Movies like EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair) (2022)
The best movies like EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair) (2022) are Any Day Now (2012), Judy (2019) and Where the Day Takes You (1992). If EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair) hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedForever Strong (2008)7.1/10 from 227 votes
- NewestBlue Heron (2026)Released 2026
Any 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 thisJudy (2019)
Thirty years after starring in 'The Wizard of Oz', beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Day Takes You (1992)
King is a young man, but he's already a veteran of life on the streets of Los Angeles. The de facto leader of a group of teenage runaways, King acts as a mentor to troubled kids such as gay hustler Little J and junkie Greg. When Heather, a beautiful girl from Chicago, starts hanging out with King and his crew, it changes the dynamic of the gang. However, it seems as though nothing will alter their dangerous lifestyle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJust Charlie (2017)
Football star Charlie has the world at her feet. With a top club desperate to sign her, her future is seemingly mapped out. But the teenager sees only a nightmare. Raised as a boy, Charlie is torn between wanting to live up to her father's expectations and shedding this ill fitting skin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Heron (2026)
A family of six's fresh start on 1990s Vancouver Island unravels as their youngest child, Sasha, witnesses the increasingly dangerous behavior of her older brother, Jeremy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Believe in Unicorns (2015)
Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReality (2023)
Augusta, Georgia, United States, June 3, 2017. After running some errands, Reality Winner returns home, where she is approached by two men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForever Strong (2008)
Hotshot rugby player Rick Penning was the star player of his Arizona high school team until a fateful brush with the law forces him to ponder the consequences of his actions in a Salt Lake City juvenile detention center.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTex (1982)
After their mother dies and their father leaves them, teenage brothers Tex and Mason McCormick struggle to make it on their own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBigger Than Life (1956)
A friendly, successful suburban teacher and father grows dangerously addicted to cortisone, resulting in his transformation into a household despot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHide Your Smiling Faces (2014)
Tommy and his older brother Eric live in the midst of vast remote forests. The death of their friend pushes them close to the edge. Eric doesn’t know how to channel his energy. All at once, nature’s vastness feels stifling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiver of Grass (1995)
Cozy, a dissatisfied housewife, meets Lee at a bar. A drink turns into a home break-in, and a gunshot sends them on the run together, thinking they've committed murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll 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 thisMansfield Park (2007)
Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House on Telegraph Hill (1951)
Concentration camp survivor Victoria Kowelska finds herself involved in mystery, greed, and murder when she assumes the identity of a dead friend in order to gain passage to America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutrage (1950)
A young woman who has just become engaged has her life completely shattered when she is raped while on her way home from work.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Finds You In Sugarcreek (2014)
Will a mysterious stranger's past wreak havoc on a quiet Amish community after they've opened their doors -- and hearts -- to him and his son?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEdie (2018)
To try and overcome a lifetime of bitterness and resentment, 83-year-old Edie decides that it is never too late. After packing an old camping bag, she leaves her life behind and embarks on an adventure she never got to have... climbing the imposing Mount Suilven in Scotland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Houseboy (2007)
Distraught after he overhears his two 30-something lovers talking about finding a new "toy" to replace him, young Ricky looks for love through a series of random sexual encounters while house-sitting for the couple over the Christmas holidays. Meanwhile, he contemplates suicide. But when Ricky meets a compassionate new friend, he may be experiencing the sparks of real love in this compelling and sexy gay drama.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Matinee (2024)
A matinee draws a young man into desire and fear.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Candy for Bobby (2024)
A father who is uncomfortable with the state of his family as he is craving perfection from them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Akulah Vivian (1977)
Biography of Vivian Rubianty, the first legally-recognized trans person in Indonesia
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Adjust-A-Dream (2014)
On the verge of moving in together, a gay male couple's anxieties escalate as they shop for their first mattress.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Barrio Boy (2014)
A Latino barber quietly falls in love with a handsome stranger over the course of a haircut during a hot and sweaty summer afternoon in a macho Brooklyn hood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Queer Enough (2024)
A bisexual woman struggles to accept her own identity when she looks to a local LGBTQIA+ book club for a sense of belonging.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Intermittent (2020)
This short film tells the story of a former university professor diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. The protagonist wakes up at dawn and begins the morning routine he used to follow during his time as a professor. Later, his wife and son discover him and try to bring him back to present time. In that early morning, the past and the present coexist. Revisiting these wounds, leads the Rivera Dávila family to accept the past, assume the present and heal those diseases that do not concern memory, but the heart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Afternoon Sun (2020)
Under the harsh rays of the sun, Carlos is laying down. There is sunburn on his back. The wind is still. The air is warm. There’s a dryness in the air. He can barely breathe, until he sees Mateus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Old Narcissus (2023)
74-year-old Yamazaki, having been handsome as a young gay man, grows narcissistic of his beauty and is unable to bear his own aging. One night, Yamazaki meets a young and beautiful man named Leo. Having loved only himself during his long tumultuous life, Yamazaki falls in love with another person. Through this love, he finally begins to forge the relationships he failed to carve during his youth with his friends and family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair)?
The closest matches to EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair) are Any Day Now (2012), Judy (2019) and Where the Day Takes You (1992). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair)?
Start with Any Day Now (2012), the closest match to EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair).
What is the highest-rated movie like EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair)?
Forever Strong (2008), rated 7.1/10 by 227 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair)?
Blue Heron (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair)?
Yes: Any Day Now (2012), Judy (2019) and Where the Day Takes You (1992).
How are movies similar to EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair) chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside EMPATHY (Or: The Girl with The Pearled Hair), then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.