Movies Like Brendan Smyth: Betrayal of Trust

If you liked Brendan Smyth: Betrayal of Trust (2011), a drama movie directed by Michael McDowell, 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 Boys of St. Vincent (1994)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
The true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage, run by a religious community in Newfoundland.
2
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.
3
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…
4
Spotlight (2015)
★ 7.8/10Also drama
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
5
In the Name of the Father (1993)
★ 7.9/10Also drama
A small-time Belfast thief, Gerry Conlon, is wrongly convicted of an IRA bombing in London, along with his father and friends, and spends 15 years in prison fighting to prove his innocence.
6
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…
7
Calm with Horses (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
In darkest rural Ireland, ex-boxer Douglas 'Arm' Armstrong has become the feared enforcer for the drug-dealing Devers family, whilst also trying to be a good father to his autistic five-year-old son, Jack. Torn between…
8
The Magdalene Sisters (2002)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.
9
Sleepers (1996)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.
10
True Confessions (1981)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
A cop clashes with his priest brother while investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute.
11
The General (1998)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
The real-life story of Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies in Ireland with his team, but attracted unwanted attention from the police, the I.R.A., the U.V.F., and members of…
12
Boys Town (1938)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
Devout but iron-willed Father Flanagan leads a community called Boys Town, a different sort of juvenile detention facility where, instead of being treated as underage criminals, the boys are shepherded into making…
13
Doubt (2008)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
In 1964 Bronx, two Catholic school nuns question the new priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled African-American student.
14
Veronica Guerin (2003)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
In this true story, Veronica Guerin is an investigative reporter for an Irish newspaper. As the drug trade begins to bleed into the mainstream, Guerin decides to take on and expose those responsible. Beginning at the…
15
The Case for Christ (2017)
★ 7/10Also drama
Based on the true story of an award-winning investigative journalist -- and avowed atheist -- who applies his well-honed journalistic and legal skills to disprove the newfound Christian faith of his wife... with…
16
A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Martin, an I.R.A. hitman, is seen by a Catholic priest while carrying out a hit. He grows a bond with the priest and his niece. But his past and his former employers put all their lives in danger.
17
The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
A young priest, Father Chisholm is sent to China to establish a Catholic parish among the non-Christian Chinese. While his boyhood friend, also a priest, flourishes in his calling as a priest in a more Christian area…
18
Five Minutes of Heaven (2009)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
The story of former Ulster Volunteer Force member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffin's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.
19
Primal Fear (1996)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Vail finds…
20
Angela's Ashes (1999)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
An Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice, and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.