Movies like Penance (2010)
The best movies like Penance (2010) are Safe Haven (2013), Mozart and the Whale (2005) and The Boy Who Could Fly (1986). If Penance hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWords on Bathroom Walls (2020)7.7/10 from 675 votes
- NewestOffice Romance (2026)Released 2026
Safe Haven (2013)
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMozart and the Whale (2005)
A love story between two savants with Asperger's syndrome, a kind of autism, whose conditions sabotage their budding relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
Milly and Louis, and their recently-widowed mom, Charlene, move to a new neighborhood. Once there, they all deal with a variety of personal problems, but Milly finds a friend in Eric, her autistic next door neighbor. Eric has a fascination with flight, and as the story progresses, he exerts an enthralling force of change on all those around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTim (1979)
Handsome but backward gardener Tim Melville has a new woman in his life. She is Mary, his widowed employer, a woman who had given up on love until she had found Tim. At first they are friends. But soon they become lovers, as Mary, drawn to Tim's innocence and magnetism, begins to teach him all about life - and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Is in the Air (2023)
A fiercely independent pilot fighting to keep her family business afloat starts to fall for the man sent by corporate to ground her operation forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Distinguished Gentleman (1992)
A Florida con man uses the recent death of the long time Congressman from his district, who he just happens to share a last name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, the U.S. Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing There (1979)
A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn Good Company (2004)
Dan Foreman is a seasoned advertisement sales executive at a high-ranking publication when a corporate takeover results in him being placed under naive supervisor Carter Duryea, who is half his age. Matters are made worse when Dan's new supervisor becomes romantically involved with his daughter an 18 year-old college student Alex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Upside (2019)
Phillip is a wealthy quadriplegic who needs a caretaker to help him with his day-to-day routine in his New York penthouse. He decides to hire Dell, a struggling parolee who's trying to reconnect with his ex and his young son. Despite coming from two different worlds, an unlikely friendship starts to blossom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Double (2014)
An awkward office drone becomes increasingly unhinged after a charismatic and confident look-alike takes a job at his workplace and seduces the woman he desires.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNeverwas (2005)
Zach Riley is a psychiatrist, who leaves a job at a prestigious university, to take up a job at the privately run mental institution, Millwood. What he doesn't reveal at the time of his appointment is that this was the very place where his novelist father, T.L. Pierson, spent many years of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack or White (2015)
A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise her entire life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll That Heaven Allows (1955)
Two different social classes collide when Cary Scott, a wealthy upper-class widow, falls in love with her much younger and down-to-earth gardener, prompting disapproval and criticism from her children and country club friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWords on Bathroom Walls (2020)
Diagnosed with a mental illness halfway through his senior year of high school, a witty, introspective teen struggles to keep it a secret while falling in love with a brilliant classmate who inspires him to open his heart and not be defined by his condition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlying Home (2014)
Colin, an ambitious young American businessman, has a deal with a potential client, a rich Arab sheikh who is a passionate pigeon fancier. The sheikh has tried several times to buy a champion pigeon, but the owner continues to stubbornly refuse his offer. In an attempt to gain the trust of the Sheikh, Colin offers him a deal: if he manages to convince the owner to sell the champion pigeon, the sheikh will agree to do business with Colin's company. But when Colin meets Jos, the grumpy owner of the pigeon, and Isabella, his granddaughter, he realizes that this mission will not be as easy as he had hoped.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAdam (2009)
Adam, a lonely man with Asperger's Syndrome, develops a relationship with his upstairs neighbor, Beth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArbitrage (2012)
A troubled hedge fund magnate, desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire, makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJay Kelly (2025)
Famous movie actor Jay Kelly embarks on a journey of self-discovery, confronting both his past and present, accompanied by his devoted manager, Ron.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Bus (2021)
Widower Tom, on the recent passing of his wife Mary, uses his free bus pass to travel the length of Britain from John O'Groats in Caithness to Land's End in Cornwall, their shared birthplace, using only local buses. It's an incident-fuelled nostalgia trip and his encounters with local people make him a media phenomenon. Tom is totally unaware and to his surprise on arrival at Land’s End he’s greeted as a celebrity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOffice Romance (2026)
Jackie, President and CEO of Air Cruz, runs a tight ship in her business, including a rigid anti-fraternization policy for all her employees. When a new sexy lawyer begins working for her, that policy becomes very tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Penance?
The closest matches to Penance are Safe Haven (2013), Mozart and the Whale (2005) and The Boy Who Could Fly (1986). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Penance?
Start with Safe Haven (2013), the closest match to Penance.
What is the highest-rated movie like Penance?
Words on Bathroom Walls (2020), rated 7.7/10 by 675 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Penance?
Office Romance (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Penance?
Yes: Safe Haven (2013), Mozart and the Whale (2005) and The Boy Who Could Fly (1986).
How are movies similar to Penance chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Penance, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.