Movies like Only Human (2020)
The best movies like Only Human (2020) are Pretty Boy (2015), My Brother the Devil (2012) and The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2019). If Only Human hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPhiladelphia (1993)7.7/10 from 4,814 votes
- NewestAnd Someone Else (2026)Released 2026
Pretty Boy (2015)
Sean is taken to a motel and is given a prostitute for his 18th birthday by his father. He must sleep with her to "fix" his questionable homosexuality. "Pretty Boy" is a coming of age story of a young bullied teen, Sean, struggling with his sexuality and the hardships of high school. After his father finds some questionable magazines in his room, this devout Christian will go to any lengths to get his son to find the light and "perform" the way a man should. Sean is introduced to Katie, a prostitute that understands the stigmas of modern society and helps him see the true light that is within him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2019)
A decade after the death of an American TV star, a young actor reminisces about the written correspondence he once shared with the former, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPariah (2011)
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boys in the Band (2020)
At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove! Valour! Compassion! (1997)
A group of gay friends spend summer weekends together at a lakeside house in upstate New York. As the season progresses and secrets begin to surface, the complex relationships within the group are sometimes strained and sometimes strengthened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarshall (2017)
Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, battles through one of his career-defining cases.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Little Prince(ss) (2021)
When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrom Straight A's to XXX (2017)
When a change of circumstances leaves Miriam unable to pay her college tuition, she makes a surprising decision: to start performing in adult films, using the pseudonym Belle Knox. Miriam lies to her family and her friends at school, keeping her double life a secret. But soon rumours spread and Miriam becomes the subject of vicious online attacks and unwanted attention. Miriam fights back: she talks to the media, saying her new line of work empowers her as a feminist. But her confident stand has unintended consequences. Miriam is shunned by her conservative family and her colleagues in the adult film world. One impulsive decision has quickly spiralled out of control - and Miriam's problems are just beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like this...And Justice for All (1979)
An ethical Baltimore defense lawyer disgusted with rampant legal corruption is forced to defend a judge he despises in a rape trial under the threat of being disbarred.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlow (1996)
A filmmaker talks about his work and love life with an unseen friend behind the camera. We also watch four of his short films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTea and Sympathy (1956)
A sensitive young man recalls his time in boarding school when the only person who seemed compassionate towards him was his housemaster's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVictim (1961)
In early 1960s London, barrister Melville Farr is on the path to success. With his practice winning cases and a loving marriage to his wife, Laura, Farr's professional and personal life are nearly idyllic. However, when blackmailers link Farr to a young gay man, everything Farr's worked for is threatened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisAny Day Now (2012)
In the late 1970s, when a mentally handicapped teenager is abandoned, a gay couple takes him in and becomes the family he's never had. But once the unconventional living arrangement is discovered by authorities, the men must fight the legal system to adopt the child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Detective (1968)
New York City Police detective Joe Leland investigates the grisly murder of Teddy Leikman, the gay son of a politically influential department store owner. While investigating, he discovers links to official corruption in NYC in this drama that delves into a world of sex and drugs, homophobia, homosexuality and bisexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisKiller's Kiss (1955)
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Englishman in New York (2009)
Biographical drama based on the last 20 years of Crisp's life. The literary figure and gay iconoclast emigrated to New York in 1981 and lived there until his death. The film observes Crisp in both his public and private lives, from his seemingly cavalier response to the outbreak of AIDS to his tender relationship with his friend Patrick Angus and his own response to growing old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhiladelphia (1993)
Two lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnd Someone Else (2026)
When Tommy, a queer 17-year-old, discovers his father's hidden relationship with a man, he must choose between remaining silent or risking the breakup of his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rainbow Boys (2008)
The film tells the bittersweet love life of a group of young men who could not be more different from each other: Ryuji is a teenager passionate about rugby, Akira is a beautiful and popular kabuki actor, and Yutaro is the son of a yakuza leader. Their paths come across after they fall in love with the aspiring actor Makoto Hayakawa
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Return of Martin Guerre (1982)
Village of Artigat, southern France, summer 1542, during the reign of Francis I. Martin Guerre and Bertrande de Rols marry. A few years later, accused of having committed a robbery, Martin suddenly disappears. When, almost a decade later, a man arrives in Artigat claiming to be Martin, the Guerre family recognizes him as such; but doubts soon arise about his true identity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTod der Engel (1992)
Gerhard Wismuth is said to have killed his two children. The press takes up the case and does good business with the grieving mother Brigitte. Then the trial takes a surprising turn: The accused incriminates his wife, who allegedly has a lover and murdered the children for his sake. The TV movie is reminiscent of the "Weimar case".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Agreement (2017)
Se-young goes to an agreement with the woman her husband raped.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bien parecidas (2021)
María allows Cecilia to dye her hair while they wait for Agustín's rehabilitation therapy to finish. This simple fact will change the way mother and daughter perceive their relationship and help them cope with the difficult time they are experiencing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Platelayer (1957)
A group of plate-layers are packing the stone-bed under the rail with their pickaxes. They swing their picks in a coordinated, rhythmic way, thereby creating a sequence of rings, when they hit the stones or the rail, which sounds almost as music. When a train passes by, they stand silent beside the rail for a while, and then start the rhythmic beats again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Scatterbrains (2022)
For some women to gain freedom, they must forget to remember.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
An Urban Allegory (2024)
A ballet dancer is late for an audition for a show inspired by Plato's Allegory of the Cave. She arrives with her seven-year-old son, Jay, and begs the director to give her a chance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Only Human?
The closest matches to Only Human are Pretty Boy (2015), My Brother the Devil (2012) and The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Only Human?
Start with Pretty Boy (2015), the closest match to Only Human.
What is the highest-rated movie like Only Human?
Philadelphia (1993), rated 7.7/10 by 4,814 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Only Human?
And Someone Else (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Only Human chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Only Human, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.