Movies Like The Cool Lakes of Death

If you liked The Cool Lakes of Death (1982), a drama and history movie directed by Nouchka van Brakel, 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
To Write Love on Her Arms (2015)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
The story follows 19-year-old Renee who has always loved fairy tales: the idea of a princess, a hero and a happily ever after. But Renee’s life is that of a darker tale: she’s a young woman battling addiction…
2
Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
A successful woman in New York City finds her life upended when she is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.
3
Trainspotting (1996)
★ 8/10Also drama
Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning…
4
I Smile Back (2015)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
Laney is an attractive, intelligent suburban wife and devoted mother of two adorable children. She has the perfect husband who plays basketball with the kids in the driveway, a pristine house, and a shiny SUV for…
5
Coffy (1973)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her…
6
Blonde (2022)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, this reimagined fictional portrait of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore…
7
The Doors (1991)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.
8
Cleveland Abduction (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.
9
A Question of Silence (1982)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
When three women with no previous acquaintance kill a male shopkeeper in the middle of the day, the female psychiatrist assigned to the case sets out to understand why.
10
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
★ 8/10Also drama
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
11
Crash (1996)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
A car crash victim inexplicably finds himself aroused by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground subculture of like-minded souls.
12
I Walk the Line (1970)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Henry Tawes, a middle-aged sheriff in a rural Tennessee town, is usually the first man to criticize others for their bad behavior. Miserable in his marriage, Henry falls in love with teenage seductress Alma, who is the…
13
The Glorias (2020)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
An equal rights crusader, journalist and activist: Gloria Steinem embodies these and more. From her role in the revolutionary women's rights movement to her travels throughout the U.S. and around the world, Steinem has…
14
The Chronology of Water (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
Plagued by an abusive childhood, a woman finds escape in competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before ultimately finding her voice through writing.
15
Auto Focus (2002)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A successful TV star during the 1960s, former "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane projects a wholesome family-man image, but this front masks his persona as a sex addict who records and photographs his many encounters…
16
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care.
17
Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
Story about the remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic homeless man, whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison.
18
The Krays (1990)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and history
Twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray are raised in east London, under the influence of their hateful but doting mother Violet. As they grow up, Ronnie's violent nature takes over, and Reggie follows his brother's lead. The two…
19
Fanny Lye Deliver'd (2019)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and history
On an isolated English farm in 1657, Fanny lives a quiet life with her oppressive husband John and their young son. One day their life is rocked with the arrival of young couple Thomas and Rebecca who claim to have…
20
Nightwatching (2007)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and history
An extravagant, exotic and moving look at Rembrandt's romantic and professional life, and the controversy he created by the identification of a murderer in the painting The Night Watch.