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Movies like The Promise (1999)

The best movies like The Promise (1999) are Iron Jawed Angels (2004), TalhotBlond (2012) and Normal (2003). If The Promise hooked you with its drama and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Iron Jawed Angels (2004)

    Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  2. TalhotBlond (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

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  3. Normal (2003)

    A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  4. Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)

    An acclaimed stage performer, Dorothy still struggled with the challenge of her color, in a time that wouldn't let some stars in by the front door. Yet against the odds she beat out many more famous rivals for the role of "Carmen Jones", becoming the first black woman ever nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Marriages and affairs would break her heart, but her heart was strong. Seductive and easily seduced, she was born to be a star - with all the glory and all the pain of being loved, abused, cheated, glorified, undermined and undefeated. Here was a woman who wouldn't wait in the wings. Halle Berry stars as Dorothy Dandrige.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  5. Girl in the Box (2016)

    The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  6. Locke & Key (2011)

    Three children become the caretakers of a New England mansion that is home to a bevy of secrets and magic.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  7. I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)

    The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  8. Seeds of Yesterday (2015)

    The Sheffield family reveal and go through some home truths as their middle child inherits the Foxworth mansion. The family's ghosts looming over, and more tragedies are in store as the curse lives on.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  9. The Christmas Shoes (2002)

    Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  10. Call 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 this
  11. The Safety of Objects (2002)

    In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  12. Hounddog (2008)

    A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  13. Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)

    A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. A Dry White Season (1989)

    During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  15. Lucky Them (2013)

    More interested in partying and flirting with young musicians than work, veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine’s editor: a no-stone-unturned search to discover what really happened to long lost rock god, Matt Smith, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Teaming up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker, Ellie hits the road in search of answers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  16. The Caveman's Valentine (2001)

    Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  17. The Truth About Emanuel (2013)

    A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  18. The Trials of Cate McCall (2013)

    In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  19. Strange Weather (2016)

    Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  20. Sky (2016)

    A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  21. A Matter of Sex (1984)

    Dramatization of the true story of the so-called Willmar Eight, a group of Minnesota bank workers who braved freezing conditions whilst picketing their branch in a struggle for union rights.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  22. Monsoon Wedding (2001)

    A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

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  23. Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)

    Agnès Varda eloquently captures Paris in the sixties with this real-time portrait of a singer set adrift in the city as she awaits test results of a biopsy. A chronicle of the minutes of one woman’s life, Cléo from 5 to 7 is a spirited mix of vivid vérité and melodrama, featuring a score by Michel Legrand and cameos by Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  24. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

    Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

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  25. 36 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

  26. Balcony (2013)

    Jeton, a 10-year-old boy is sitting on the edge of a balcony on the 4th floor. Neighbours and passers-by, terrified by this situation, call the police and firefighters for help. But the situation quickly becomes unmanageable.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  27. Or (My Treasure) (2004)

    Or shoulders a lot: she's 17 or 18, a student, works evenings at a restaurant, recycles cans and bottles for cash, and tries to keep her mother Ruthie from returning to streetwalking in Tel Aviv. Ruthie calls Or "my treasure," but Ruthie is a burden. She's just out of hospital, weak, and Or has found her a job as a house cleaner. The call of the quick money on the street is tough for Ruthie to ignore. Or's emotions roil further when the mother of the youth she's in love with comes to the flat to warn her off. With love fading and Ruthie perhaps beyond help, Or's choices narrow.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  28. Away from Her (2007)

    Fiona and Grant have been married for nearly 50 years. They have to face the fact that Fiona’s absent-mindedness is a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. She must go to a specialized nursing home, where she slowly forgets Grant and turns her affection to Aubrey, another patient in the home.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  29. All for Love (2017)

    When a romance novelist is teamed with a Navy SEAL as research for her book, by a mandate from her publisher, she is less than thrilled and he is more than honest. However, as she works with the SEAL, she has a change of heart and learns to look at her life and writing with a different point of view.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style

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  30. The Last Mistress (2007)

    Secrets, rumors and betrayals surround the upcoming marriage between a young dissolute man and virtuous woman of the French aristocracy.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Like The Promise and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Promise?

The closest matches to The Promise are Iron Jawed Angels (2004), TalhotBlond (2012) and Normal (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Promise?

Start with Iron Jawed Angels (2004), the closest match to The Promise.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Promise?

Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), rated 7.7/10 by 823 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Promise?

I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like The Promise?

Yes: Iron Jawed Angels (2004), TalhotBlond (2012) and Normal (2003).

How are movies similar to The Promise chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Promise, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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