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Movies like Not Too Far from Here

The best movies like Not Too Far from Here are Mommie Dearest (1981), Short Term 12 (2013) and Gimme Shelter (2013). If Not Too Far from Here hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Mommie Dearest (1981)

    Renowned film star Joan Crawford's abuse towards Christina, her adopted daughter, intensifies as her professional and romantic relationships turn sour.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. Short Term 12 (2013)

    Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, helps at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  3. Gimme Shelter (2013)

    After running away from her abusive mother, a streetwise teen seeks refuge with her father, but he rejects her when he learns that she's pregnant.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980)

    Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. Embattled (2020)

    The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. What Maisie Knew (2013)

    In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Hounddog (2008)

    A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. El Chicano (2019)

    A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. The Poker House (2008)

    Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. May December (2023)

    Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Hellion (2014)

    When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob's delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father must finally take responsibility for their actions and each other in order to bring Wes home.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  12. I Can Only Imagine 2 (2026)

    Following the breakout success of the song 'I Can Only Imagine', MercyMe's Bart Millard is living the dream—sold-out arenas, a devoted fanbase, and a thriving career. But behind the spotlight, Bart's past threatens the family he's built, especially the fragile bond with his son Sam. When hopeful newcomer Tim Timmons joins the band for their biggest tour yet, he unknowingly brings a renewed gratitude to Bart's life through their unlikely friendship. Bart soon discovers that Tim carries hardships—and secrets—of his own, forcing him to face his past and repair his relationships with Sam and his wife Shannon before fame costs him what matters most.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  13. The Chronology of Water (2025)

    Plagued by an abusive childhood, a woman finds escape in competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before ultimately finding her voice through writing.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Test (2018)

    Kurt Longson tries to avenge his daughters death. To succeed he has to battle with his conscience and morality to realize true love.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Fifteen and Pregnant (1998)

    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.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. A Taste of Honey (1961)

    While out to avoid spending time with her narcissistic and promiscuous mother, sixteen-year-old Jo has a brief affair that leaves her pregnant and abandoned. When her mother remarries, Jo's only support becomes her friend Geoffrey, a homosexual.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  17. Road to Paloma (2014)

    While Native American Wolf is being pursued by the FBI for having taken the law into his own hands, when his mother was raped and killed on their reservation he crosses paths with Cash, a down and out musician who is coping with the end of his marriage. An unlikely friendship develops, as they ride together towards the Teton mountain range, where Wolf will spread his mothers ashes.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  18. Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)

    A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter 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.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Thirteen (2003)

    When 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, her life is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs, and money. But it isn’t long before Tracy’s new lifestyle begins to take a heavy toll on her and her family.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. Secrets & Lies (1996)

    After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. Drink and Be Merry (2025)

    At a struggling New York dive bar in the days leading up to Christmas 2019, Chet, a beleaguered bartender in a state of extended arrested development, must balance caring for his misanthropic, aging regulars — who have nowhere else to go, and rely on him for far more than pouring drinks — with his naive desires to muster some Christmas spirit.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  22. Live and Become (2005)

    In 1980, the black Falashas in Ethiopia are recognised as genuine Jews and are secretly carried to Israel. The day before the transport the son of a Jewish mother dies. In his place and with his name (Schlomo) she takes a Christian 9-year-old boy.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  23. Closer to Home (2016)

    When a social worker named (FAITH) begins to investigate a series of in depth cases,she begins to become emotionally involved. Which is breaking the number one Cardinal rule of her job. This pandora box of emotions begins to unravel & pull back the layers on FAITHS own past. Leading her down a path of discovery,that no one is expecting.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  24. Great White Throne Judgment (TBA)

    Follows a group of bikers who run a small town through a drug and human trafficking trade; a preacher who lost his way; and a pre-med student who has a dark secret. Angels watch them trying to direct them on to a noble path.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  25. Howl Coyote Howl (TBA)

    After a bloody exchange with some bounty hunters, Anna, a veteran of the War in Afghanistan, and Gloria, her ill-prepared God-fearing friend, team up with a pair of coyotes to escape into Mexico.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  26. The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood (1986)

    Faustus is a clerk in St. John's at the Newfoundland Department of Education. He dreams of becoming ruler of Newfoundland and seceding from Canada. In the real world, Faustus' boss Eddie Peddle plans to indoctrinate the citizenry of Newfoundland with a cult-like geometric theory known as Total Education, but Peddle may be foiled by the revelation of a secret from his past career.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  27. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)

    Years after his father disowns his adopted brother for marrying a woman of lower social standing, a young man goes on a mission to reunite his family.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  28. Clarissa (2026)

    Across a single day in Lagos, Nigeria, Clarissa prepares to host a high society party at her home, as her complicated past begins to consume her, in the form of now-distant friends and loves from her youth. Simultaneously, Septimus, a young soldier, is haunted by his own memories of the horrors he has witnessed and endured. As the perspectives traverse past and present, across the bourgeois class and those too easily forgotten by society, a delicate portrait of contemporary Nigeria emerges.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Coming SoonMovies like this
  29. Boys on the Side (1995)

    After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane, answers a personal ad from Robin, a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from New York City to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Jane's friend Holly, who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  30. Where Demons Hide (2019)

    A neo Noir tragedy that leads one man on a revenge path to seek a sense of Justice. Joshua was brought up only knowing despair and deception through years of both physical and emotional abuse. After the death of his mother left him with his self destructive and alcoholic father, the torment became too much leaving him to make a choice. Years later after putting himself through university, Joshua is a psychiatrist and has a plan for revenge. Singling out those who have done wrong to him, he influences his patient Lewis to take action for him. What Joshua doesn’t fully understand is the extent of Lewis’s own dark past.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Like Not Too Far from Here and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Not Too Far from Here?

The closest matches to Not Too Far from Here are Mommie Dearest (1981), Short Term 12 (2013) and Gimme Shelter (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Not Too Far from Here?

Start with Mommie Dearest (1981), the closest match to Not Too Far from Here.

What is the highest-rated movie like Not Too Far from Here?

Short Term 12 (2013), rated 7.7/10 by 1,474 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Not Too Far from Here?

I Can Only Imagine 2 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like Not Too Far from Here?

Yes: Mommie Dearest (1981), Short Term 12 (2013) and Gimme Shelter (2013).

How are movies similar to Not Too Far from Here chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Not Too Far from Here, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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