering love for the first time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNine Lives (2005)
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel's Inferno: Part III (2020)
The final part of the film adaption of the erotic romance novel Gabriel's Inferno written by an anonymous Canadian author under the pen name Sylvain Reynard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFire with Fire (1986)
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRacing with the Moon (1984)
In a small coastal California town, Henry and Nicky are pals from blue collar families with only a short time before they ship off to World War II. Henry begins romancing new-to-town Caddie Winger, believing her to be wealthy. Mischievous and irresponsible, Nicky gets into trouble which forces the other two to become involved, testing their relationship, as well as the friendship between the boys.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)
Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Is Up (2021)
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brilliant Career (1979)
A young woman who is determined to maintain her independence finds herself at odds with her family who wants her to tame her wild side and get married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLetters From the Heart (2019)
Hope, an Architect, loses her grandmother suddenly. When Hope returns to her hometown to close out her grandmother’s affairs, she learns there is a stipulation in her grandmother’s will. She has to stay in her Grandmother’s house for a certain period of time in order to receive the remainder of her inheritance. She will learn that it wasn’t just her inheritance that her grandma is trying to give her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
White Snake (2021)
The story of the white snake has been told for a long time... Bai Suzhen has cultivated for thousands of years, only to be able to find Xuxian in the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Online Billie (2019)
The story of a wannabe actor who falls in love with a camgirl.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Reggie (2019)
When mild-mannered slasher Reggie is recognized while on the job, his entire way of life is changed forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
She Mad: Bitch Zone (2020)
At a weeklong camp for teenage girls, a counselor leads the campers through a series of exercises that blend the language of female empowerment and body positivity with the kind of radical transparency that makes for good reality TV. The exercises culminate in a bizarre group confessional.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Basol (TBA)
Two Brothers who lost their parents at a young age navigate through their dreadful lives. As they both confront the trials of life, will they be able to restore their bond as brothers and heal each other in order to save their lives from life`s turmoils.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Predecessor (1988)
A film about the life and work of 19th-century Georgian writer Egnate Ninoshvili. Biographical moments from the writer's life are closely intertwined with the plots and characters of his own works.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kasie's Diary (2017)
This film is about a young woman named Kasie. Sometimes, the disappearance of the only glimmer of hope could spell the end of a dream for some people...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Playing Away?
The closest matches to Playing Away are Not Easily Broken (2009), Gabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023) and Maria's Lovers (1984). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Playing Away?
Start with Not Easily Broken (2009), the closest match to Playing Away.
What is the highest-rated movie like Playing Away?
Gabriel's Inferno: Part III (2020), rated 8.3/10 by 1,097 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Playing Away?
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Playing Away?
Yes: Not Easily Broken (2009), Gabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023) and Maria's Lovers (1984).
How are movies similar to Playing Away chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Playing Away, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.