Movies like West of Sunshine (2018)
The best movies like West of Sunshine (2018) are The Gambler (2014), Cassandra's Dream (2007) and Hardball (2001). If West of Sunshine 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 Lion King (1994)8.3/10 from 20,402 votes
- NewestPhilia (2026)Released 2026
The Gambler (2014)
Literature professor Jim Bennett leads a secret life as a high-stakes gambler. Always a risk-taker, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Staying one step ahead, he pits his creditor against the operator of an illicit gambling ring while garnering the attention of Frank, a paternalistic loan shark. As his relationship with a student deepens, Bennett must risk everything for a second chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCassandra's Dream (2007)
The tale of two brothers with serious financial woes. When a third party proposes they turn to crime, things go bad and the two become enemies.
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 thisFierce People (2006)
A massage therapist looking to overcome her addictions and reconnect with her son, whose father is an anthropologist in South America studying the Yanomani people, moves in with a wealthy ex-client in New Jersey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRounders (1998)
Poker addict Mike McDermott knows the game inside out, but loses his money one night in a game to Russian-American gangster Teddy KGB. Promising his partner Jo he'll give up, he meets up with best friend Lester 'Worm' Murphy, just out of prison and owing lots of money to the wrong kind of people. McDermott becomes his co-guarantor and now there's only one way to raise the money, the pair have to get back into the game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Champ (1979)
Billy used to be a great boxer, but he's settled into a hardscrabble life that revolves around drinking, training horses, and the one bright spot in his existence — his young son, T.J. Although Billy has had custody of T.J. since his wife, Annie, left the family years ago, her return prompts a new struggle for the former fighter. Determined to hold on to his son, Billy gets back into the ring to try and recapture his past success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Air I Breathe (2007)
A gambler’s bet spiraling into chaos, a gangster's prophetic visions, a pop star’s dark entanglement, a doctor’s desperate race against time to rescue his beloved... Four interconnected stories reveal life unfolding through four emotional pillars — joy, passion, grief, and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Good Person (2023)
Allison's life falls apart following her involvement in a fatal accident. The unlikely relationship she forms with her would-be father-in-law helps her live a life worth living.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Champ (1931)
A broken-down alcoholic prizefighter struggles to keep custody of his adoring son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
A tale of murder, crime and punishment set in the summer of 1949. Ed Crane, a barber in a small California town, is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris' infidelity and a mysterious opportunity presents him with a chance to change it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCockfighter (1974)
A man who trains fighting cocks vows to remain silent until one of his birds wins a championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gambler (1974)
New York City English professor Axel Freed outwardly seems like an upstanding citizen. But privately Freed is in the clutches of a severe gambling addiction that threatens to destroy him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Games (1987)
A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Most Violent Year (2014)
A thriller set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and centered on the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lion King (1994)
Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHard Eight (1997)
A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife as a House (2001)
When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvita (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 thisSon In The Barbershop (2015)
A teenager overhears a phone call and inserts himself into the father-son story behind it. As this strange 'conversation' develops, two separately wounded lives slowly wind into a double helix of pain, regret, and filial love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coast to Coast (2004)
Barnaby and Maxine Pierce, an embattled married couple in Connecticut, are on the verge of divorce. Their son is getting married in California and they decide to drive across the country to attend. Along the way, as they visit family and friends, they reflect on their tattered relationship and the events that transpired to create the estrangement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Philia (2026)
Miguel arrived at his home after being beaten up. His boyfriend, Jorge, attends to his wounds. However, the process of recovery is staled due to Miguel’s ex-wife, Sara, showing up, claiming that she is pregnant, forcing Miguel to make a decision between the past and the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Final Wager (2024)
Former sports gambling addict Chance needs $60,000 to save his mother from nursing home eviction. So he falls back into his old habits, only to learn he's never lost a bet on Christmas. Is this the Christmas miracle he's been waiting for? Or just an addict who can't control himself?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Living Room of the Nation (2009)
The Living Room of the Nation is a documentary film that portrays a number of Finnish living rooms. The film is a story of changes, the inevitable passing of time, and the human desire to be needed, visible.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Barbershop (2002)
A day in the life of a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. Calvin, who inherited the struggling business from his deceased father, views the shop as nothing but a burden and waste of his time. After selling the shop to a local loan shark, Calvin slowly begins to see his father's vision and legacy and struggles with the notion that he just sold it out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPusher II (2004)
Tonny is released from prison - again. This time he has his mind set on changing his broken down life, but that is easier said than done.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuscipe (TBA)
After years, a Catholic priest tries to rekindle a broken relationship with his secret daughter. But to her, he's just the man (or father) who never wanted her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like West of Sunshine?
The closest matches to West of Sunshine are The Gambler (2014), Cassandra's Dream (2007) and Hardball (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after West of Sunshine?
Start with The Gambler (2014), the closest match to West of Sunshine.
What is the highest-rated movie like West of Sunshine?
The Lion King (1994), rated 8.3/10 by 20,402 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like West of Sunshine?
Philia (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like West of Sunshine?
Yes: The Gambler (2014), Cassandra's Dream (2007) and Hardball (2001).
How are movies similar to West of Sunshine chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside West of Sunshine, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.