Movies like The Strange Madame X (1951)
The best movies like The Strange Madame X (1951) are Dream Lover (1994), Mildred Pierce (1945) and Synecdoche, New York (2008). If The Strange Madame X hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAmerican Beauty (1999)8.0/10 from 13,548 votes
- NewestMarty Supreme (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchLa Cérémonie (1995)Also in French
Dream 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 thisMildred Pierce (1945)
A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSynecdoche, New York (2008)
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLa Cérémonie (1995)
Sophie, a quiet and shy maid working for an upper-class French family, finds a friend in the energetic and uncompromising postmaster Jeanne, who encourages her to stand up against her bourgeois employers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFaces (1968)
Middle-aged suburban husband Richard abruptly tells his wife, Maria, that he wants a divorce. As Richard takes up with a younger woman, Maria enjoys a night on the town with her friends and meets a younger man. As the couple and those around them confront a seemingly futile search for what they've lost -- love, excitement, passion -- this classic American independent film explores themes of aging and alienation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLocke (2014)
Ivan Locke has worked hard to craft a good life for himself. Tonight, that life will collapse around him. On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1976)
A lonely young widow lives with her son following an immutable order: while the boy is in school, she cares for their apartment, does chores, and receives clients in the afternoon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLes Misérables (2012)
An adaptation of the successful stage musical based on Victor Hugo's classic novel set in 19th-century France. Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Swimming Pool (1969)
Set in a magnificent villa near a sun-drenched St. Tropez, lovers Jean-Paul and Marianne are spending a happy, lazy summer holiday. Their only concern is to gratify their mutual passion - until the day when Marianne invites her former lover and his beautiful teenage daughter to spend a few days with them. From the first moment, a certain uneasiness and tension begin to develop between the four, which soon escalates in a dangerous love-game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarty Supreme (2025)
Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Woman (1976)
Psychological drama of the compelling relationship between a young French engineer and the girl he takes into his home after his wife has left him with their baby son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Prodigal Daughter (1981)
A young woman in a deep depression leaves her husband and returns to her parents. She discovers her father is having an affair, becomes jealous of his mistress and tries to turn his feelings in her direction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Hour Photo (2002)
Sy Parrish has lovingly developed photographs for the Yorkin family since their son was a baby. But as the Yorkins' lives become fuller, Sy's only seems lonelier, until he eventually convinces himself he's part of their family. When Sy's picture-perfect fantasy collides with an ugly dose of reality, a bizarre and thrilling confrontation ensues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolisse (2011)
Paris, France. Fred and his colleagues, members of the BPM, the Police Child Protection Unit, dedicated to pursuing all sorts of offenses committed against the weakest, must endure the scrutiny of Melissa, a photographer commissioned to graphically document the daily routine of the team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJenny Lamour (1947)
Paris, France, December 1946. Jenny Lamour, an ambitious cabaret singer, and Maurice, her extremely jealous pianist husband, become involved in the thorough investigation of the murder of a shady businessman, led by Antoine, a peculiar and methodical police inspector.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Unfaithful Wife (1969)
A man begins to believe his wife is cheating on him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTorment (1994)
Working extremely hard to keep his hotel afloat, Paul begins hearing voices in his head. Convinced that his wife has been unfaithful, he begins to see every male guest as a potential threat. What follows is Paul's downward spiral into the madness of deranged jealousy where he finally discovers that hell is not a state of mind – hell is himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeadlier Than the Male (1956)
In the heart of Paris, a restaurateur's mundane life is disrupted by the arrival of his ex-wife's daughter, who claims to be in need after her mother's death. After marrying her, tensions rise when she becomes involved with a young student, leading to betrayal and murder. As secrets unfold, he uncovers the truth about her past and her manipulative nature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thing with Feathers (2025)
Following the death of his wife, a young father's hold on reality crumbles, and a strange presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Beauty (1999)
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRevolutionary Road (2008)
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFriends (1971)
Paul, a rich English boy, and Michelle, an orphaned French girl, run away from home to a remote beach. Living on their own, their friendship grows into love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stromboli (1950)
After the end of WWII, a young Lithuanian woman and a young Italian man from Stromboli impulsively marry, but married life on the island is more demanding than she can accept.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWomen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
After being dumped by her lover, Pepa finds her life and the lives of those around her spiraling out of control in a deliciously chaotic series of events.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRussian Doll (2001)
A private detective agrees to marry his best friend's mistress to keep her from being deported.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Indecent Proposal (1993)
John Gage offers a down-on-his-luck yuppie husband $1 million for the opportunity to spend the night with the man's wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCassandra's Dream (2007)
The tale of two brothers with serious financial woes. When a third party proposes they turn to crime, things go bad and the two become enemies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnigma (1982)
Five highly-trained KGB agents are sent to the west to assassinate several Soviet dissidents. In order to stop the diabolical plot, an American agent must infiltrate Soviet intelligence and obtain information from a Russian computer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisConfessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
Television made him famous, but his biggest hits happened off screen. Television producer by day, CIA assassin by night, Chuck Barris was recruited by the CIA at the height of his TV career and trained to become a covert operative. Or so Barris said.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
Ralph Burton is a miner who is trapped for several days as a result of a cave-in. When he finally manages to dig himself out, he realizes that all of mankind seems to have been destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. He travels to New York City only to find it deserted. Making a life for himself there, he is flabbergasted to eventually find Sarah Crandall, who also managed to survive. Together, they form a close friendship until the arrival of Benson Thacker who has managed to pilot his small boat into the city's harbor. At this point, tensions rise between the three, particularly between Thacker, who is white, and Burton, who is black.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Strange Madame X?
The closest matches to The Strange Madame X are Dream Lover (1994), Mildred Pierce (1945) and Synecdoche, New York (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Strange Madame X?
Start with Dream Lover (1994), the closest match to The Strange Madame X.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Strange Madame X?
American Beauty (1999), rated 8.0/10 by 13,548 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Strange Madame X?
Marty Supreme (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Strange Madame X?
Yes: La Cérémonie (1995), Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1976) and The Swimming Pool (1969).
How are movies similar to The Strange Madame X chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Strange Madame X, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.