Movies Like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

If you liked A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), a drama movie directed by Elia Kazan, 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
House of Strangers (1949)
★ 7/10Also drama
Ruthless Italian-American banker Gino Monetti is engaged in a number of criminal activities. Three of his four grown sons refuse to help their father stay out of prison after he's arrested for his questionable business…
2
The Glass Castle (2017)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
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…
3
East of Eden (1955)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war…
4
The Dead (1987)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
After a convivial holiday dinner party, things begin to unravel when a husband and wife address some prickly issues concerning their marriage.
5
Cabrini (2024)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini arrives in 1889 New York City and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and…
6
Avalon (1990)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.
7
Sounder (1972)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
The oldest son of a loving and strong family of black sharecroppers comes of age in the Depression-era South after his father is imprisoned for stealing food.
8
Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017)
★ 7/10Also drama
The behind the scenes story of the life of A.A. Milne and the creation of the Winnie the Pooh stories inspired by his son Christopher Robin.
9
Small Things Like These (2024)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
In 1985, while working as a coal merchant to support his family, Bill Furlong discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent and uncovers truths of his own; forcing him to confront his past and the complicit…
10
Father Mother Sister Brother (2025)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Estranged siblings reunite after years apart, forced to confront unresolved tensions and reevaluate their strained relationships with their emotionally distant parents.
11
Passing (2021)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
In 1920s New York City, a Black woman finds her world upended when her life becomes intertwined with a former childhood friend who's passing as white.
12
Dreamchild (1985)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
80-year-old Alice Hargreaves is about to visit Columbia University to attend a reception in honour of author Lewis Carroll. As a child, Alice's close friendship with the writer was the creative catalyst for Carroll's…
13
Anne of Green Gables (1985)
★ 8.1/10Also drama
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and…
14
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
★ 7/10Also drama
A year after his father's death, Oskar, a troubled young boy, discovers a mysterious key he believes was left for him by his father and embarks on a scavenger hunt to find the matching lock.
15
C'mon C'mon (2021)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
Johnny and his young nephew forge a tenuous but transformational relationship when they embark on a cross-country trip to see life away from Los Angeles.
16
Dad (1989)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the…
17
Fatima (2020)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
In 1917, outside the parish of Fátima, Portugal, a 10-year-old girl and her two younger cousins witness multiple visitations of the Virgin Mary, who tells them that only prayer and suffering will bring an end to World…
18
Philomena (2013)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
A woman searches for her adult son, who was taken away from her decades ago when she was forced to live in a convent.
19
Mr. Church (2016)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying mother inherit a cook - Mr. Church. What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.
20
The Cider House Rules (1999)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
Homer is an orphan who was never adopted, becoming the favorite of orphanage director Dr. Larch. Dr. Larch imparts his full medical knowledge on Homer, who becomes a skilled, albeit unlicensed, physician. But Homer…