Movies like The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973)
The best movies like The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973) are The Sound of Silence (2019), My Dinner with Hervé (2018) and Gigi & Nate (2022). If The Optimists of Nine Elms hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Street Cat Named Bob (2016)7.9/10 from 1,609 votes
- NewestBadut Gendong (2026)Released 2026
The 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 · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCall Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTalhotBlond (2012)
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJonathan (2018)
Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHurry Sundown (1967)
A ruthless Southern opportunist tries to buy his cousin's land, and when thwarted, brings several tragedies to the lives of his loved ones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome Run (2013)
A pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow Sarah Got Her Wings (2015)
Good Samaritan Sarah Fitzpatrick has a fatal accident just before Christmas, and finds herself in the lobby before the gates of Heaven. Certain that she will be let in, she is shocked to find that her name is not on the reservation list. However, she is granted the chance to return to Earth as an "angel in training" with the requirement to help a soul in need. Sarah has the 12 days before Christmas to secure her place on the list leaving her in the race for her after-life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHome (2021)
An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Turner (2014)
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHomeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNothing Personal (2009)
Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNormal (2003)
A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce (2007)
A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant, who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJackie & Ryan (2014)
A modern day train hopper fighting to be a successful musician and a single mom battling to maintain custody of her daughter defy their circumstances by coming together in a relationship that may change each other's lives forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Battlers (1994)
Fairly sensitive melodrama about life on the back-roads in Australia at the height of the Great Depression. Centring on the developing romance between two drifters this presents a commendable level of period detail. Based on the novel by Kylie Tennant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Christmas Gift from Bob (2020)
James Bowen finds himself the target of an animal welfare investigation that threatens to take away his beloved cat, Bob, at Christmas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJoy (2010)
Joy is an emotionally damaged young woman of eighteen, who was given up at birth, to grow up in homes and with foster families. She lives on the fringes of society, getting by on benefits and earning a little extra by playing the accordion in the subway. In addition, she is a skilled shoplifter and has never been caught.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mannequin (2023)
A lone street busker adopts an unconventional act in a way that reminds him of his tragic past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Badut Gendong (2026)
Darso, a clown busker, lost his wife and unborn child to thug violence. In grief, he brought his wife's body back to his village. However, the village is in chaos due to a conflict with an evil developer and a curse ritual that summons dark forces. Darso is also caught up in the evil forces connected to the person he loves most.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Midnight Sun (2018)
Katie, a 17-year-old, has been sheltered since childhood and confined to her house during the day by a rare disease that makes even the smallest amount of sunlight deadly. Fate intervenes when she meets Charlie and they embark on a summer romance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Street Cat Named Bob (2016)
James Bowen, a homeless busker and recovering drug addict, has his life transformed when he meets a stray ginger cat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOur Mini Research (TBA)
In the midst of economic hardship, a genius older brother is forced to conduct scientific research on how to become the ideal street busker in order to fulfill his little sister’s dream.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Optimists of Nine Elms?
The closest matches to The Optimists of Nine Elms are The Sound of Silence (2019), My Dinner with Hervé (2018) and Gigi & Nate (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Optimists of Nine Elms?
Start with The Sound of Silence (2019), the closest match to The Optimists of Nine Elms.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Optimists of Nine Elms?
A Street Cat Named Bob (2016), rated 7.9/10 by 1,609 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Optimists of Nine Elms?
Badut Gendong (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Optimists of Nine Elms?
Yes: The Sound of Silence (2019), My Dinner with Hervé (2018) and Gigi & Nate (2022).
How are movies similar to The Optimists of Nine Elms chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Optimists of Nine Elms, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.