Movies like The Idol (1966)
The best movies like The Idol (1966) are 20th Century Women (2016), Fish Tank (2009) and Anniversary (2025). If The Idol hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Elephant Man (1980)8.1/10 from 4,127 votes
- NewestAnniversary (2025)Released 2025
20th Century Women (2016)
In 1979 Santa Barbara, California, Dorothea Fields is a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie, at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women – Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist living as a boarder in the Fields' home and Julie, a savvy and provocative teenage neighbour – to help with Jamie's upbringing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFish Tank (2009)
Fifteen-year-old Mia is in a constant state of war with her family and the world around her. When she meets her party-girl mother’s charming new boyfriend Connor, she is amazed to find he returns her attention, and believes he might help her start to make sense of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnniversary (2025)
A close-knit family is caught in the turmoil of a controversial rising movement known as "The Change.” Ellen and Paul witness their lives fall apart when Ellen's former student Liz reappears and starts dating their son. As Liz becomes a part of the Taylor family, tensions rise and loyalties are tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Nest (2020)
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beautiful Country (2004)
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard 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 thisStrange 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisif.... (1968)
In an English boys' boarding school, social hierarchy reigns supreme and power remains in the hands of distanced and ineffectual teachers and callously vicious prefects in the Upper Sixth. Three Lower Sixth students, Wallace, Johnny and leader Mick Travis decide on a shocking course of action to redress the balance of privilege once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNocturnal Animals (2016)
Susan Morrow receives a book manuscript from her ex-husband – a man she left 20 years earlier – asking for her opinion of his writing. As she reads, she is drawn into the fictional life of Tony Hastings, a mathematics professor whose family vacation turns violent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHounddog (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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLuckiest Girl Alive (2022)
A successful woman in New York City finds her life upended when she is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKidulthood (2006)
A day in the life of a group of troubled 15-year-olds growing up in west London.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Always Comes (2025)
Facing eviction in a city her family can no longer afford, a woman plunges into a desperate and increasingly dangerous all-night search to raise $25,000.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013)
Coming of age story about two inner city youths, who are left to fend for themselves over the summer after their mothers are taken away by the authorities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTuesday (2024)
A mother and her teenage daughter must confront Death when it arrives in the form of an astonishing talking bird.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDonnie Darko (2001)
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFollowing (1999)
Bill, an idle, unemployed aspiring writer, walks the crowded streets of London following randomly chosen strangers, a seemingly innocent entertainment that becomes dangerous when he crosses paths with a mysterious character.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Only Living Boy in New York (2017)
When a young man learns that his overbearing father is having an affair, he tries to stop it, only to be seduced by the older woman as well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Congress (2013)
An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrute (1997)
Shipped off to a Romanian orphanage to finish his sentence, a British criminal finds romance but also discovers corruption inside the facility.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pi (1998)
A mathematical genius discovers a link between numbers and reality, and thus believes he can predict the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBend 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDial M for Murder (1954)
When her American lover visits London, a wealthy woman’s jealous husband hatches a plan to murder her and inherit her fortune.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIrina Palm (2007)
Maggie, a quiet retiring grandmother, finds herself helpless as her grandson’s health deteriorates. When one last chance appears, but money is desperately short, Maggie acts to raise the cash in a fashion that surprises everyone but her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShakespeare in Love (1998)
Young William Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, 'Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter', before it's even written. When lovely noblewoman Viola de Lesseps auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love — and Shakespeare's play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship intensifies, the comedy soon transforms into tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLe réfrigérateur (2019)
Two different but strangely complementary young women living together are pictured in a fragmented and non-linear narrative about incommunicability and alienation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jack & Sarah (1995)
Jack always lands on his feet. He lands on his feet when he marries the beautiful Sarah. He lands on his feet when he buys a luxurious new home. However, when Sarah goes into labour, he takes a tumble down the stairs and lands on his head. When he comes around he discovers he is the proud father of a baby girl, but deficient in the spouse department to the tune of 1.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Elephant Man (1980)
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Murder of Stephen Lawrence (1999)
Stephen Lawrence was a black London teenager murdered by white racists in 1993. His parents fought to have the crime properly investigated, culminating in a judicial enquiry into the event itself and also the inadequacies of the ensuing investigation by the London Metropolitan Police.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Idol and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Idol?
The closest matches to The Idol are 20th Century Women (2016), Fish Tank (2009) and Anniversary (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Idol?
Start with 20th Century Women (2016), the closest match to The Idol.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Idol?
The Elephant Man (1980), rated 8.1/10 by 4,127 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Idol?
Anniversary (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Idol?
Yes: 20th Century Women (2016), Fish Tank (2009) and Anniversary (2025).
How are movies similar to The Idol chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Idol, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.