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Movies like The Second Look (1989)

The best movies like The Second Look (1989) are Anuja (2024), A Corner in Wheat (1909) and Hounddog (2008). If The Second Look hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Anuja (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

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  2. A 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

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  3. Hounddog (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

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  4. The Perfect Cheerleader (2019)

    When college freshman Cassie earns a spot on the cheerleading squad, she is overjoyed about the new friendships, status, and access to social events that come along with being on the team. When she meets Terry, the charismatic President of the Alumni Association, at an event, Cassie finds herself falling for this older man despite their age difference. Terry even helps her out by paying part of her tuition when she falls on hard times. But all is not as it seems.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. Iron 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

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  6. Eleanor 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

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  7. Hardball (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

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  8. Embattled (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

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  9. The Short History of the Long Road (2019)

    Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Hands 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

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  11. 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

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  12. The Neighbors' Window (2019)

    The story of a middle-aged woman with small children whose life is shaken up when two free-spirited twenty-somethings move in across the street.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  13. Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)

    A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. Bastard 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 this
  15. My 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

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  16. Holler (2021)

    In a forgotten pocket of Southern Ohio where American manufacturing and opportunity are drying up, a determined young woman finds a ticket out when she is accepted to college. Alongside her older brother, Ruth Avery joins a dangerous scrap metal crew in order to pay her way. Together, they spend one brutal winter working the scrap yards during the day and stealing valuable metal from the once thriving factories by night. With her goal in sight, Ruth finds that the ultimate cost of an education for a girl like her may be more than she bargained for, and she soon finds herself torn between a promising future and the family she would leave behind.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  17. I Believe in Unicorns (2015)

    Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  18. The Safety of Objects (2002)

    In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  19. The Congress (2013)

    An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  20. Normal (2003)

    A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  21. Into the Thicket (2023)

    A young woman struggles with her fractured home life, failing to find common ground with her volatile yet emotionally repressed mother. Longing for a maternal figure, she continues to be haunted by visions of a mystical woman, and soon, dream intertwines with reality as she discovers a deeper connection to the mysterious lady of the woods.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  22. See Me Live (2018)

    Student Bex is thrust into a difficult situation after a one-night stand leads to an online altercation that will change her life forever.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  23. The Gay Agenda 26 (2024)

    In this anthology of shorts, the phrase “Gay Agenda” is reclaimed from the religious right and transformed into a celebration of gay culture. Sit back and enjoy “The Carer,” “Into the Storm,” and “Floating Melon.”

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  24. August (2019)

    Tucked away in the mountains of North Carolina, a boy decides to run.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  25. La Valigia (2014)

    Secluded from the rest of the world in a bare and anonymous room, an old man recalls the most important moments of his life thanks to the memories contained in a mysterious suitcase.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  26. The Difference Between Us (2025)

    A conflicted woman discovers she is pregnant and must confront unresolved issues shadowing her relationship.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  27. Argie-Bargie! (2024)

    JOHNNY a disgruntled supporter of Irlam Football Club is ambushed by MACK a rival football supporter, outside the local football clubhouse for post-match drinks. Johnny has to decide between defending his civic pride or fleeing for safety.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  28. Connecting Flights (2014)

    On a summer day Julia gets on a plane, on the way to her destination, not knowing what awaits her. Eduard is in a barbershop where the Barber is annoyed by a fly. The Barber tries to chase the fly away. At that moment, panic breaks loose on the plane...

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  29. Look Up (TBA)

    As a society, we live in a world where we're so used to staring at our screens constantly, we've forgotten what it feels like to be disconnected. "Look Up" allows us to showcase how we're meant to be so much more, how we could be so much more. All you have to do is look up.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  30. In and Out (1999)

    Antoine and Mathieu walk along a road hoping for a bus that does not arrive. Complicity, revelation, embarrassment... But the road is long and the roles can be reversed.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Like The Second Look and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Second Look?

The closest matches to The Second Look are Anuja (2024), A Corner in Wheat (1909) and Hounddog (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Second Look?

Start with Anuja (2024), the closest match to The Second Look.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Second Look?

The Neighbors' Window (2019), rated 6.9/10 by 235 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Second Look?

Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.

How are movies similar to The Second Look chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Second Look, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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