Movies like Straight for the Heart (1988)
The best movies like Straight for the Heart (1988) are The History of Love (2016), Dear John (2010) and A Perfect Ending (2012). If Straight for the Heart 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 ratedI Can't Think Straight (2008)7.5/10 from 341 votes
- NewestThe Last Rifleman (2023)Released 2023
The History of Love (2016)
The story of a long-lost book that mysteriously reappears and connects an old man searching for his son with a girl seeking a cure for her mother's loneliness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear John (2010)
While Sergeant John Tyree is home on two weeks leave from Germany, he meets Savannah after he dives into the ocean to retrieve Savannah's purse that had fallen off a pier. John eventually falls in love with Savannah, who promises to write to him until he returns from overseas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Perfect Ending (2012)
This intimate drama follows Rebecca, a woman who has kept her sexuality a secret from her friends but chooses to reveal it to a stranger. While Rebecca's revelations may not yield the results she expects, a perfect ending is still in reach.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Can't Think Straight (2008)
Tala, a London-based Palestinian, is preparing for her elaborate Middle Eastern wedding when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating her best friend. Spirited Christian Tala and shy Muslim Leyla could not be more different from each other, but the attraction is immediate and goes deeper than friendship. But Tala is not ready to accept the implications of the choice her heart has made for her and escapes back to Jordan, while Leyla tries to move on with her new-found life, to the shock of her tradition-loving parents. As Tala's wedding day approaches, simmering tensions come to boiling point and the pressure mounts for Tala to be true to herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElena Undone (2010)
The wife of a pastor who preaches against homosexuality embarks on an affair with a female writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Won't Believe Me (1947)
On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand to claim his innocence and describe the actual, but improbable sounding, sequence of events that led to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot 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 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 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 thisDot the I (2003)
A fiery Spanish woman is about to marry a kind British man when she meets a Brazilian actor who ignites in her a flame of lust she can't ignore.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
Reporter Charles Wills, in Paris to cover the end of World War II, falls for the beautiful Helen Ellswirth following a brief flirtation with her sister, Marion. After he and Helen marry, Charles pursues his novelistic ambition while supporting his new bride with a deadening job at a newspaper wire service. But when an old investment suddenly makes the family wealthy, their marriage begins to unravel — until a sudden tragedy changes everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCamp Belvidere (2014)
Camp Belvidere is a lesbian romance set in the 1950s about the coming of age of Camp Leader Rose and her forbidden encounter with Nurse Gin. It depicts the journey and evolution of a friendship into a romance between two women when their rapport would have been unlikely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen Night Is Falling (1995)
Camille is a professor at a Protestant college and is in a long-term relationship with Martin, a respected minister and fellow professor. When Camille meets Petra, a bold and flamboyant performer in a circus troupe, she is inexplicably drawn. Pursuing Petra, Camille throws her whole conservative life into disarray.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Journal for Jordan (2021)
Based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King, a soldier deployed to Iraq begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeter Ibbetson (1935)
When his mother dies, young Peter Ibbetson leaves Paris and his best friend, Mary, behind to live with a severe uncle in England. Years later, Peter is an architect with little time for women, until he begins a project with the Duke and Duchess of Towers. When Peter and the duchess become great friends, she reveals that she is Mary — but the duke soon suspects his wife of infidelity and challenges Peter to a duel, threatening the pair's second chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisIn Secret (2014)
In 1860s Paris, a young woman, Therese, is trapped in a loveless marriage to the sickly Camille by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin. She spends her days behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominos with an eclectic group. After she meets her husband’s alluring friend, Laurent, she embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences. Based on Emile Zola’s novel, Thérèse Raquin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Policeman (2022)
In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfterglow (1997)
Lucky Mann is a builder equally handy at repairs and seduction. The latest housewife to succumb to his charms is Marianne, unhappily married to corporate exec Jeffrey. When Jeffrey becomes enraptured by Lucky’s wife Phyllis, the four get caught in a love quadrangle that reignites their marriages.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002)
The strange comedy film of two close brothers; one, Wilbur, who wants to kill himself, and the other, Harbour, who tries to prevent this. When their father dies leaving them his bookstore they meet a woman who makes their lives a bit better yet with a bit more trouble as well.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisItalian for Beginners (2000)
Several lonely hearts in a semi-provincial suburb of a town in Denmark use a beginner's course in Italian as the platform to meet the romance of their lives. The film, which unspools the connections and family drama shared between the students, complies with several aesthetic principles of Dogme 95 movement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLost in Translation (2003)
Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Life Without Me (2003)
A fatally ill mother with only two months to live creates a list of things she wants to do before she dies without telling her family of her illness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOpen Hearts (2002)
Cecilie and Joachim are about to get married when a freak car accident leaves Joachim disabled, throwing their lives into a spin. The driver of the other car, Marie, and her family don’t get off lightly, either. Her husband Niels works in the hospital where he meets Cecilie and falls madly in love with her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBreaking the Waves (1996)
In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Life of Words (2005)
A solitary nurse bonds with a badly burned patient who survived an accident on an oil rig.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDesert Hearts (1985)
While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like this36 Fillette (1988)
A 14-year-old pursues romance with a man while vacationing with her family in Switzerland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlistair1918 (2015)
A social work grad student’s film project on L.A. homelessness becomes something quite other when she and her friends encounter a man claiming to be from another time and place.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Straight for the Heart?
The closest matches to Straight for the Heart are The History of Love (2016), Dear John (2010) and A Perfect Ending (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Straight for the Heart?
Start with The History of Love (2016), the closest match to Straight for the Heart.
What is the highest-rated movie like Straight for the Heart?
I Can't Think Straight (2008), rated 7.5/10 by 341 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Straight for the Heart?
The Last Rifleman (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Straight for the Heart?
Yes: The History of Love (2016), Dear John (2010) and A Perfect Ending (2012).
How are movies similar to Straight for the Heart chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Straight for the Heart, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.