Movies like Necessary Love (1991)
The best movies like Necessary Love (1991) are Valmont (1989), The Portrait of a Lady (1996) and Anna Karenina (1997). If Necessary Love hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhite Nights (1957)7.5/10 from 271 votes
- NewestLady Chatterley's Lover (2022)Released 2022
- In ItalianWhite Nights (1957)Also in Italian
Valmont (1989)
Set in Baroque France, a scheming widow and her lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman. The lover, Valmont, bets that he can seduce her, even though she is an honorable woman. If he wins, he can have his lover to do as he will. However, in the process of seducing the married woman, Valmont falls in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Portrait of a Lady (1996)
Ms. Isabel Archer isn't afraid to challenge societal norms. Impressed by her free spirit, her kindhearted cousin writes her into his fatally ill father's will. Suddenly rich and independent, Isabelle ventures into the world, along the way befriending a cynical intellectual and romancing an art enthusiast. However, the advantage of her affluence is called into question when she realizes the extent to which her money colors her relationships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAnna Karenina (1997)
In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmma. (2020)
In 1800s England, a well-meaning but selfish young woman meddles in the love lives of her friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhatever Works (2009)
Whatever Works explores the relationship between a crotchety misanthrope, Boris and a naïve, impressionable young runaway from the south, Melody. When Melody's uptight parents arrive in New York to rescue her, they are quickly drawn into wildly unexpected romantic entanglements. Everyone discovers that finding love is just a combination of lucky chance and appreciating the value of "whatever works."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClass (1983)
Naive Midwestern prep student Jonathan bonds with his more worldly roommate, Skip, who takes the small-town boy under his wing. At Skip's urging, the inexperienced Jonathan is emboldened to seek out older women in the cocktail lounges of nearby Chicago, where he meets and beds the alluring Ellen, who unfortunately turns out to be Skip's mother. The division between the friends is further deepened when a cheating scandal engulfs the school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnna Karenina (1935)
In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCamille (2008)
A twisted honeymoon adventure about a young couple on their way to Niagara Falls.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wings of the Dove (1997)
Kate is secretly betrothed to a struggling journalist, Merton Densher. But she knows her Aunt Maude will never approve of the match, since Kate's deceased mother has lost all her money in a marriage to a degenerate opium addict. When Kate meets a terminally ill American heiress named Millie traveling through Europe, she comes up with a conniving plan to have both love and wealth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Skeffington (1944)
A beautiful but vain woman who rejects the love of her older husband must face the loss of her youth and beauty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Right Kind of Wrong (2013)
A stubborn idealist spies a bride on her way to her wedding and immediately falls in love with her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDangerous Liaisons (1988)
In 18th century France, Marquise de Merteuil asks her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont to seduce the future wife of another ex-lover of hers in return for one last night with her. Yet things don’t go as planned.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Good Woman (2004)
Fleeing 1930s New York and leaving behind a chequered past, the giltzy divorcee Mrs Stella Erlynne travels to Italy's sun-dappled Amalfi coast. Mrs Erlynne's appearance causes a stir amongst the visiting aristocracy. Based on the Oscar Wilde play "Lady Windemere's Fan."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEveryone Says I Love You (1996)
A New York girl sets her father up with a beautiful woman in a shaky marriage while her half sister gets engaged.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
Two young gentlemen living in 1890s England use the same pseudonym ('Ernest') on the sly, which is fine until they both fall in love with women using that name, which leads to a comedy of mistaken identities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarefoot (2014)
The "black sheep" son of a wealthy family meets a young psychiatric patient who's been raised in isolation her entire life. He takes the naive young woman home for his brother's wedding an improbable romance blooms, as she impresses everyone with her genuine, simple charms.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnegin (1999)
A virtuous and passionate girl falls in love with a cynical but a dashing aristocrat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady Chatterley's Lover (2022)
After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrime (2005)
A career driven professional from Manhattan is wooed by a young painter, who also happens to be the son of her psychoanalyst.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite Nights (1957)
A middle-aged man meets a young woman who is waiting on a canal bridge for her lover's return.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Necessary Love and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Necessary Love?
The closest matches to Necessary Love are Valmont (1989), The Portrait of a Lady (1996) and Anna Karenina (1997). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Necessary Love?
Start with Valmont (1989), the closest match to Necessary Love.
What is the highest-rated movie like Necessary Love?
White Nights (1957), rated 7.5/10 by 271 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Necessary Love?
Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Necessary Love?
Yes: White Nights (1957).
How are movies similar to Necessary Love chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Necessary Love, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.