Movies like Strife (2017)
The best movies like Strife (2017) are Helen (2009), Sometimes I Think About Dying (2024) and Bastard Out of Carolina (1996). If Strife hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGirl, Interrupted (1999)7.6/10 from 4,337 votes
- NewestSpringsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)Released 2025
Helen (2009)
On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSometimes I Think About Dying (2024)
Fran likes to think about dying. It brings sensation to her quiet life. When she makes the new guy at work laugh, it leads to more: a date, a slice of pie, a conversation, a spark. The only thing standing in their way is Fran herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Jones (1993)
The story about the relationship between a manic depressive man, Mr. Jones, and the female doctor who takes more than a professional interest in his treatment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Human Voice (2020)
A woman watches time pass beside the suitcases of her ex-lover (who is supposed to come pick them up but never arrives) and a restless dog who doesn't understand that his master has abandoned him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpringsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)
Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl, Interrupted (1999)
Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInfinitely Polar Bear (2014)
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnow Angels (2007)
Waitress Annie has separated from her suicidal alcoholic husband, Glenn. Glenn has become an evangelical Christian, but his erratic attempts at getting back into Annie's life have alarmed her. High school student Arthur works at Annie's restaurant, growing closer to a new kid in town, Lila, after class. When Glenn and Annie's daughter goes missing, the whole town searches for her, as he increasingly spirals out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVampire (2011)
An outwardly normal schoolteacher preys on suicidal women to slake his overwhelming thirst for human blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Weather (2016)
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisHard Luck (1921)
A down on his luck young man makes several attempts at committing suicide but fails them too. He then finds himself becoming more confident through a series of petty adventures, to such an extent that this becomes his undoing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn the Count of Three (2022)
Val has reached a place where he feels the only way out is to end things. But he considers himself a bit of a failure—his effectiveness lacking—so he figures he could use some help. As luck would have it, Val’s best friend, Kevin, is recovering from a failed suicide attempt, so he seems like the perfect partner for executing this double suicide plan. But before they go, they have some unfinished business to attend to.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSybil (2007)
A true story of a young woman whose abusive childhood results in her developing a multiple personality disorder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOur Friend (2019)
After learning that his terminally ill wife has six months to live, a man welcomes the support of his best friend who moves into their home to help out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Friend (2025)
New York City writer Iris finds her comfortable, solitary life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor bequeaths her a Great Dane named Apollo. The huge dog immediately creates practical problems for Iris, from furniture destruction to eviction notices, as well as more existential ones. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding with Apollo, she begins to come to terms with her past, and her own creative inner life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCake (2014)
After having visions of a member of her support group who killed herself, a woman who also suffers with chronic pain seeks out the widower of the suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Strife?
The closest matches to Strife are Helen (2009), Sometimes I Think About Dying (2024) and Bastard Out of Carolina (1996). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Strife?
Start with Helen (2009), the closest match to Strife.
What is the highest-rated movie like Strife?
Girl, Interrupted (1999), rated 7.6/10 by 4,337 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Strife?
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Strife?
Yes: Helen (2009), Sometimes I Think About Dying (2024) and Bastard Out of Carolina (1996).
How are movies similar to Strife chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Strife, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.