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Movies like The Contrary Route (2021)

The best movies like The Contrary Route (2021) are Farming (2018), Hounddog (2008) and Imperial Dreams (2014). If The Contrary Route hooked you with its drama, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Farming (2018)

    Based on the writer/director's childhood, FARMING tells the story of a young Nigerian boy, 'farmed out' by his parents to a white British family in the hope of a better future. Instead, he becomes the feared leader of a white skinhead gang.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. Hounddog (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 this
  3. Imperial Dreams (2014)

    A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. Charm City Kings (2020)

    Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. Skin (2009)

    Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  6. The Young One (1960)

    A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)

    Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. The Color of Friendship (2000)

    Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from California and who lives in a nice home in Washington DC. When Mahree is chosen to spend a semester at the Dellums' house, she doesn't expect that her host family would be black. Nor do her hosts suspect that she is not a black South African.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. 1 Chance 2 Dance (2014)

    When a 17-year old aspiring dancer is uprooted in her high school senior year, she finds herself divided between two boys, and she will have one last shot at making her dream a reality.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. El Chicano (2019)

    A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Home (2021)

    An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. The 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 · both drama

  13. Hardball (2001)

    An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. The Good Neighbor (2022)

    A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Cardboard Boxer (2016)

    Gentle and broken, a homeless man fights others on video for money but soon finds comfort in an unlikely friend and the lost diary of a young girl.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. The Nest (2020)

    Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Bastard 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 · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Lady Driver (2020)

    When a rebellious teen embarks on a solo summer journey to connect with her roots, she finds herself in a new world, geared up for the ride of her life, and discovers she had the drive in her all along.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. All Together Now (2020)

    An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. All Day and a Night (2020)

    While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this

Like The Contrary Route and something else?

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

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Contrary Route?

The closest matches to The Contrary Route are Farming (2018), Hounddog (2008) and Imperial Dreams (2014). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Contrary Route?

Start with Farming (2018), the closest match to The Contrary Route.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Contrary Route?

Charm City Kings (2020), rated 7.8/10 by 508 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Contrary Route?

The Good Neighbor (2022) is the most recent release on this list.

How are movies similar to The Contrary Route chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Contrary Route, 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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