Movies like Deacons for Defense (2005)
The best movies like Deacons for Defense (2005) are Girl in the Box (2016), Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013) and American Son (2019). If Deacons for Defense hooked you with its drama and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Hate U Give (2018)8.1/10 from 2,266 votes
- NewestThe Legend of Van Dorn (2026)Released 2026
Girl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMuhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013)
Muhammad Ali’s historic Supreme Court battle from behind closed doors. When Ali was drafted into the Vietnam War at the height of his boxing career, his claim to conscientious objector status led to a controversial legal battle that rattled the U.S. judicial system right up to the highest court in the land.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Son (2019)
Time passes and tension mounts in a Florida police station as an estranged interracial couple awaits news of their missing teenage son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove You to Death (2019)
Inspired by a true story, this film tells the shocking tale of a mother and daughter who are nothing like they seem, their tumultuous relationship ending in a brutal murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Great Debaters (2007)
The true story of a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African-American college students into a historical powerhouse that took on the Harvard elite.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain (2021)
Based on the true story of the events that led to the death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., an elderly African American veteran with bipolar disorder, who was killed during a conflict with police officers who were dispatched to check on him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSon of the South (2021)
In civil rights era Montgomery, Alabama, Klansman's grandson Bob Zellner must choose which side of history to be on during the Movement. Defying his family and white Southern norms, he fought against social injustice, repression and violence to change the world around him
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDisgrace (2008)
Disgrace is the story of a South African professor of English who loses everything: his reputation, his job, his peace of mind, his good looks, his dreams of artistic success, and finally even his ability to protect his cherished daughter. After having an affair with a student, he moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTrees of Peace (2021)
Four women from different backgrounds forge an unbreakable sisterhood while trapped and in hiding during the genocide in Rwanda.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGlory (1989)
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNickel Boys (2024)
Chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRosewood (1997)
Spurred by a white woman's lie, vigilantes destroy a black Florida town and slay inhabitants in 1923.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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 drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFree State of Jones (2016)
In 1863, Mississippi farmer Newt Knight serves as a medic for the Confederate Army. Opposed to slavery, Knight would rather help the wounded than fight the Union. After his nephew dies in battle, Newt returns home to Jones County to safeguard his family but is soon branded an outlaw deserter. Forced to flee, he finds refuge with a group of runaway slaves hiding out in the swamps. Forging an alliance with the slaves and other farmers, Knight leads a rebellion that would forever change history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best of Enemies (2019)
Centers on the unlikely relationship between Ann Atwater, an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis, a local Ku Klux Klan leader who reluctantly co-chaired a community summit, battling over the desegregation of schools in Durham, North Carolina during the racially-charged summer of 1971. The incredible events that unfolded would change Durham and the lives of Atwater and Ellis forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOrigin (2023)
While investigating the global phenomenon of caste and its dark influence on society, a journalist faces unfathomable personal loss and uncovers the beauty of human resilience.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Call to Spy (2020)
The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These civilian women form an unlikely sisterhood while entangled in dangerous missions to turn the tide of the war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeberg (2019)
An ambitious young FBI agent is assigned to investigate iconic actress Jean Seberg when she becomes embroiled in the tumultuous civil rights movement in late 1960s Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010)
A lesbian in the 1800s who keeps a detailed account of her life written in coded diaries attempts to live independently while juggling an affair with a married woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrim: el asesinato de la calle del Turco (2014)
Madrid, Spain, December 27, 1870. General Juan Prim i Prats, president of the Council of Ministers and Minister of War gets involved in a treacherous ambush, is mortal injured and dies three days later. A mystery, a conspiracy, a murder that was never solved.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Newton Boys (1998)
The story of the Newton gang, the most successful bank robbers in history, owing to their good planning and minimal violence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrownsville Bred (2025)
Set against the vibrant yet challenging backdrop of her urban neighborhood, the complexities of adolescence are explored as Elaine faces an unexpected upheaval in her life due to her father, Manny, an aspiring salsa musician whose struggles lead him away from his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
While confronting the disapproving father of his girlfriend Lola, Native American man Willie Boy kills the man in self-defense, triggering a massive manhunt, led by Deputy Sheriff Christopher Cooper.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNapoleon (1927)
A biopic of former Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing the Corsican's career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign) to his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (where a real storm is intercut with a political storm) and the Terror, culminating in his triumphant 1797 invasion of Italy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHitler at the Opera (2014)
Aaron is an Israeli singer who comes to Poland for a guest performance in a provincial theater. The artist is warmly welcomed by the management and the theater team. During one of the rehearsals, Aaron spots backstage what he thinks looks like Adolf Hitler. Attempts are stopped and the hosts are accused of anti-Semitism. A chain of absurd situations follows, and the revealed prejudices lead to an escalation of the conflict.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Founder (2016)
The true story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Legend of Van Dorn (2026)
A brilliant but disgraced Civil War general gets a second chance in a quiet Tennessee town, but as his bold tactics win battles, a dangerous affair with a married woman, and her jealous husband’s vengeance, threatens to destroy him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
Respected black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Deacons for Defense?
The closest matches to Deacons for Defense are Girl in the Box (2016), Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013) and American Son (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Deacons for Defense?
Start with Girl in the Box (2016), the closest match to Deacons for Defense.
What is the highest-rated movie like Deacons for Defense?
The Hate U Give (2018), rated 8.1/10 by 2,266 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Deacons for Defense?
The Legend of Van Dorn (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Deacons for Defense?
Yes: Girl in the Box (2016), Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013) and American Son (2019).
How are movies similar to Deacons for Defense chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Deacons for Defense, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.