Movies Like Grist for the Mill

If you liked Grist for the Mill (1999), a movie directed by Cynthia Wade, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Life in a Day (2011)
★ 7.2/10
A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.
2
You Can See Everything (2026)
★ 9.1/10
Thirty-four days before she's sent to prison, notorious Silicon Valley founder Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move. What begins as an intimate portrait of an enigmatic felon…
3
"Sr." (2022)
★ 6.9/10
A portrait of the life and career of Robert Downey Sr. (1936-2021), the visionary and fearless US filmmaker — father of actor Robert Downey Jr. — who in the sixties and seventies laid the foundations for…
4
While We're Young (2015)
★ 6/10
An uptight documentary filmmaker and his wife find their lives loosened up a bit after befriending a free-spirited younger couple.
5
The Fabelmans (2022)
★ 7.5/10
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him…
6
Cameraperson (2016)
★ 6.7/10
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What…
7
Holy Lands (2019)
★ 6.1/10
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife…
8
Meet the Fockers (2004)
★ 6.2/10
Hard-to-crack ex-CIA man Jack Byrnes and his wife Dina head for the warmer climes of Florida to meet the parents of their son-in-law-to-be, Greg Focker. Unlike their happily matched offspring, the future in-laws find…
9
Boyhood (2014)
★ 7.5/10
The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his…
10
Fatherhood (2021)
★ 7.5/10
A widowed new dad copes with doubts, fears, heartache and dirty diapers as he sets out to raise his daughter on his own. Inspired by a true story.
11
The Glass Castle (2017)
★ 7.1/10
A young girl is raised in a dysfunctional family constantly on the run from the FBI. Living in poverty, she comes of age guided by her drunkard, ingenious father who distracts her with magical stories to keep her mind…
12
Son of Rambow (2007)
★ 6.7/10
Will is looking for an escape from his family when he encounters Lee, the school bully. Armed with a video camera and a copy of Rambo, Lee plans to make his own action-packed video epic.
13
A Thousand and One (2023)
★ 6.6/10
Struggling but unapologetically living on her own terms, Inez is moving from shelter to shelter in mid-1990s New York City. With her 6-year-old son Terry in foster care and unable to leave him again, she kidnaps him so…
14
I Love My Dad (2022)
★ 5.9/10
A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect.
15
42 Up (1999)
★ 7.6/10
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
16
WHAM! (2023)
★ 7.3/10
Through archival interviews and footage, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley relive the arc of their Wham! career, from 70s best buds to 80s pop icons.
17
Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016)
★ 7.4/10
An intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty featuring Debbie Reynolds, Todd Fisher, and Carrie Fisher.
18
Pamela, a love story (2023)
★ 7/10
In her own words, through personal video and diaries, Pamela Anderson shares the story of her rise to fame, rocky romances and infamous sex tape scandal.
19
Swiped (2025)
★ 6.6/10
Whitney Wolfe uses extraordinary grit and ingenuity to break into the male-dominated tech industry.
20
Old Dads (2023)
★ 6.2/10
A cranky middle-aged dad and his two best friends find themselves out of step in a changing world of millennial CEOs and powerful preschool principals.