Movies Like Sons and Lovers

If you liked Sons and Lovers (1960), a drama movie directed by Jack Cardiff, 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
October Sky (1999)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
2
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.
3
Greed (1924)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
When housewife Trina wins the lottery, her comfortable life with her dentist husband John slowly deteriorates, in part by her own increasing paranoia and partly by the machinations of villainous acquaintance Marcus.
4
The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
★ 7/10Also drama
Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.
5
Hamlet (1996)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother now marrying the murderer... his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
6
The Damned Don't Cry (1950)
★ 7/10Also drama
Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.
7
Edie (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
To try and overcome a lifetime of bitterness and resentment, 83-year-old Edie decides that it is never too late. After packing an old camping bag, she leaves her life behind and embarks on an adventure she never got to…
8
Finding Neverland (2004)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
During a writing slump, playwright J.M. Barrie meets a widow and her four children, all young boys—who soon become an important part of Barrie’s life and the inspiration that lead him to create his masterpiece. Peter…
9
The Truth About Emanuel (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
10
Still Alice (2014)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words. When she receives a devastating diagnosis, Alice and her family find their bonds tested.
11
Where'd You Go, Bernadette (2019)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
When architect-turned-recluse Bernadette Fox goes missing prior to a family trip to Antarctica, her 15-year-old daughter, Bee, goes on a quest with Bernadette's husband to find her.
12
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…
13
Oliver Twist (1948)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin…
14
The Brave (1997)
★ 6/10Also drama
A down-on-his-luck American Indian recently released from jail is offered the chance to "star" as the victim of a snuff film, the resulting pay of which could greatly help his poverty stricken family.
15
Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
Nicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.
16
Heaven Is for Real (2014)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
After their young son, Colton, undergoes emergency surgery, small-town parents Todd and Sonja Burpo are overjoyed at the child's miraculous recovery. However, the Burpos are unprepared for what happens next... Colton…
17
Columbus (2017)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
When a renowned architecture scholar falls suddenly ill during a speaking tour, his son Jin finds himself stranded in Columbus, Indiana - a small Midwestern city celebrated for its many significant modernist buildings…
18
Ordinary Angels (2024)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Inspired by the incredible true story of a hairdresser who single-handedly rallies an entire community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically ill young daughter.
19
Our Mother's House (1967)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Seven children bury their mother and hide her death - until their long-lost father returns.
20
Nomadland (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the western United States after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.