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Movies that feel like Beautiful Boy (2018)

If you loved Beautiful Boy, the closest films we have are Blind Chance (1987), Corpus Christi (2019) and On My Skin (2018). All three share Beautiful Boy's contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 11 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.

πŸ… 67% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Felix van Groeningencontemplativeunsettling
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If Beautiful Boy hit the spot, these will too

Blind Chance poster
Blind Chance
1987 Β· dir. Krzysztof KieΕ›lowski
πŸ… 73%β˜… 7.7drama

Both are built on the same subject: psychological drama

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.

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Corpus Christi poster
Corpus Christi
2019 Β· dir. Jan Komasa
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.7drama

Common ground: psychological drama

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

A pious 20-year-old juvenile delinquent is sent to work at a sawmill in a small town; on arrival, he dresses up as a priest and accidentally takes over the local parish. The arrival of this young, charismatic preacher is an opportunity for the local community to begin the healing process after a tragedy that happened a year prior.

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On My Skin poster
On My Skin
2018 Β· dir. Alessio Cremonini
β˜… 7.3drama

The same preoccupation in both: biography

The difference: None of the unease Beautiful Boy is built on

The incredible true story behind the most controversial Italian court cases in recent years. Stefano Cucchi was arrested for a minor crime and mysteriously found dead during his detention. In one week's time, a family is changed forever.

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Compliance poster
Compliance
2012 Β· dir. Craig Zobel
πŸ… 89%β˜… 6.4drama Β· thriller

One thread runs through both: a true story

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than Beautiful Boy does

On a particularly busy day at a suburban Ohio fast food restaurant, manager Sandra receives a phone call from a police officer saying that an employee has stolen money from a customer.

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A Short Film About Killing poster
A Short Film About Killing
1988 Β· dir. Krzysztof KieΕ›lowski
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.9crime Β· drama

Both land stillness and unease at once

The difference: Leans harder into crime than Beautiful Boy does

Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.

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The Guilty poster
The Guilty
2021 Β· dir. Antoine Fuqua
πŸ… 73%β˜… 6.3drama Β· thriller

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.

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Raw poster
Raw
2017 Β· dir. Julia Ducournau
πŸ… 92%β˜… 6.9horror Β· drama

Unsettling drama in both cases

Stringent vegetarian Justine encounters a decadent, merciless, and dangerously seductive world during her first week at veterinary school. Desperate to fit in, she strays from her principles and eats raw meat for the first time. She soon experiences terrible and unexpected consequences as her true self begins to emerge.

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Let the Right One In poster
Let the Right One In
2008 Β· dir. Tomas Alfredson
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.8horror Β· drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

When Oskar, a sensitive, bullied 12-year-old boy, meets his new neighbor, the mysterious and moody Eli, they strike up a friendship. Initially reserved with each other, Oskar and Eli slowly form a close bond, but it soon becomes apparent that she is no ordinary young girl.

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Frankenstein poster
Frankenstein
2025 Β· dir. Guillermo del Toro
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.4drama Β· fantasy Β· horror

Both keep coming back to the same thing: fathers and sons

Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.

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Brightburn poster
Brightburn
2019 Β· dir. David Yarovesky
πŸ… 57%β˜… 6.1horror Β· science fiction Β· drama

Common ground: fathers and sons

What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister?

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Big Eyes poster
Big Eyes
2014 Β· dir. Tim Burton
πŸ… 71%β˜… 7drama

Both are built on the same subject: biography

In the late 1950s and early '60s, artist Walter Keane achieves unbelievable fame and success with portraits of saucer-eyed waifs. However, no one realizes that his wife, Margaret, is the real painter behind the brush. Although Margaret is horrified to learn that Walter is passing off her work as his own, she is too meek to protest too loudly. It isn't until the Keanes' marriage comes to an end and a lawsuit follows that the truth finally comes to light.

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November poster
November
2017 Β· dir. Rainer Sarnet
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.1drama Β· fantasy Β· romance

The shared currency is unease

In a poor Estonian village, a group of peasants use magic and folk remedies to survive the winter, and a young woman tries to get a young man to love her.

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The best-reviewed films that share Beautiful Boy’s defining feeling.