Movies like Nowhere Boy (2009)
The best movies like Nowhere Boy (2009) are Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), La Bamba (1987) and Hounddog (2008). If Nowhere Boy hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBetter Man (2024)7.6/10 from 957 votes
- NewestBetter Man (2024)Released 2024
Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988)
Siblings Maisie and Tony, along with their mother, gather for their sister Eileen's wedding. It is a joyous occasion, but through flashbacks, it becomes clear that the family was not always happy. Their father was physically abusive to his wife and left the children emotionally traumatized. As a result, the children have grown into unhappy adults, looking for love they didn't receive when they were young.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLa Bamba (1987)
Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his jealous brother, Bob, and becomes haunted by a recurring nightmare of a plane crash just as he begins his first national tour alongside Buddy Holly.
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 thisRay (2004)
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRocketman (2019)
The story of Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCadillac Records (2008)
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeavenly Creatures (1994)
Precocious teenager Juliet moves to New Zealand with her family and soon befriends the quiet, brooding Pauline through their shared love of fantasy and literature. This friendship gradually develops into an intense and obsessive bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBetter Man (2024)
Follow Robbie Williams' journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Doors (1991)
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThis Must Be the Place (2011)
A bored, retired rock star living in Ireland sets out to find his dead father's tormentor, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is a refugee in the U.S.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBorn to Be Blue (2015)
Jazz legend Chet Baker finds love and redemption when he stars in a movie about his own troubled life to mount a comeback.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHillbilly Elegy (2020)
An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
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 thisThe Runaways (2010)
Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, two rebellious teenagers from Southern California, become the frontwomen for The Runaways -- the now-legendary group that paved the way for future generations of female rockers. Under the Svengali-like influence of impresario Kim Fowley, the band becomes a huge success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBird (2024)
12-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids, and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI'm Not There (2007)
Six actors portray six personas of music legend Bob Dylan in scenes depicting various stages of his life, chronicling his rise from unknown folksinger to international icon and revealing how Dylan constantly reinvented himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTalking To My Mother (2014)
A young Asian American man struggles for both personal happiness and the love of his mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Khush (1991)
Khush means ecstatic pleasure in Urdu. For South Asian lesbians and gay men in Britain, North America, and India, the term captures the blissful intricacies of being queer and of color. Inspiring testimonies bridge geographical differences to locate shared experiences of isolation and exoticization but also the unremitting joys and solidarity of being khush.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Craft (1996)
A Catholic school newcomer falls in with a clique of teen witches who wield their powers against all who dare to cross them -- be they teachers, rivals or meddlesome parents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Accidental Prime Minister (2019)
Based on the memoir by Indian policy analyst Sanjaya Baru, The Accidental Prime Minister explores Manmohan Singh's tenure as the Prime Minister of India, and the kind of control he had over his cabinet and the country.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
1+1=3 (1979)
An unmarried actress in Munich becomes pregnant but decides against marrying the child's father, and eventually moves in with a more agreeable man she meets on a winter sports holiday.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
2071 - Horoscopes and Psychotropics (2021)
It is a feature film in development and research. It tells the story of a pharmacopornographic treatment imposed on a woman after an attempted suicide. But it is the year 2071 that an alternative comes to her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Evita (1996)
The hit musical based on the life of Evita Duarte, an Argentinian actress who eventually became the wife of Argentinian president Juan Perón, and the most beloved and hated woman in Argentina.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Headless Woman (2008)
After running into something with her car, Vero experiences a particular psychological state. She realizes she might have killed someone.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod's Offices (2008)
A realist dramedy about dedicated social workers who devote their long shifts to helping pregnant women.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Linha de Passe (2008)
In the periphery of São Paulo, the pregnant single mother Cleuza works as maid in the apartment of a middle-class family. Each of her sons has a different unknown father: the oldest, Dênis, has a baby son that lives with his mother and he works as motorcycle courier.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Nowhere Boy?
The closest matches to Nowhere Boy are Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), La Bamba (1987) and Hounddog (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Nowhere Boy?
Start with Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), the closest match to Nowhere Boy.
What is the highest-rated movie like Nowhere Boy?
Better Man (2024), rated 7.6/10 by 957 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Nowhere Boy?
Better Man (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Nowhere Boy?
Yes: Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), La Bamba (1987) and Hounddog (2008).
How are movies similar to Nowhere Boy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Nowhere Boy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.