Movies Like The Shape of the River

If you liked The Shape of the River (1960), a movie directed by Boris Sagal, 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
Waterloo (1970)
★ 7.1/10
After defeating France and imprisoning Napoleon on Elba, ending two decades of war, Europe is shocked to find Napoleon has escaped and has caused the French Army to defect from the King back to him. The best of the…
2
The Unforgivable (2021)
★ 7.4/10
A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.
3
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
★ 6.8/10
Two rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate school history report after being presented with a time machine.
4
MacArthur (1977)
★ 6.2/10
The film portrays MacArthur's life from 1942, before the Battle of Bataan, to 1952, when he was removed from his Korean War command by President Truman for insubordination, and is recounted in flashback as he visits…
5
Mr. Turner (2014)
★ 6.6/10
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
6
Let There Be Light (1946)
★ 7.3/10
The final entry in a trilogy of films produced for the U.S. government by John Huston. Some returning combat veterans suffer scars that are more psychological than physical. This film follows patients and staff during…
7
All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
★ 7.2/10
When lovely and virtuous governess Henriette Deluzy comes to educate the children of the debonair Duc de Praslin, a royal subject to King Louis-Philippe and the husband of the volatile and obsessive Duchesse de…
8
Rampage (2009)
★ 6/10
The boredom of small town life is eating Bill Williamson alive. Feeling constrained and claustrophobic in the meaningless drudgery of everyday life and helpless against overwhelming global dissolution, Bill begins a…
9
Brexit: The Uncivil War (2019)
★ 6.6/10
Political strategist Dominic Cummings leads a popular but controversial campaign to convince British voters to leave the European Union from 2015 up until the present day.
10
Cromwell (1970)
★ 6.6/10
Disgusted with the policies of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell plans to take his family to the New World. But on the eve of their departure, Cromwell is drawn into the tangled web of religion and politics that will…
11
The Penguin Lessons (2025)
★ 7.1/10
In 1976, as Argentina descends into violence and chaos, a world-weary English teacher regains his compassion for others thanks to an unlikely friendship with a penguin.
12
Becky (2020)
★ 6.3/10
A teenager's weekend at a lake house with her father takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts wreaks havoc on their lives.
13
The House That Jack Built (2018)
★ 7.1/10
Failed architect, engineer and vicious murderer Jack narrates the details of some of his most elaborately orchestrated crimes, each of them a towering piece of art that defines his life's work as a serial killer for…
14
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
★ 6.9/10
Frances Mayes, a 35-year-old professor and writer from San Francisco, decides to take a tour of Tuscany following a difficult divorce. After impulsively buying a run-down villa in the Italian countryside, she begins to…
15
Robot & Frank (2012)
★ 6.9/10
Curmudgeonly old Frank lives by himself. His routine involves daily visits to his local library, where he has a twinkle in his eye for the librarian. His grown children are concerned about their father’s well-being and…
16
The Ladykillers (1955)
★ 7.3/10
Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.
17
Lincoln (2012)
★ 6.8/10
The revealing story of the 16th US President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country…
18
Paulie (1998)
★ 7.1/10
Paulie, a talking parrot, recounts his travels looking for his original owner to a Russian janitor who helps him to the end of his journey.
19
Johnny Handsome (1989)
★ 6.4/10
A career criminal who has been deformed since birth is given a new face by a kindly doctor and paroled from prison. It appears that he has gone straight, but he is really planning his revenge on the man who killed his…
20
An Adventure in Space and Time (2013)
★ 7.7/10
Actor William Hartnell felt trapped by a succession of hard-man roles while wannabe producer Verity Lambert was frustrated by the TV industry's glass ceiling. Both of them were to find unlikely hope and unexpected…