Movies like I'm Not Ashamed (2016)
The best movies like I'm Not Ashamed (2016) are The Hate U Give (2018), Freedom Writers (2007) and Mikey and Nicky (1976). If I'm Not Ashamed hooked you with its drama and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPaths of Glory (1957)8.3/10 from 3,437 votes
- NewestStill Life (2026)Released 2026
The Hate U Give (2018)
Raised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, she's torn between her two very different worlds as she tries to speak her truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFreedom Writers (2007)
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMikey and Nicky (1976)
Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob boss wants him killed. Terrified, he calls Mikey, his friend since childhood and a fellow gangster. So begins a long night…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Friend Dahmer (2017)
Jeffrey Dahmer struggles with a difficult family life as a young boy. During his teenage years he slowly transforms, edging closer to the serial killer he was to become.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBully (2001)
A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bygone (2019)
When a young rancher crosses paths with a Lakota girl from a nearby reservation, her mysterious disappearance sparks a search that uncovers a harrowing past and hints at a dire future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fallout (2021)
In the wake of a school tragedy, Vada, Mia and Quinton form a unique and dynamic bond as they navigate the never linear, often confusing journey to heal in a world that feels forever changed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnconditional (2012)
Samantha Crawford is living a storybook life: she’s happily married, she lives on a ranch where she keeps her beloved horse, and the stories she’s told and illustrated since childhood have become published books. When her husband Billy is killed in a senseless act of violence, Sam loses her faith and her will to live. But a death-defying encounter with two children leads to a reunion with Joe, her oldest friend. As Sam watches “Papa” Joe care for and love the kids in his under-resourced neighborhood, she begins to realize that no matter life’s circumstances, the love of God is always reaching out to us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
Pennsylvania, 1993. After getting caught with another girl, teenager Cameron Post is sent to a conversion therapy center run by the strict Dr. Lydia Marsh and her brother, Reverend Rick, whose treatment consists in repenting for feeling “same sex attraction.” Cameron befriends fellow sinners Jane and Adam, thus creating a new family to deal with the surrounding intolerance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrave the Dark (2025)
When Mr. Deen discovers one of his students has been living out of his car and thrown into jail, he decides to bail him out. Determined to curb Nate’s self-destructive behavior, Deen quickly discovers a host of dark secrets slowly tearing Nate apart. What began as a good deed becomes a desperate fight to save Nate from his own demons. As Nate spirals deeper into despair, Deen must decide how far he’s willing to go to save a kid on the brink of losing everything—even himself.
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 thisMy Brother's Keeper (2021)
Returning war veteran SFC Travis Fox has one more battle to fight – PTSD. Following an improvised explosive device attack that killed his best friend and their entire Ranger platoon, Travis returns to his hometown to settle the mysterious affairs of his late parents. In searching for answers, he uncovers a new obstacle and finds support from church counselor Tiffany Robertson. Slowly beginning to rediscover his faith in God, Travis uncovers a secret hidden by his friend Donnie that threatens his newfound faith, restores his guilt, and causes him to consider the unthinkable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
After her son Kevin commits a horrific act, troubled mother Eva reflects on her complicated relationship with her disturbed son as he grew from a toddler into a teenager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPreacher's Kid (2010)
Longing to experience more of life, twentysomething preacher's daughter Angie strikes out on her own for the very first time and joins a traveling gospel show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStomp the Yard (2007)
After the death of his younger brother, a troubled 19-year-old street dancer from Los Angeles is able to bypass juvenile hall by enrolling in the historically black, Truth University in Atlanta, Georgia. But his efforts to get an education and woo the girl he likes are sidelined when he is courted by the top two campus fraternities, both of which want and need his fierce street-style dance moves to win the highly coveted national step show competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJoe Bell (2020)
The true story of a small town, working class father who embarks on a solo walk across the U.S. to crusade against bullying after his son is tormented in high school for being gay.
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 thisRequiem for a Dream (2000)
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWillenbrock (2005)
Second-hand car sales man Willenbrock has everything that he could ever wish for. He is married, has two lovers, a cottage in the German city Grünen, and a BMW. Yet one day while at his cottage he gets mugged and his life is drastically changed. Little by little the world he once felt safe in falls apart around him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary confinement. Driven nearly mad by loneliness and despair, Stroud's life gains new meaning when he happens upon a helpless baby sparrow in the exercise yard and nurses it back to health. Despite having only a third grade education, Stroud goes on to become a renowned ornithologist and achieves a greater sense of freedom and purpose behind bars than most people find in the outside world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCinderella Man (2005)
The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKavisamrat (2022)
Biography of Viswandha Satyanarayna. A Telugu Poet who ruled telugu literary world for five decades from 1920 to 1970
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Paths of Glory (1957)
A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStill Life (2026)
After their son is stillborn at 24 weeks, Jess navigates an unexpected form of motherhood marked by silent milestones and uncomfortable social encounters, while Max struggles to hold their family together through grief.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The China Syndrome (1979)
While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, opportunistic reporter Kimberly Wells witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. Wells is determined to publicize the incident, but soon finds herself entangled in a sinister conspiracy to keep the full impact of the incident a secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll the President's Men (1976)
During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAndrei Rublev (1966)
An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTears of Cem Karaca (2024)
Against a backdrop of political unrest in Turkey, this biopic charts the life of Anatolian rock singer Cem Karaca, focusing on his revolutionary ideals. Heightened emotions and moments of threat reflect the country's rising tensions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I'm Not Ashamed?
The closest matches to I'm Not Ashamed are The Hate U Give (2018), Freedom Writers (2007) and Mikey and Nicky (1976). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I'm Not Ashamed?
Start with The Hate U Give (2018), the closest match to I'm Not Ashamed.
What is the highest-rated movie like I'm Not Ashamed?
Paths of Glory (1957), rated 8.3/10 by 3,437 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I'm Not Ashamed?
Still Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like I'm Not Ashamed?
Yes: The Hate U Give (2018), Freedom Writers (2007) and Mikey and Nicky (1976).
How are movies similar to I'm Not Ashamed chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I'm Not Ashamed, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.