Movies like The Lesson (1918)
The best movies like The Lesson (1918) are Blind (2017), Gabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023) and Not Easily Broken (2009). If The Lesson hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGabriel's Inferno: Part II (2020)8.3/10 from 1,569 votes
- NewestGabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023)Released 2023
Blind (2017)
A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023)
After leaving his prestigious post at the University of Toronto, Gabriel embarks on a new journey with Julia, and he is eager to become a father. However, Gabriel's idyllic vision is jeopardized when Julia's intensive program becomes all consuming. When Julia is granted a prestigious opportunity to deliver an academic lecture at Oxford, Gabriel challenges her about the subject of her presentation, which clashes with his own research. In Oxford, their past resurfaces, including an old nemesis determined to humiliate Julia and expose one of Gabriel's well-guarded secrets. Emotions run high, alliances are tested, and the couple must confront the shadows of their shared history in a battle for love, truth, and redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRacing with the Moon (1984)
In a small coastal California town, Henry and Nicky are pals from blue collar families with only a short time before they ship off to World War II. Henry begins romancing new-to-town Caddie Winger, believing her to be wealthy. Mischievous and irresponsible, Nicky gets into trouble which forces the other two to become involved, testing their relationship, as well as the friendship between the boys.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaria's Lovers (1984)
A World War II prisoner returns home to his childhood sweetheart. However, back home, he discovers that he has to compete to win her love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service, where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Lost Husband (2020)
Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Magic of Ordinary Days (2005)
Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTwo for the Seesaw (1962)
After leaving his wife, lawyer Jerry Ryan moves from Omaha, Nebraska to New York City to start a new life. While studying for the New York Bar Examination and working to finalize his divorce, Ryan meets dancer Gittel Mosca, and the two begin a cautious courtship. However, Ryan feels that he must come to terms with his failed marriage and overcome his lingering attachment to his ex-wife before he can redefine himself and embrace his budding romance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalome (1953)
In the reign of emperor Tiberius, Gallilean prophet John the Baptist preaches against King Herod and Queen Herodias. The latter wants John dead, but Herod fears to harm him due to a prophecy. Enter beautiful Princess Salome, Herod's long-absent stepdaughter. Herodias sees the king's dawning lust for Salome as her means of bending him to her will. But Salome and her lover Claudius are–contrary to Scripture–nearing conversion to the new religion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisSylvie's Love (2020)
When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeter Ibbetson (1935)
When his mother dies, young Peter Ibbetson leaves Paris and his best friend, Mary, behind to live with a severe uncle in England. Years later, Peter is an architect with little time for women, until he begins a project with the Duke and Duchess of Towers. When Peter and the duchess become great friends, she reveals that she is Mary — but the duke soon suspects his wife of infidelity and challenges Peter to a duel, threatening the pair's second chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLondon (2005)
London is a drug laden adventure that centers on a party in a New York loft where a young man is trying to win back his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAshes in the Snow (2018)
The coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her drawings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2014)
Told from the woman's perspective, the story of a couple trying to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Journal for Jordan (2021)
Based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King, a soldier deployed to Iraq begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNine Lives (2005)
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel's Inferno: Part II (2020)
Professor Gabriel Emerson finally learns the truth about Julia Mitchell's identity, but his realization comes a moment too late. Julia is done waiting for the well-respected Dante specialist to remember her and wants nothing more to do with him. Can Gabriel win back her heart before she finds love in another's arms?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisJustice Takes a Holiday (1933)
After a judge sentences a man to prison, he uses his authority to adopt the mans's daughter then makes sure that the man will spend the rest of his life in prison. Outraged, the convict breaks out of prison to take his revenge on the judge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
The Prince and the Pauper (1909)
Extremely condensed version of the Mark Twain story of a royal heir and his poor doppelganger trading places.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lucky Dog (1933)
A rich man's enemies cause him to lose his money, his best friend (his dog), as he goes to jail. Once free he spends all his time hunting for his lost dog.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Widow in Scarlet (1932)
A countess boasts that she can easily pull off a jewelery robbery. A professional jewel thief beats her to the punch, but then finds that his newfound loot has been stolen by a pretty young woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Arthur Takes Over (1948)
A young woman must find a way to break the news to her parents and a stuffy suitor that she is now married to a sailor.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
The Spanish Gypsy (1911)
Jose becomes engaged to Pepita, but still has eyes for Mariana. He runs off with Mariana, but he is accidentally blinded, and she deserts him. Pepita discovers him wandering blindly, and forgives him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
The Broken Cross (1911)
Before Tom departs for the city, he becomes engaged to Kate. She gives him half of her broken pendant cross, with the agreement that either can end the engagement by sending his or her half to the other. In a city boarding house, Tom is vamped by a flirtatious manicurist who learns of the agreement and sends Tom half a cross, pretending it is from Kate. Tom realizes he has been tricked and returns to the country and his fiancée.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
The Vases of Hymen (1914)
Annette and Bunny each purchase one of a pair of antique vases, then meet and argue over who should own the matching set. After exchanging the vases in a gesture of goodwill, they end up with the same single vase they started with. Ultimately, they decide to get married and keep the complete pair together as a symbol of their union.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1916)
Dorian Gray, a young man who makes a pact with his portrait, allowing it to age and bear the signs of his sins while he remains eternally youthful and beautiful. He is lured into a life of hedonism and debauchery by the influential Lord Henry Wotton, and as his moral character deteriorates, his portrait reflects his inner corruption.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Desperate Moment (1926)
Virginia Dean enjoys a yachting trip with her father. She falls in love with the captain of the boat, John Reynolds. A gang of criminals has stowed away on board and they take over the yacht and set her father and the crew adrift in a small boat. However, they keep John and Virginia on board. When the yacht catches fire, they all abandon ship and take refuge on a nearby tropical island. Blackie Slade, the leader of the villains, rouses the natives to attack the others
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Lesson and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Lesson?
The closest matches to The Lesson are Blind (2017), Gabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023) and Not Easily Broken (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Lesson?
Start with Blind (2017), the closest match to The Lesson.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Lesson?
Gabriel's Inferno: Part II (2020), rated 8.3/10 by 1,569 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Lesson?
Gabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Lesson?
Yes: Blind (2017), Gabriel's Redemption: Part I (2023) and Not Easily Broken (2009).
How are movies similar to The Lesson chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Lesson, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.