Movies Like Cries from the Heart

If you liked Cries from the Heart (1994), a drama and tv movie movie directed by Michael Switzer, 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
Miracle Run (2004)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and tv movie
Corinne is a single mother of twin 5-year-old boys, Steven and Phillip, who are diagnosed with autism. Public school officials threaten to remove them from school due to their behavior, but through therapy, the boys…
2
Peacock (2010)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
A minor train accident in rural Nebraska gradually unveils a mystery involving the town's reclusive bank clerk.
3
Detachment (2011)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
A chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of substitute teacher Henry Barthes. Henry roams from school to school, imparting modes of…
4
Jack of the Red Hearts (2016)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
A teenage con artist tricks a desperate mother into hiring her as a live-in companion for her autistic daughter.
5
The Tale (2018)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
An investigation into one woman’s memory as she‘s forced to re-examine her first sexual relationship and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.
6
The Unbreakable Boy (2025)
★ 7.9/10Also drama
When Scott and Teresa LeRette learn that their son Austin is both autistic and has brittle bone disease, they initially worry for their son’s future. But with Scott’s growing faith and Austin’s incredible spirit, they…
7
Abducted by My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story (2023)
★ 6.9/10Also tv movie
The story of Elizabeth Thomas, a 15-year-old high school student who was groomed and abducted by teacher Tad Cummins.
8
Front of the Class (2008)
★ 8.1/10Also drama
A boy with Tourette's syndrome overcomes criticism and discrimination to achieve his dream of becoming a teacher.
9
Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey (2018)
★ 8/10Also drama and tv movie
On the night she plans on taking her own life, 17-year-old 'Lisa McVey' is kidnapped and finds herself fighting to stay alive and is raped. She manages to talk her attacker into releasing her, but when she returns…
10
House of Cards (1993)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
When Ruth Matthews's husband is killed in a fall at an archaeological dig, her daughter Sally handles her father's death in a very odd manner. As Sally's condition worsens, Ruth takes her to see Jake, an expert in…
11
The Night Clerk (2020)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Hotel night clerk Bart Bromley is a highly intelligent young man on the Autism spectrum. When a woman is murdered during his shift, Bart becomes the prime suspect. As the police investigation closes in, Bart makes a…
12
Girl in the Box (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and tv movie
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
13
Wonder (2017)
★ 8.1/10Also drama
The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
14
Short Term 12 (2013)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, helps at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.
15
Flowers in the Attic (2014)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and tv movie
After the sudden death of their father, four children face cruel treatment from their ruthless grandmother.
16
The Quiet (2006)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
After her widowed father dies, deaf teenager Dot moves in with her godparents, Olivia and Paul Deer. The Deers' daughter, Nina, is openly hostile to Dot, but that does not prevent her from telling her secrets to her…
17
Speak (2004)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
Freshman high-school student Melinda has refused to speak ever since she called the cops on a popular summer party. With her old friends snubbing her for being a rat, and her parents too busy to notice her troubles…
18
Memory (2023)
★ 7/10Also drama
Sylvia is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life: her daughter, her job, her AA meetings. This is blown open when Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter will…
19
Taken Back: Finding Haley (2012)
★ 6.7/10Also tv movie and drama
Unable to get over the abduction of her daughter, a mother is convinced she has finally found her, but is she simply a mother obsessed?
20
Trust (2010)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
A suburban family is torn apart when fourteen-year-old Annie meets her first boyfriend online. After months of communicating via online chat and phone, Annie discovers her friend is not who he originally claimed to be…