Movies Like When I Want to Cry, I Don't

If you liked When I Want to Cry, I Don't (1973), a crime and drama movie directed by Mauricio Walerstein, 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
The Parts You Lose (2019)
★ 6.6/10Also 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.
2
Blood Ties (2013)
★ 6.1/10Also thriller and crime
Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.
3
King Ivory (2025)
★ 7/10Also crime and drama
Based on extensive research involving law enforcement and gang members, a never-before-seen, authentic look inside the underworld of fentanyl trafficking from gangs inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester…
4
Facing El Chapo (2026)
★ 8.8/10Also crime and thriller
Two Mexican officers must survive the final hours of their shift after crossing a ruthless cartel boss.
5
Above the Rim (1994)
★ 7.1/10Also crime and drama
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
6
All the Devils Are Here (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and thriller
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
7
The Public Eye (1992)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
A crime photographer gets involved in a conspiracy.
8
Suburbicon (2017)
★ 5.9/10Also thriller and crime
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect…
9
The Legacy of the Bones (2019)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller and crime
Inspector Amaia Salazar must return to the Baztan valley in order to solve a series of suicides that seem to follow a similar pattern.
10
180 (2026)
★ 5.9/10Also thriller and crime
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
11
Each Dawn I Die (1939)
★ 6.9/10Also crime and drama
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
12
Blindfire (2020)
★ 6.8/10Also crime and drama
A police officer who while responding to a violent hostage call, kills the African American suspect only to later learn of his innocence. Sensing this was a set-up, and facing repercussions, he must track down the…
13
Brute Force (1947)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and drama
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's…
14
Gloria (1980)
★ 6.9/10Also crime and drama
When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
15
Winged Creatures (2009)
★ 5.9/10Also crime and drama
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an…
16
The System (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and thriller
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
17
Run (1991)
★ 6/10Also thriller and drama
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
18
The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
★ 5.9/10Also thriller and drama
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
19
In the Blood (2014)
★ 5.8/10Also crime and thriller
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
20
Red Right Hand (2024)
★ 6.6/10Also crime and thriller
Cash is trying to live a quiet, honest life in a small Appalachian town. When a vicious crime boss forces him back into her services, he soon learns he's capable of anything -- even killing -- to protect his family and…