Movies Like Novel Desires

If you liked Novel Desires (1991), a drama and romance movie directed by Lawrence Lanoff, 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
Blind (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and romance
A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
2
Life in a Year (2020)
★ 8.2/10Also drama and romance
A 17 year old finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.
3
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
★ 6.1/10Also romance and drama
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
4
Time Is Up (2021)
★ 6.5/10Also romance and drama
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
5
Nine Lives (2005)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and romance
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
6
The Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
★ 5.9/10Also drama and romance
A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service, where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
7
Ashes in the Snow (2018)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and romance
The coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her…
8
Maria's Lovers (1984)
★ 6/10Also drama and romance
A World War II prisoner returns home to his childhood sweetheart. However, back home, he discovers that he has to compete to win her love.
9
Five Dances (2013)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and romance
A gifted young dancer arrives in New York City and joins the downtown contemporary dance world. With talent to burn, he soon must choose between his responsibility to his broken family in the Midwest, and forging a…
10
Newness (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also romance and drama
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
11
A Journal for Jordan (2021)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and romance
Based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King, a soldier deployed to Iraq begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy revisits…
12
Attraction (2001)
★ 6.9/10Also romance
A writer/radio advice show host fails to heed his own advice as he stalks his ex-girlfriend and then becomes involved with an actress friend of hers.
13
Not Easily Broken (2009)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and romance
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
14
Gabriel's Inferno: Part III (2020)
★ 8.3/10Also romance and drama
The final part of the film adaption of the erotic romance novel Gabriel's Inferno written by an anonymous Canadian author under the pen name Sylvain Reynard.
15
Marked Men: Rule + Shaw (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also romance and drama
Shaw Landon has loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule, a fiery-tempered rebel tattoo artist, doesn’t have time for a good girl pre-med student like Shaw — even if she’s the only one who can see…
16
Breathe (2017)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and romance
Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.
17
Fire with Fire (1986)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and romance
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison…
18
See You Soon (2019)
★ 5.9/10Also romance and drama
A U.S. soccer star suffers a career-threatening injury in the run-up to the World Cup, and during his recovery, embarks on an epic romance with a Russian single mom.
19
Gabriel's Inferno (2020)
★ 8.4/10Also romance and drama
An intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love, and redemption, Gabriel's Inferno is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man's escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the…
20
Peter Ibbetson (1935)
★ 7/10Also drama and romance
When his mother dies, young Peter Ibbetson leaves Paris and his best friend, Mary, behind to live with a severe uncle in England. Years later, Peter is an architect with little time for women, until he begins a project…