Movies like I Began to Wish (2003)
The best movies like I Began to Wish (2003) are The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011), The Music Never Stopped (2011) and Daddy Longlegs (2010). If I Began to Wish hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedIt's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)7.9/10 from 387 votes
- NewestMay December (2023)Released 2023
The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011)
A suburban father gets trapped in a one-sided incestuous relationship with his abusive son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Music Never Stopped (2011)
Henry struggles to bond with his estranged son, Gabriel, who suffers from a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. With Gabriel unable to shed the beliefs and interests that caused their physical and emotional distance, Henry must learn to embrace his son's choices and try to connect with him through music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDaddy Longlegs (2010)
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDavid Lynch: The Art Life (2017)
An intimate journey through the formative years of David Lynch's life. From his idyllic upbringing in small town America to the dark streets of Philadelphia, we follow Lynch as he traces the events that have helped to shape one of cinema's most enigmatic directors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Love My Dad (2022)
A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Never Sang for My Father (1970)
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThis Is Where I Leave You (2014)
When their father passes away, four grown, world-weary siblings return to their childhood home and are requested -- with an admonition -- to stay there together for a week, along with their free-speaking mother and a collection of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. As the brothers and sisters re-examine their shared history and the status of each tattered relationship among those who know and love them best, they reconnect in hysterically funny and emotionally significant ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRudderless (2014)
A grieving father in a downward spiral stumbles across a box of his recently deceased son's demo tapes and lyrics. Shocked by the discovery of this unknown talent, he forms a band in the hope of finding some catharsis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInheritance (2020)
The patriarch of a wealthy and powerful family suddenly passes away, leaving his wife and daughter with a shocking secret inheritance that threatens to unravel and destroy their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDivine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
In a sleepy Louisiana parish, a group of lifelong friends stage a rather unorthodox intervention to help a young playwright unravel the truth about her complicated mother and let go of her painful past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tree of Life (2011)
The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnd When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)
The story of a son's conflicting memories of his dying father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)
An estranged family gathers together in New York for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
Bill struggles to put together his shattered psyche.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMay December (2023)
Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Savages (2007)
A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMost (2003)
A poetic and powerful story of a father forced to choose between love and duty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fabelmans (2022)
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Beautiful Country (2004)
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFences (2016)
In 1950s Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to raise a family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like I Began to Wish and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Began to Wish?
The closest matches to I Began to Wish are The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011), The Music Never Stopped (2011) and Daddy Longlegs (2010). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Began to Wish?
Start with The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011), the closest match to I Began to Wish.
What is the highest-rated movie like I Began to Wish?
It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012), rated 7.9/10 by 387 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I Began to Wish?
May December (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like I Began to Wish?
Yes: The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011), The Music Never Stopped (2011) and Daddy Longlegs (2010).
How are movies similar to I Began to Wish chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Began to Wish, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.


















