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Movies like A Good Mother (2008)

The best movies like A Good Mother (2008) are What Maisie Knew (2013), Élisa (1995) and Juliette in Spring (2024). If A Good Mother hooked you with its drama, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. What Maisie Knew (2013)

    In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  2. Élisa (1995)

    Marie has had a tough childhood ever since her mother Elisa committed suicide. She has spent most of her life in an orphanage and now makes a living as a small time criminal in Paris. Now she wants to unravel her past and find her father whom she blames for her mother's death.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  3. Juliette in Spring (2024)

    Juliette goes back in her hometown to spend some time with her family. She finds herself between a loving but moody father, a New Age mother, a sister in the midst of an existential crisis, and a grandmother slowly losing her mind. Buried memories and family secrets rise to the surface in this sweet, tender and sometimes extravagant family portrait.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  4. Chaos (2001)

    A bourgeois couple, modern yet conventional. One night by accident, a young prostitute barges into their lives. Hounded down, beaten up, threatened, she will continue to struggle, with the help of a well off lady, first for her survival-her resurrection-then for her dignity and freedom. Stormy encounters for everyone involved.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  5. My Little Princess (2011)

    Young Violetta and her mother Hannah are a peculiar couple. Ten-year-old Violetta lives a quiet life with her grandmother, while her mother Hannah is an unpredictable photographer who lives off of the generosity of others. When Hannah forces her daughter to pose as a model, Violetta finds her life with her loving grandmother turned upside down.The resulting pictures quickly become a sensation for the trendy 70's Paris art scene, and Violetta finds herself caught in between her new stature as an art muse and her dull childhood.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  6. The Long Absence (1961)

    Therese, a café owner, mourns the mysterious disappearance of her husband sixteen years earlier. A tramp arrives in the town and she believes him to be her husband. But he is suffering from amnesia and she tries to bring back his memory of earlier times.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  7. Violette (2013)

    Born out of wedlock early in the last century, Violette Leduc meets Simone de Beauvoir in postwar Saint-Germain-des-Près. An intense lifelong relationship develops between the two women authors, based on Violette's quest for freedom through writing and on Simone's conviction that she holds in her hands the destiny of an extraordinary writer.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  8. Betty (1992)

    A drunken, self-destructive woman called Betty wanders into a Parisian bar where she meets middle-aged alcoholic Laure. Laure decides to take care of Betty. Recovering in a hotel room, Betty begins to recount to Laure the story of her bourgeois life and her unhappy and unfaithful marriage.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  9. The Passengers of the Night (2022)

    On election night in 1981, celebrations spill out onto the street and there is an air of hope and change throughout Paris. But for Elisabeth, her marriage is coming to an end and she will now have to support herself and her two teenage children. She finds work at a late-night radio show and encounters a troubled teenager named Talulah whom she invites into her home.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  10. The Nun (2013)

    Suzanne Simonin describes her life of suffering in letters. As a young woman she is sent to a convent against her will. Since her parents cannot afford the dowry required for a marriage befitting her rank they decide she must instead become a nun. Although a kind and understanding Mother Superior helps her to learn the convent’s daily routine, Suzanne’s desire for freedom remains unabated. When the Mother Superior dies, Suzanne finds herself faced with reprisals, humiliation and harassment at the hands of the new Abbess and the other Sisters. For many years, Suzanne is subjected to bigotry and religious fanaticism. (Berlinale.de)

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  11. Gloria Mundi (2019)

    Daniel leaves prison. He returns to Marseilles where Mathilda, his daughter, has just given birth. Nicolas, her spouse, a self-employed driver, is exhausted while Mathilda is a sales assistant on a trial basis. But, one night, Nicolas is assaulted by taxi drivers determined to reduce unfair competition.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  12. Secret Name (2021)

    Nelie escaped a miserable existence by becoming a frontline nurse in 1914. One day, she takes the identity of Rose, a young woman from a good family, who dies in front of her. She presents herself in her place at Madame de Lengwil's house, to become the reader of this wealthy woman.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  13. Between Two Worlds (2022)

    Marianne Winckler relocates to the port city of Caen in order to pass herself off as a member of a large community of itinerant workers desperate to make ends meet. She gains employment as a cleaner on a ferry travelling between Ouistreham and Portsmouth, recording the drudgery of the work she and her colleagues are required to do.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  14. In Praise of Love (2001)

    Someone we hear talking - but whom we do not see - speaks of a project which describes the four key moments of love: meeting, physical passion, arguments/separation and making up. This project is to be told through three couples: young, adult and old. We do not know if the project is for a play, a film, a novel or an opera. The author of the project is always accompanied by a kind of servant. Meanwhile, two years earlier, an American civil servant meets with an elderly French couple who had fought in the Resistance during World War II, brokering a deal with a Hollywood director to buy the rights to tell their story. The members of the old couple's family discuss heatedly questions of nation, memory and history.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  15. The Brigade (2017)

    Bénédicte Meursault, a female firefighter, has just been transferred to a small fire brigade in the South of France. She is welcomed by Philippe, 45, the wise captain of the brigade. Soon after being introduced to the men, the young woman jumps into action. Unfortunately, while rescuing the victims of a terrible car crash, she does not find one of the injured who was ejected thirty meters away. Now the man is in hospital in a coma and he may die because of her. Completely upset, Bénédicte decides to resign but Philippe dissuades her from doing it.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  16. Most (2003)

    A poetic and powerful story of a father forced to choose between love and duty.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  17. Our Struggles (2018)

    While Olivier, a 39 year-old foreman gives his job everything he’s got, Laura, his wife and the mother of their two children, abandons the family home, leaving Olivier alone to face his responsibilities. Lost and completely thrown, Olivier is going to have to come to terms with his new status as a single father raising his children alone. Because Laura’s not coming back.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  18. All to Play For (2023)

    Sylvie lives with her two children whom she’s raising on her own. One evening, there’s an accident, and her youngest son is removed from her care. Sylvie must subsequently fight to get her son back and to keep herself afloat.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  19. Muriel, or the Time of Return (1963)

    In the seacoast town of Boulogne, antique furniture saleswoman Hélène lives with her stepson, Bernard, who's back from military duty in Algiers. An old lover of Hélène's comes to visit, Alphonse, with his niece Françoise; he too is back from Algiers, where he ran a café. Bernard speaks of his fiancée, Muriel, whom Hélène has not met. The past is obscured by guilt, misperceptions, and missed possibilities. Appearances deceive, things change. As Hélène and Alphonse try to sort out a renewal, everyone seems off-kilter just enough to hint that all cannot end well.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  20. Haute Couture (2021)

    Esther is at the end of her career as Head Seamstress at Dior Avenue Montaigne workshop. One day, she gets her handbag stolen in the metro by a 20 years old girl, Jade. Instead of calling the police she decides to take care of Jade. She sees in her the opportunity to pass on her skills, the craft of dressmaking, her only wealth. In the frenetic world of Haute Couture, Esther will give Jade la beauté du geste, a way to reach beyond herself.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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Like A Good Mother and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like A Good Mother?

The closest matches to A Good Mother are What Maisie Knew (2013), Élisa (1995) and Juliette in Spring (2024). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after A Good Mother?

Start with What Maisie Knew (2013), the closest match to A Good Mother.

What is the highest-rated movie like A Good Mother?

What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like A Good Mother?

Juliette in Spring (2024) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there French movies like A Good Mother?

Yes: Élisa (1995), Juliette in Spring (2024) and Chaos (2001).

How are movies similar to A Good Mother chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Good Mother, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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