Movies like Permissive (1970)
The best movies like Permissive (1970) are Pimp (2018), Suburbia (1984) and The Substitute (1996). If Permissive hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCrossroads (1986)7.4/10 from 504 votes
- NewestBeyond Belief (2026)Released 2026
Pimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbia (1984)
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Substitute (1996)
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Valachi Papers (1972)
When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPerformance. (1970)
In underworld terms, Chas Devlin is a 'performer,' a gangster with a talent for violence and intimidation. Turner is a reclusive rock superstar. When Chas and Turner meet, their worlds collide—and the impact is both exotic and explosive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwitchblade Sisters (1975)
The leader of an inner city girl gang is challenged when a new girl moves into the neighborhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAl Capone (1959)
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Wish 3 (1985)
Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Write Love on Her Arms (2015)
The story follows 19-year-old Renee who has always loved fairy tales: the idea of a princess, a hero and a happily ever after. But Renee’s life is that of a darker tale: she’s a young woman battling addiction, depression and self-injury. In a creative blend of artistic fantasy balanced with harsh reality, the movie follows Renee on her courageous journey towards recovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClubbed (2008)
An underworld drama set in the early 1980s, about a lonely factory worker whose life is transformed when he becomes a nightclub doorman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisXiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrossroads (1986)
A wanna-be blues guitar virtuoso seeks a long-lost song by legendary musician, Robert Johnson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEl padrino: The Latin Godfather (2004)
In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper in the drug world, and his new life as a dealer begins. In a world where a man wants everything, he may end up with nothing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGloria (1999)
After serving a prison term for her boyfriend, a streetwise, middle-aged moll named Gloria stands up against the mobs, which is complicated by a six-year-old urchin with a will of his own, whom she reluctantly takes under her wing after his family has been gunned down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisIll Manors (2012)
Ensemble film revolving around characters living in Forest Gate, London. Over the course of a few days, six inter-linking stories explore issues of drug use, prostitution and urban poverty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outfit (1973)
A two-bit criminal takes on the Mafia to avenge his brother's death. Earl Macklin is a small time criminal who is released from prison after an unsuccessful bank robbery only to discover that a pair of gunmen killed his brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShame (2011)
Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarried Too Young (1962)
Two high-school sweethearts get married, then find that married life isn't what they thought it would be. In their desperation, they get mixed up with a gang of car thieves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Beyond Belief (2026)
An aspiring teenage rock star trains for a marathon after hearing a mysterious voice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
News at Eleven (1986)
When television news director Eric Ross pressures esteemed senior anchor Frank Kenley to sensationalize the news, Kenley isn't pleased -- and the conflict comes to a head when a local high school sex scandal hits the news. As Ross pushes him to play up the story, Kenley wrestles with the moral complexities of the situation and tries to find the balance between the public's need to know and the individual's rights.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Big Doll House (1971)
Female prisoners in a Philippine jail are being subjected to sadistic torture. Five of the women, along with the help of two men, plot an escape.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBad Girls Go to Hell (1965)
On the run after dispatching her rapist, homemaker Ellen flees to the Big City, where further misfortunes befall her. When she finally finds stability, she discovers that her landlady's son is a detective, threatening her newfound identity and peace of mind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFemale Slaves Revenge (1997)
After a slave uprising, ten Black mistresses of a white landowner capture their master after he refuses to turn over his ill-gained wealth. A trial to decide his fate ensues.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Massage Girls (1980)
Hong Kong Cat III softcore exploitation film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Every Night When You Take the Garbage Out (2020)
A 13-year old lonely teenager girl is madly in love with a greasy haired, 30-year old rocker boy in the neighbor. One day she decides to confess her feelings to him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Living Venus (1961)
Jack and his photographer partner start up a men's magazine called 'Pagan'. The magazine becomes a success, he leaves his fiancée, marries his star model, and complications ensue.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Boys Behind Bars 2 (2014)
During a disturbance in the prison, two twin brothers serving a sentence for drug dealing are locked into the shower blocks, only to be confronted by the savage and deranged Darrell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Permissive and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Permissive?
The closest matches to Permissive are Pimp (2018), Suburbia (1984) and The Substitute (1996). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Permissive?
Start with Pimp (2018), the closest match to Permissive.
What is the highest-rated movie like Permissive?
Crossroads (1986), rated 7.4/10 by 504 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Permissive?
Beyond Belief (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Permissive?
Yes: Pimp (2018), Suburbia (1984) and The Substitute (1996).
How are movies similar to Permissive chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Permissive, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.