Movies like For the Defense (1922)
The best movies like For the Defense (1922) are Whirlpool (1950), Each Dawn I Die (1939) and Won't Back Down (2012). If For the Defense hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAnnie Hall (1977)7.7/10 from 4,399 votes
- NewestLoving forever (2026)Released 2026
Whirlpool (1950)
The wife of a psychoanalyst falls prey to a devious quack hypnotist when he discovers she is an habitual shoplifter. Then one of his previous patients now being treated by the real doctor is found murdered, with her still at the scene, and suspicion points only one way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCradle Will Rock (1999)
A true story of politics and art in the 1930s USA, centered around a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBUtterfield 8 (1960)
Gloria Wandrous, a promiscuous fashion model, falls in love with Weston Liggett, the hard drinking son of a working class family who has married into money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPitfall (1948)
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeople Like Us (2012)
After flying home to L.A. for the funeral of his estranged record-producer father, a struggling man discovers that the will stipulates that he must deliver $150,000 in cash to a 30-year-old alcoholic sister he never knew existed, and her troubled 12-year-old son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPermanent Vacation (1981)
In downtown Manhattan, twentysomething Allie, whose father is not around and whose mother is institutionalized, is a big Charlie Parker fan. He almost subconsciously searches for meaning in his life and meets some idiosyncratic characters along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWitness to Murder (1954)
A woman fights to convince the police that she witnessed a murder while looking out her bedroom window.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Natural (1984)
An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDreamgirls (2006)
A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Christmas (2016)
Lizzie is a young piano teacher working at a music school while trying to save enough money for a Steinway piano. The school is gearing up for their major Christmas fundraiser and she has committed much of her time to plan the event. One afternoon, she meets Brad who takes an interest in her playing and asks if she will teach his uninterested teenage daughter. She begins to break through to the young girl, and sparks begin to fly with Brad, but she is shocked to find out that his interest is not solely in her playing, but in the property that houses the music school. She sets out to save the school and the event, but can she work things out with Brad?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wrong Man (1956)
In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCopying Beethoven (2006)
Serving as Ludwig van Beethoven's copyist gives a conservatory student access to the composer's musical genius, but also exposes her to his cruelty.
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 thisThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisIce Castles (2010)
Young, beautiful, talented Alexis Winston comes from nowhere to become a figure skating superstar. But her rise to stardom isn’t easy. She has to push herself, reinvent herself, and most painfully of all, leave her hometown boyfriend behind. When a tragic fall leaves her blind, she needs someone to believe in her, to love her; someone to convince her she has the strength to skate and dream again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Assault (2014)
After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCamp Harlow (2014)
On the brink of a family crisis, Alex finds herself being sent to the last place she wants to be, summer camp. Knowing that a young admirer from school will be at the camp, Alex reluctantly agrees. Thrown into a group of people she has never met, Alex is determined to shut out the world. However, Alex is brought out of the corners of her own heart by the most unlikely of friends: a horse.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig undergoes a personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an 'internationally ignored' but divinely talented rock diva, inhabiting a 'beautiful gender of one'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLast Days (2005)
The life and struggles of a notorious rock musician seeping into a pit of loneliness whose everyday life involves friends and family seeking financial aid and favors, inspired by rock music legend Kurt Cobain and his final hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLa Vie en Rose (2007)
From the mean streets of the Belleville district of Paris to the dazzling limelight of New York's most famous concert halls, Edith Piaf's life was a constant battle to sing and survive, to live and love. Raised in her grandmother's brothel, Piaf was discovered in 1935 by nightclub owner Louis Leplee, who persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness. Piaf became one of France's immortal icons, her voice one of the indelible signatures of the 20th century.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLoving forever (2026)
Edoardo Iaschi (known as Eddie Brock) is an Italian indie singer born and raised in Rome. When his song “Non è mica te” unexpectedly goes viral on TikTok, Edo is thrust into the spotlight and forced to confront the realities of adulthood, fame, and a world far bigger than he ever imagined…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tears of Neon (2026)
At the age of five, Chris, a young village boy meets his mother, Czesława, who is at the cusp of conquering entertainment industry by adopting a new persona — Violetta Villas. An unbelievably talented, ambitious mother and a sensitive child go on a decades long journey through Warsaw, Paris and Las Vegas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coming SoonMovies like thisThe Doors (1991)
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJem and the Holograms (2015)
As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden. Four aspiring musicians will take the world by storm when they see that the key to creating your own destiny lies in finding your own voice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAnnie Hall (1977)
New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bodyguard (1992)
A former Secret Service agent grudgingly takes an assignment to protect a pop idol who's threatened by a crazed fan. At first, the safety-obsessed bodyguard and the self-indulgent diva totally clash. But before long, all that tension sparks fireworks of another sort, and the love-averse tough guy is torn between duty and romance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like For the Defense?
The closest matches to For the Defense are Whirlpool (1950), Each Dawn I Die (1939) and Won't Back Down (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after For the Defense?
Start with Whirlpool (1950), the closest match to For the Defense.
What is the highest-rated movie like For the Defense?
Annie Hall (1977), rated 7.7/10 by 4,399 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like For the Defense?
Loving forever (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like For the Defense?
Yes: Whirlpool (1950), Each Dawn I Die (1939) and Won't Back Down (2012).
How are movies similar to For the Defense chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside For the Defense, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.