Movies like Plain and Simple (2016)
The best movies like Plain and Simple (2016) are Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004), Eleanor the Great (2025) and Anuja (2024). If Plain and Simple hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAbove the Rim (1994)7.1/10 from 251 votes
- NewestAt Work (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchChaos (2001)Also in French
Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnuja (2024)
When a brilliant nine-year-old working in a sweatshop gets a chance to attend school, she must make a difficult choice for her and her sister's future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Corner in Wheat (1909)
On a whim, a greedy tycoon decides to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price of bread, forcing grain producers into charity lines and others further into poverty. The film contrasts the differences between the lives of those who work to grow the wheat and the life of the man who dabbles in its sale for profit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChaos (2001)
A bourgeois couple, modern yet conventional. One night by accident, a young prostitute barges into their lives. Hounded down, beaten up, threatened, she will continue to struggle, with the help of a well off lady, first for her survival-her resurrection-then for her dignity and freedom. Stormy encounters for everyone involved.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCéline (1992)
After the death of her father, 22-year-old Céline inherits most of his estate, but gives it to her stepmother, causing her greedy fiancé to leave her. Following several failed suicide attempts, Céline is hospitalized and comes to the attention of a nurse, Genevieve, who has struggled with depression. Under her personal care, Céline gradually recovers, and the two women grow close.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Adopted (2011)
Lisa and Marine live a life of relative companionship together, where the only man permitted into the equation is Lisa’s young son, Leo. However, their simple existence is thrown into disarray when Marie meets and falls in love with Alex, a customer at her bookshop. Lisa is left feeling excluded, and tension develop. But soon an unexpected accident forces all of those involved to reassess the situation and adopt a different position in each other’s lives.
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 thisThe Nest (2020)
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemorable (2019)
Aging painter Louis and his wife Michelle struggle to cope with Louis' advancing dementia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAt Work (2026)
A successful photographer gives up everything to devote himself to writing and discovers poverty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Diamond (2014)
Simon, a burglar on probation, agreed to go on the biggest shot of his life: The flight of the "Florentine", a mythical diamond set auction by its owners. To succeed, he must approach Julia, expert diamond for sale which is a considerable personal and family issue. Beyond a jigsaw particularly daring, Julia Simon will lead to a destiny she could not imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl 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 thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouria (2023)
A young woman who is passionate about ballet dancing and experiences a trauma, and then she meets other women who have experienced similar situations and they find a creative way to pursue their passion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Joke (2010)
A bunch of friends are celebrating the birthday of one of them when they decide to play a joke on him. None of them could imagine the consequences that would befall them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Angst & Flesh (2019)
Elena loves Abel, she is drowning on the anguish of being, her subconscious manifests her urges; during the funeral misfortune sets in. Laceration and calm, devotion and fear, angst and flesh.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Dog (2017)
When Albin lands a much-wanted acting job, he doesn't hesitate to make it his top priority in life. But he's still not clear about what the job entails.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Success (2018)
Nils works with a comedy talk-show but doesn’t get the respect that he thinks he deserves. At a pitch meeting one of his ideas gets stolen by his colleague, Fabian. Everyone loves the idea, but no one except Nils realizes the fact that Fabian stole it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Ambulance Man (2005)
The Ambulance Man is a story about a paramedic who faces a difficult time at home, as he lives with an abusive partner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Amour Océan (2022)
Jeanne, 17, enjoys the last days of summer before getting back to high school. One morning, with her little sister Camille, they decide to run away from the police station where they live with their father to see the ocean one last time. On the beach, Jeanne meets a young surfer. He’s handsome, she’s intrigued. Jeanne feels a strange desire invading her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Suppietij (1991)
The extremities of a middle-class being ramble on, reflecting poetically on the wretchedness of moderation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
De Civitate Rei (1993)
Costante dies and leaves his wife Torella his computer discovery. Torella entrusts the disk to her husband’s friend Gervasio, a lazy man scorned by his family. Twenty years later, Torella tries to get back the disk but Gervasio, who has become rich thanks to the discovery, agrees to go to court over it and comes away the winner. He therefore summons divine misfortune: he loses his third son, suffocated by wealth; kills his wife in a blind rage; and is executed by his first-born son who, after a violent panic attack and reckoning with his conscience, chooses life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Fiorenzo (1995)
A man is sick and he doesn’t show himself. Three people don’t go to visit him and they show themselves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cat's Eye (2025)
A woman visits a personal stretcher, only to have unexpected objects pulled out of her body. A near silent witness statement to the reopening of invisible wounds in an abstract pursuit of healing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Plain and Simple?
The closest matches to Plain and Simple are Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004), Eleanor the Great (2025) and Anuja (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Plain and Simple?
Start with Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004), the closest match to Plain and Simple.
What is the highest-rated movie like Plain and Simple?
Above the Rim (1994), rated 7.1/10 by 251 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Plain and Simple?
At Work (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Plain and Simple?
Yes: Chaos (2001), Céline (1992) and The Adopted (2011).
How are movies similar to Plain and Simple chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Plain and Simple, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.