Movies like A Shilling Life (1982)
The best movies like A Shilling Life (1982) are Upgraded (2024), The Edge of Love (2008) and Indiscreet (1958). If A Shilling Life hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Last Letter from Your Lover (2021)7.3/10 from 691 votes
- NewestUpgraded (2024)Released 2024
Upgraded (2024)
Ana is an ambitious intern dreaming of a career in the art world while trying to impress her demanding boss Claire. When she's upgraded to first class on a work trip, she meets handsome Will, and Ana pretends to be her boss– a white lie that sets off a glamorous chain of events, romance and opportunity, until her fib threatens to surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Edge of Love (2008)
When the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and his flirtatious wife Caitlin sweep into war-torn London, the last thing they expect is to bump into Dylan's childhood sweetheart Vera. Despite her joy at seeing Dylan after so many years, Vera is swept off her feet by a dashing officer, William Killick, and finds herself torn between the open adoration of her new found beau and the wily charms of the exotic Welshman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIndiscreet (1958)
Anna Kalman is an accomplished actress who has given up hope of finding the man of her dreams. While talking about this subject with her sister, in walks Philip Adams and she realizes that this is the charming, smart, and handsome man she has been waiting for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBullets Over Broadway (1994)
After young playwright, David Shayne obtains funding for his play from gangster Nick Valenti, Nick's girlfriend Olive miraculously lands the role of a psychiatrist—but not only is she a bimbo who could never pass for a psychiatrist—she's a dreadful actress. David puts up with the leading man who is a compulsive eater, the grand dame who wants her part jazzed up, and Olive's interfering hitman/bodyguard—but, eventually he must decide whether art or life is more important.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFollowing (1999)
Bill, an idle, unemployed aspiring writer, walks the crowded streets of London following randomly chosen strangers, a seemingly innocent entertainment that becomes dangerous when he crosses paths with a mysterious character.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Letter from Your Lover (2021)
A young journalist in London becomes obsessed with a series of letters she discovers that recounts an intense star-crossed love affair from the 1960s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Word (2017)
A retired businesswoman – who tries to control everything around her – decides to write her own obituary. A young journalist takes up the task of finding out the truth, and the result is a life-altering friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSliding Doors (1998)
Helen, a London ad executive, is fired from her job and rushes out to catch a train, but, as she runs down, her life suddenly splits off. In one version she catches the train; in the second, she misses it. Her whole life changes in that one second, and the rest of the film depicts what happens in each scenario.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlfie (1966)
A young man leads a promiscuous lifestyle until several life reversals make him rethink his purposes and goals in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBells Are Ringing (1960)
Ella Peterson works in the basement office of Susanswerphone, a telephone answering service. She listens in on others' lives and adds some interest to her own humdrum existence by adopting different identities for her clients. They include an out-of-work Method actor, a dentist with musical yearnings, and in particular playwright Jeffrey Moss, who is suffering from writer's block and desperately needs a muse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Sidney Young is a down-on-his-luck journalist. Thanks to a stint involving a pig and a glitzy awards ceremony, Sidney turns his fortunes around, attracting the attention of Clayton Harding, editor of New York-based glossy magazine 'Sharps', and landing the holy grail of journalism jobs. The Brit jets off to the Big Apple and moves from one blunder to the next.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Incredible Jessica James (2017)
Burned by a bad breakup, a struggling New York City playwright makes an unlikely connection with a divorced app designer she meets on a blind date.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrick Up Your Ears (1987)
When the young, attractive Joe Orton meets the older, more introverted Kenneth Halliwell at drama school, he befriends the kindred spirit and they start an affair. As Orton becomes more comfortable with his sexuality and starts to find success with his writing, Halliwell becomes increasingly alienated and jealous, ultimately tapping into a dangerous rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlfie (2004)
A tale of a philosophical womanizer who is forced to question his seemingly carefree existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBroken Flowers (2005)
An introverted man receives an anonymous letter from an ex-lover informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. A freelance sleuth neighbor motivates the man to embark on a cross-country search for his past flames, seeking answers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMrs. Winterbourne (1996)
Connie Doyle is eighteen, pregnant and alone. She accidentally ends up on a train where she meets Hugh Winterbourne and his wife pregnant Patricia. The train wrecks and she wakes up in the hospital to find out that it's been assumed that she's Patricia. Hugh's mother takes her in and she falls in love with Hugh's brother Bill. Just when she thinks everything is going her way, her ex-boyfriend shows up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Chance (2013)
This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStan & Ollie (2018)
With their golden era long behind them, comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy embark on a variety hall tour of Britain and Ireland. Despite the pressures of a hectic schedule, and with the support of their wives Lucille and Ida – a formidable double act in their own right – the pair's love of performing, as well as for each other, endures as they secure their place in the hearts of their adoring public
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat's New Pussycat? (1965)
A playboy who refuses to give up his hedonistic lifestyle to settle down and marry his true love seeks help from a demented psychoanalyst who is having romantic problems of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Lady in the Van (2015)
The true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Shilling Life?
The closest matches to A Shilling Life are Upgraded (2024), The Edge of Love (2008) and Indiscreet (1958). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Shilling Life?
Start with Upgraded (2024), the closest match to A Shilling Life.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Shilling Life?
The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021), rated 7.3/10 by 691 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Shilling Life?
Upgraded (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Shilling Life?
Yes: Upgraded (2024), The Edge of Love (2008) and Indiscreet (1958).
How are movies similar to A Shilling Life chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Shilling Life, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.