Movies like Afterglow (1997)
The best movies like Afterglow (1997) are Petulia (1968), Blind (2017) and The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954). If Afterglow 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 ratedA Woman Under the Influence (1974)7.7/10 from 592 votes
- NewestDoing Life (2026)Released 2026
Petulia (1968)
Dr. Archie Bollen is having a midlife crisis. He's just divorced his wife and is establishing a new life for himself. One night, he catches the eye of Petulia Danner, a charming, free-spirited young woman. Petulia's vibrant personality hides her fear of her abusive husband, David, whose father is a powerful society figure. As Petulia and Archie's feelings for each other grow, they must decide what it is they truly want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlind (2017)
A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
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 thisA Woman Under the Influence (1974)
Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThird Person (2014)
An acclaimed novelist struggles to write an analysis of love in one of three stories, each set in a different city, that detail the beginning, middle and end of a relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 thisClash by Night (1952)
An embittered woman seeks escape in marriage, only to fall for her husband’s best friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoing Life (2026)
A single mother and an incarcerated man forge an unlikely bond through heartfelt letters, unlocking a door to redemption, hope and love against all odds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTrust (2021)
Set in the glamour of the New York and Paris art scenes, gallery owner Brooke Gatwick and her newscaster husband Owen Shore, face temptation, jealousy, twists and mystery when two seductive newcomers enter their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Delinquent Season (2018)
In Dublin, two couples (Jim and Danielle; Yvonne and Chris) are seemingly living in marital bliss. However, when Chris's behaviour begins to change, Yvonne seeks solace in the arms of Jim, and before long they are in the midst of an affair. When a life-changing secret is later revealed, all four are forced to re-evaluate their lives, their marriages, and their friendships - but can anything be salvaged from the wreckage?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Piano (1993)
When an arranged marriage brings Ada and her spirited pre-teen daughter Flora to the wilderness of 19th-century New Zealand, she finds herself locked in a battle of wills with both her controlling husband and a rugged frontiersman to whom she develops a forbidden attraction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Shipping News (2001)
An emotionally-beaten man with his young daughter moves to his ancestral home in Newfoundland to reclaim his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisMaestro (2023)
A towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. A love letter to life and art, Maestro at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Valentine (2010)
Dean and Cindy live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. They appear to have the world at their feet at the outset of the relationship. However, his lack of ambition and her retreat into self-absorption cause potentially irreversible cracks in their marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiddle of the Night (1959)
Jerry Kingsley is a wealthy garment manufacturer left lonely in his 50s when his wife dies. Despite the difference in their ages, he strikes up a romance with divorced 24-year-old receptionist Betty. The relationship is dismissed by his daughter, Lillian, discouraged by his sister, Evelyn, and denounced by Betty's mother. But when Jerry begins to mention marriage, even Betty is forced to confront her ambivalence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShirley (2020)
A famous horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeatwave (2022)
A woman's life takes an unexpected turn when she falls for her boss's wife. She must soon defend herself as she becomes entangled in a web of malice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDream Lover (1994)
Not long after they cross paths at an art gallery, architect Ray Reardon and hypnotically sensual Lena are married with children. But as strange incidents occur, Ray begins to realize he may not really know the woman he married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Women (1994)
Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisArjun Reddy (2017)
A brilliant but impulsive young surgeon spirals into self-destruction after a painful breakup, struggling to cope with love, loss, and the consequences of his own temper.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNormal Adolescent Behavior (2007)
High school student Wendy has an odd relationship with her five friends: They're openly sexual with each other, swapping partners every week. But this is all thrown into turmoil when she meets Sean, a new student in school who has a crush on her. Wendy wants to be with Sean, but doesn't want to disappoint her friends, whom she has known since grade school. When she does decide to leave them, her best friend, Billie, threatens revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000)
In California, a group of women struggle with personal problems as their paths intertwine in unexpected ways. Dr. Elaine Keener, the sole caretaker for her aging mother, turns to tarot card reader Christine for spiritual aid. Christine grapples with her own angst due to her lover's debilitating illness. Meanwhile, a bank manager deals with an unwanted pregnancy, two sisters pursue romantic interests and a housewife gets back into the dating game.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisRevolutionary Road (2008)
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKira's Reason: A Love Story (2001)
Kira and Mads try to work out their marriage, after Kira has been two years in a mental institution, but is she really ready for the real world?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Charlotte (2022)
The true story of Charlotte Salomon, a young German-Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of the Second World War. Fiercely imaginative and deeply gifted, she dreams of becoming an artist. Her first love applauds her talent, which emboldens her resolve. When anti-Semitic policies inspire violent mobs, she escapes to the safety of the South of France. There she begins to paint again, and finds new love. But her work is interrupted, this time by a family tragedy that reveals an even darker secret. Believing that only an extraordinary act will save her, she embarks on the monumental adventure of painting her life story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Murder (2004)
To escape a secure but stifling life with her workaholic husband Sudhir, bored housewife Simran begins an affair with Sunny, an ex-boyfriend from her college days. However, when Sudhir grows suspicious and hires a private detective, the infidelity soon comes to light.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Afterglow?
The closest matches to Afterglow are Petulia (1968), Blind (2017) and The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Afterglow?
Start with Petulia (1968), the closest match to Afterglow.
What is the highest-rated movie like Afterglow?
A Woman Under the Influence (1974), rated 7.7/10 by 592 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Afterglow?
Doing Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Afterglow?
Yes: Petulia (1968), Blind (2017) and The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954).
How are movies similar to Afterglow chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Afterglow, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.