Movies like The Sinner (1940)
The best movies like The Sinner (1940) are Faces (1968), The Ties (2020) and Dream Lover (1994). If The Sinner hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedOn My Skin (2018)8.0/10 from 1,908 votes
- NewestThe Thing with Feathers (2025)Released 2025
- In ItalianThe Ties (2020)Also in Italian
Faces (1968)
Middle-aged suburban husband Richard abruptly tells his wife, Maria, that he wants a divorce. As Richard takes up with a younger woman, Maria enjoys a night on the town with her friends and meets a younger man. As the couple and those around them confront a seemingly futile search for what they've lost -- love, excitement, passion -- this classic American independent film explores themes of aging and alienation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ties (2020)
Naples, early 1980s. The strained marriage between Aldo and Vanda is fractured one evening when Aldo admits, unprompted, his infidelity. Equally hurt and bewildered, Vanda attempts to hide her pain from the couple's two school-age kids, lest they discover that their cramped apartment is not a home of trust and love. 30 years later, Aldo and Vanda are still tied together, but their relationship with each other and their children continues to be defined by what happened all those years ago.
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 thisRed Desert (1964)
In an industrializing Italian town, a married woman, rendered mentally unstable after a traffic accident, drifts into an affair with a friend of her husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rain People (1969)
When a housewife finds out she is pregnant, she runs out of town looking for freedom to reevaluate her life decisions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Raffle (1991)
Struggling with a financial crisis, a good-looking widow decides to put herself up for grabs. However, going through with it becomes almost impossible with a new love and the legal system thrown into the mix.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisButterfly on a Wheel (2007)
A sociopathic kidnapper methodically pushes a desperate pair of parents to their absolute breaking point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thing with Feathers (2025)
Following the death of his wife, a young father's hold on reality crumbles, and a strange presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pumpkin Eater (1964)
Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEffie Gray (2014)
A look at the mysterious relationship between Victorian art critic John Ruskin and his teenage bride Effie Gray.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisHoly Lands (2019)
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (2014)
A New York couple's relationship is tested after the loss of their child. This film is the wide-released combination of the original two :him and :her volumes that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlong the Ridge (2006)
A young father and his two children struggle to find harmony after his wife leaves them for another man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Killing of Two Lovers (2021)
In a rural Utah town, David, a father of four, grapples with his separation from wife Nikki as she pursues a new relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sheltering Sky (1990)
An American couple drift toward emptiness in postwar North Africa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVermiglio (2024)
In the last days of the Second World War, a deserting soldier disrupts a tranquil and isolated mountain community. For one family, his arrival brings excitement and romance, but tragedy lies in wait.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOn My Skin (2018)
The incredible true story behind the most controversial Italian court cases in recent years. Stefano Cucchi was arrested for a minor crime and mysteriously found dead during his detention. In one week's time, a family is changed forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGods (2008)
A Peruvian teen lusts after his wild sister while the new wife of their difficult, wealthy father tries to hide her lower-class background.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Apartment (1996)
Max is a former playboy who has decided to settle down by marrying his current love, Muriel. However, when Max catches a glimpse of the great lost love of his life, he becomes obsessed with rekindling their relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDestiny (1921)
As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman poisons herself in order to join him and is met by Death, who gives her three opportunities to prove that love is stronger than death, thereby freeing her beloved from his fate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood Dried Hands (2024)
A reluctant serial killer grapples with his base desires and longs for his own death, as a small town Detective closes in on his trail to stop the killing spree while dealing with her own debilitating trauma.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Very Edge (1963)
Tracey Lawrence is assautled in her home and is so affected by the traumatic event she now finds all men totally repulsive, including her husband. Her attitude does not change with time, and to make matters worse her husband has got romantically involved with his secretary. Also, the police still have not tracked down Tracey's attacker and there is no guarantee that she is safe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
All the Truth About Schelps (2004)
Three men are united around the coffin of a woman they have never seen before. They have been summoned to the morgue by their old school-friend, now a factory boss, who promised the old, lonely lady a decent funeral.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
About Elly (2009)
The mysterious disappearance of a kindergarten teacher during a picnic in the north of Iran is followed by a series of misadventures for her fellow travelers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLovers: A True Story (1991)
A torrid affair between a recently discharged serviceman and an attractive widow leads to murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohnny Eager (1941)
A charming racketeer seduces the DA's stepdaughter for revenge, then falls in love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDie blonde Christl (1933)
Hans, a young journeyman violin maker, meets and falls in love with Christel. But he has to go to Milan for a year. Before he leaves, the two get engaged. Christel's mother, who is against the union, intercepts Hans' letters from Italy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Sinner and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Sinner?
The closest matches to The Sinner are Faces (1968), The Ties (2020) and Dream Lover (1994). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Sinner?
Start with Faces (1968), the closest match to The Sinner.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Sinner?
On My Skin (2018), rated 8.0/10 by 1,908 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Sinner?
The Thing with Feathers (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like The Sinner?
Yes: The Ties (2020), Red Desert (1964) and The Raffle (1991).
How are movies similar to The Sinner chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Sinner, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.