Movies Like A Pure Formality

If you liked A Pure Formality (1994), a mystery and thriller movie directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, 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
Limbo (2023)
★ 6.1/10Also crime and drama
Travis, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago. As truths about the murder begin to unfold, the…
2
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (2020)
★ 7.3/10Also mystery and crime
Aurora's high school reunion turns deadly when a body is found in the hotel pool. Aurora and her Real Murders Club help investigate which classmate was most likely to kill.
3
The Parts You Lose (2019)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and crime
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
4
The Seven-Ups (1973)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller and crime
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
5
Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
★ 7/10Also mystery and crime
Librarian and real crime buff Aurora “Roe” Teagarden never liked Detective Sergeant Jack Burns, but she also never wanted to see him dead. When his body is found outside of Aurora’s home, she then becomes the main…
6
The Caveman's Valentine (2001)
★ 5.9/10Also drama and mystery
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim…
7
A Bundle of Trouble: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
★ 6.9/10Also mystery and drama
Aurora Teagarden and her boyfriend Martin are thrilled when they get an unexpected visit from his niece and her new baby. Their excitement is short lived when his niece disappears and the baby is left behind. Once…
8
The Girl in the Fog (2017)
★ 6.8/10Also mystery and thriller
A gripping and chilling thriller that brings us to a hazy mountain village where an enigmatic detective is investigating the sudden disappearance of fifteen-year-old girl.
9
The Deadly Affair (1967)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller and mystery
Charles Dobbs is a British secret agent investigating the apparent suicide of Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan. Dobbs suspects that Fennan's wife, Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi Germany extermination camp, might have…
10
Riddled with Deceit: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020)
★ 7.4/10Also mystery and drama
Former detective Jeff Jackson teams up with Dr. Zee Madieras to track down their friend's missing emerald brooch, a thief, and also... a murderer.
11
Last Scene Alive: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2018)
★ 7.2/10Also mystery and crime
There is excitement in the air when a Hollywood crew comes to Lawrenceton to film a movie about the town’s sleuthy librarian, Aurora Teagarden. However, when the film’s leading lady is found murdered in her dressing…
12
Overdrive (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also thriller and mystery
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
13
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Very Foul Play (2019)
★ 7.5/10Also mystery and thriller
At a gathering of mystery and true crime fans, Aurora Teagarden’s nephew, Phillip, is accused of murder when an unplanned onstage blackout during the play in which he is performing ends, revealing Phillip holding the…
14
The Body (2024)
★ 6.5/10Also thriller and mystery
Rich entrepreneur Rebecca Zuin has died from an alleged heart attack, raising suspicions on the part of a police inspector after her body disappears from the morgue. When her handsome young husband becomes a suspect…
15
The Mirror Crack'd (1980)
★ 6.1/10Also mystery and crime
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
16
Last Night of Amore (2023)
★ 7.1/10Also thriller and crime
On the night before retirement, police lieutenant Amore is called to investigate the off-duty death of his longtime partner, who fell prey of an illegal scheme Amore himself was secretly part of.
17
Site Unseen: An Emma Fielding Mystery (2017)
★ 6.8/10Also mystery and crime
Brilliant, dedicated, and driven, archaeologist Emma Fielding is trying to unearth evidence of a 17th century coastal Maine settlement that predates Jamestown, one of the most significant archaeological finds in years…
18
Nostalgia (2022)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and crime
Felice returns to his native Rione Sanità in Naples to look after his dying mother, having lived abroad for the last forty years. Here he discovers that his old friend Oreste has become a notorious crimeboss.
19
Three Bedrooms, One Corpse: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also mystery and crime
While Aurora "Roe" Teagarden searches for her piece of the American dream, she decides to test the waters of the family business - real estate sales. Only thing is there's a dead body in the first house she shows. When…
20
Reap What You Sew: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also mystery and crime
Internet sensation and old family friend of Aurora Teagarden, Poppy Wilson, has returned to Lawrenceton to start her new embroidery business. But not everyone is happy with Poppy's success when she turns up dead. To…