Movies like Cleaner (2018)
The best movies like Cleaner (2018) are The River (1984), Salomé (2013) and Hardball (2001). If Cleaner hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInside I'm Dancing (2004)7.4/10 from 243 votes
- NewestExit Beirut (2025)Released 2025
The River (1984)
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalomé (2013)
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
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 thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInside I'm Dancing (2004)
Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
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 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 thisBobby 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 thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlex of Venice (2015)
After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPimp (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 thisMost (2003)
A poetic and powerful story of a father forced to choose between love and duty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this40 Acres (2025)
Hailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in rural Canada after the Civil War. In a famine-decimated near future, they now struggle to safeguard their farm, as they make one last stand against a vicious militia hell-bent on taking their 40 Acres.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIron Jawed Angels (2004)
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKoşar Adım (2020)
Omar is a young man who started out as a taxi driver. To get rid of his financial problems, he returns to the place he once went to gamble. He gambles away money that doesn't belong to him, and his way out of this situation takes him to a darker spot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Fermuar Ucu (2020)
Asya works in a clothing store and also takes care of her mother and younger brother. It needs a new coat for cold weather in winter. However, he cannot balance the money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sprinkles (2020)
While babysitting Charlotte, 17-year-old Julianne decides to take a pregnancy test. Before seeing the result, the 7-year-old interrupts Julianne's work and pulls her into her pure, childlike universe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
About The Fire On Rabbi Nissim Street (2020)
The house of Judah was burned. An absurd document demanding payment of the fire brigade drags the boy to the fire station to object.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Guard (2020)
Kamil earns his living as a watchman at a seaside location with his family. As people leave their summer homes and get ready for winter, it seems that a harsh and calm winter awaits Kamil and his family. Besides the financial difficulties Kamil had, he was left completely alone with his internal conflict.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Anoush (2020)
Anoush, a little girl, goes to borrow a wedding dress from a distant relative for her brother's wedding. Leyla, a teacher, comes home as a second intruder. Leyla has just been appointed to the village school. She learns that the village school had been abandoned many years ago and that there is no children in the school age. On the other hand, Anoush could not learn to write although he could read because her teacher resigned and left the village. Transportation between villages takes place once a day. Anoush and Leyla are forced to spend the night in the same house. Will the two passengers get what they want despite the long road?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
At a Riverside (2020)
As a civilian group with a woman about to give birth fleeing to the safe zone from the Serbian genocide with a sizzling radio, they find that they are not by the river with the dog barking they hear, but they are on the side of something else ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The White Tree (2018)
He who robs us of our dreams robs us of our life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Wedding Photo (2020)
Reyhan's dream is to take photos with her wedding gown. Go to the photo studio, her wedding dress was taken in a hurry, but Reyhan does not speak out for her dream. Father-in-law has spent money on everything but has a different account with the photographer than the previous year. For this reason, there is a dispute between the photographer and father-in-law and Reyhan cannot take pictures.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Exit Beirut (2025)
Even the rarest relationships can hardly describe a person's life. When your heart is elsewhere, you will always experience a paradox ... This movie is the story of a special relationship between Angela and Joan that takes place at night. Welcome to Beirut ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Cleaner and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cleaner?
The closest matches to Cleaner are The River (1984), Salomé (2013) and Hardball (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cleaner?
Start with The River (1984), the closest match to Cleaner.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cleaner?
Inside I'm Dancing (2004), rated 7.4/10 by 243 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cleaner?
Exit Beirut (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Cleaner?
Yes: The River (1984), Salomé (2013) and Hardball (2001).
How are movies similar to Cleaner chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cleaner, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.