Movies like The Law (1959)
The best movies like The Law (1959) are The Pariah (1972), Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (2008) and Al Capone (1959). If The Law hooked you with its drama and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHappiness (1998)7.4/10 from 1,000 votes
- NewestAnother Day (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchThe Pariah (1972)Also in French
The Pariah (1972)
For more than 15 years, two Marseille friends and criminals battle the law, rival gangs, prison authorities and even mined beaches in order to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMesrine: Public Enemy #1 (2008)
After nearly two decades of legendary criminal feats, making him France's most notorious criminal while simultaneously feeding his desire for media attention and public adoration, Mesrine becomes increasingly paranoid and isolated, leading to a dramatic confrontation with the law that ultimately seals his fate as the nation's most infamous public enemy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAl Capone (1959)
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisState Property (2002)
A Philadelphia gang member becomes a drug kingpin and starts a feud with vicious rivals in his quest for the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrimes of Passion (1984)
Fashion designer Joanna Crane leads a double life. By night she is China Blue, a prostitute who's attracted the attention of a sexually frustrated private detective, and a psychopathic priest in possession of a murderous sex toy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crew (2008)
Hoping to raise enough capital to finance a legitimate business and leave behind his life of crime, Liverpool underworld boss Ged Brennan sends his brother Ratter and a crew to pull a daring final heist. But when Ratter kills a drug kingpin during the job, Brennan must turn to rival crook Franner to avert an all-out gangland war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisIll Manors (2012)
Ensemble film revolving around characters living in Forest Gate, London. Over the course of a few days, six inter-linking stories explore issues of drug use, prostitution and urban poverty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrooklyn Rules (2007)
Brooklyn, 1985. With the mob world as a backdrop, three life-long friends struggle with questions of love, loss and loyalty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Born Losers (1967)
A biker gang incites a reign of terror in a California coastal town that culminates in four teenage girls being raped. Vietnam veteran Billy Jack has had enough, however, and takes on the depraved bikers single-handedly. He rescues young Vicky Barrington from their clutches, but then has to contend with not only the thugs, but also the ineffectual and racist local lawmen, who have it out for the half-Native American Billy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier 3 (2017)
In the late 1980s, Pat Tate journeys from peddling pills in Marbella to his time in prison, where he solidifies his power before his release to reclaim his turf.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Substitute (1996)
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCleveland Abduction (2015)
A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlindfire (2020)
A police officer who while responding to a violent hostage call, kills the African American suspect only to later learn of his innocence. Sensing this was a set-up, and facing repercussions, he must track down the person responsible while examining his own accountability and the ingrained racism which brought him to this point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisAnother Day (2026)
Over an eight-year journey in Paris, a struggling young actress turns to alcohol to cope with her anxieties, spiraling into self-destruction before finding a path toward recovery through a new romance and her ailing sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier (2007)
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse (2004)
No one is safe when seemingly random killings emerge as a deadly pattern intended to usher in the end of the world. A murder victim with the same DNA as Christ. A serial killer mimicking the deaths of the 12 Apostles. Inspector Niemans and a young, rebellious detective team up with a beautiful expert in religion to crack the case before their elusive suspect completes the cycle of terror, paving the way to an even bigger bloody catastrophe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Perfect Murder (1998)
Millionaire industrialist Steven Taylor is a man who has everything but what he craves most: the love and fidelity of his wife. A hugely successful player in the New York financial world, he considers her to be his most treasured acquisition. But she needs more than simply the role of dazzling accessory.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Bud (2021)
Sanya, a rebellious contemporary girl but a poet at heart, escapes her strict orthodox father's house in search of a new life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Notes on a Scandal (2006)
A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSex and Lucía (2001)
Lucía is a young waitress in Madrid who seeks refuge on a quiet, secluded Mediterranean island after the loss of her longtime boyfriend. Amidst the fresh air, dazzling sun, and glistening deep blue water, Lucía begins to piece together the dark corners of her past relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpoiled Children (1977)
Successful writer/director Bernard Rougerie is at a creative dead end and decides to isolate himself from his wife in order to complete the script for his next film. Bernard moves into an apartment building whose tenants are in the midst of a revolt against their abusive landlord. Reluctant at first, he joins their cause and then becomes involved in an affair with young, unemployed resident Anne.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Reindeer Games (2000)
After assuming his dead cellmate's identity to get with his girlfriend, an ex-con finds himself the reluctant participant in a casino heist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisDevil Angel (1995)
Chi Kit worked in a stock company. One day, the stock market crashed and Chi Kit ran into bankruptcy. He called his girlfriend Siu Suen and told her everything. Siu Suen loved Chi Kit so much that she took all her savings and ran away with him to Singapore to hide away from their debts. Unfortunately, Chi Kit met a wealthy woman with an interesting proposal, and it changed everything.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tara Road (2005)
A grieving Connecticut mother temporarily switches houses with a woman in Dublin, Ireland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBig Girls Don't Cry (2002)
Kati and Steffi have been best friends forever. Now that their love lives are heating up, they're hitting the books less and going out to nightclubs more. But when Steffi sees her father out with another woman, her life begins to spiral out of control.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHappiness (1998)
The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Law?
The closest matches to The Law are The Pariah (1972), Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (2008) and Al Capone (1959). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Law?
Start with The Pariah (1972), the closest match to The Law.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Law?
Happiness (1998), rated 7.4/10 by 1,000 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Law?
Another Day (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Law?
Yes: The Pariah (1972), Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (2008) and Another Day (2026).
How are movies similar to The Law chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Law, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.