Movies like Before I Sleep (1997)
The best movies like Before I Sleep (1997) are Chinese Coffee (2000), The Disaster Artist (2017) and A Different Man (2024). If Before I Sleep hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMeshes of the Afternoon (1943)7.6/10 from 463 votes
- NewestMagazine Dreams (2025)Released 2025
Chinese Coffee (2000)
When Harry Levine, an aging, unsuccessful Greenwich Village writer, is fired from his job as restaurant doorman, he calls on friend and mentor Jake, ostensibly to collect a long-standing debt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Disaster Artist (2017)
An aspiring actor in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau, the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Different Man (2024)
Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fountainhead (1949)
An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this25th Hour (2002)
On the eve of a seven-year prison sentence, a New York drug dealer spends his final day of freedom confronting his past, his relationships, and the choices that led to his downfall in a city still reeling from 9/11.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMikey and Nicky (1976)
Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob boss wants him killed. Terrified, he calls Mikey, his friend since childhood and a fellow gangster. So begins a long night…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCashback (2007)
After a painful breakup, Ben develops insomnia. To kill time, he starts working the late night shift at the local supermarket, where his artistic imagination runs wild.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Program (2015)
An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDesperately Seeking Susan (1985)
A bored New Jersey suburban housewife's fascination with a free-spirited woman she has read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself and into a chaotic adventure of amnesia and self-discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeshes of the Afternoon (1943)
A woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLeaving Las Vegas (1995)
Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKing of the Belgians (2016)
The King of the Belgians is on a state visit in Istanbul when his country falls apart. He must return home at once to save his kingdom. But a solar storm causes airspace and communications to shut down. No planes. No phones. With the help of a British filmmaker and a troupe of Bulgarian folk singers, the King and his entourage manage to escape over the border. Incognito. Thus begins an odyssey across the Balkans during which the King discovers the real world - and himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagazine Dreams (2025)
Aspiring bodybuilder Killian Maddox struggles to find human connection in an exploration of celebrity and violence. Nothing deters him from his fiercely protected dream of superstardom, not even the doctors who warn him of the permanent damage he causes to himself with his quest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Heights (2021)
The story of Usnavi, a bodega owner who has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic or staying in Washington Heights.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sound of Silence (2019)
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSomewhere in Time (1980)
Young writer Richard Collier is met on the opening night of his first play by an old lady who begs him to "Come back to me". Mystified, he tries to find out about her, and learns that she is a famous stage actress from the early twentieth century. Becoming more and more obsessed with her, by self-hypnosis he manages to travel back in time—where he meets her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Spectacular Now (2013)
Sutter, a popular party animal, unexpectedly meets the introverted Aimee after waking up on a stranger's lawn. As Sutter deals with the problems in his life and Aimee plans for her future beyond school, an unexpected romance blossoms between them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlong for the Ride (2022)
The summer before college, Auden meets the mysterious Eli, a fellow insomniac. While the seaside town of Colby sleeps, the two embark on nightly quests to help Auden experience the fun, carefree teen life she never knew she wanted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Bother to Knock (1952)
An airline pilot pursues a live-in babysitter at his hotel and gradually realizes she is not as stable as perhaps she should be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Before I Sleep?
The closest matches to Before I Sleep are Chinese Coffee (2000), The Disaster Artist (2017) and A Different Man (2024). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Before I Sleep?
Start with Chinese Coffee (2000), the closest match to Before I Sleep.
What is the highest-rated movie like Before I Sleep?
Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), rated 7.6/10 by 463 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Before I Sleep?
Magazine Dreams (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Before I Sleep?
Yes: Chinese Coffee (2000), The Disaster Artist (2017) and A Different Man (2024).
How are movies similar to Before I Sleep chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Before I Sleep, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.