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Movies that feel like Cruel Intentions (1999)

If you loved Cruel Intentions, the closest films we have are A Heart in Winter (1992), Lust, Caution (2007) and Phantom Thread (2017). All three share Cruel Intentions' contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 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.

Slaking a thirst for dangerous games, Kathryn challenges her stepbrother, Sebastian, to deflower their headmaster's daughter before the summer ends. If he succeeds, the prize is the chance to bed Kathryn. But if he loses, Kathryn will claim his most prized possession.

πŸ… 55% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Roger Kumblecontemplativeromantictenderobsessive
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If Cruel Intentions hit the spot, these will too

A Heart in Winter poster
A Heart in Winter
1992 Β· dir. Claude Sautet
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.6drama Β· romance

Contemplative and romantic in the same breath

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

Beautiful violin virtuoso Camille has two obsessions: the music of Ravel, and a friend of her husband's who crafts violins. But his heart seems to be as cold as her playing is passionate.

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Lust, Caution poster
Lust, Caution
2007 Β· dir. Ang Lee
πŸ… 73%β˜… 7.5action Β· drama Β· romance

One thread runs through both: sexual obsession

The difference: Leans harder into action than Cruel Intentions does

During World War II, a secret agent must seduce, then assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai. Her mission becomes clouded when she finds herself falling in love with the man she is assigned to kill.

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Phantom Thread poster
Phantom Thread
2017 Β· dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.4drama Β· romance

Tender where it counts, obsessive underneath

In 1950s London, a renowned dressmaker's meticulous lifestyle begins drastically changing as his relationship with his young muse intensifies.

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After We Collided poster
After We Collided
2020 Β· dir. Roger Kumble
πŸ… 13%β˜… 5.1drama Β· romance

The same hand behind both of them: Roger Kumble

The difference: Missing the obsession of Cruel Intentions

Tessa finds herself struggling with her complicated relationship with Hardin; she faces a dilemma that could change their lives forever.

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The Age of Innocence poster
The Age of Innocence
1993 Β· dir. Martin Scorsese
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.2drama Β· romance

Both keep coming back to the same thing: upper class

In 19th century New York high society, a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.

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Nymphomaniac: Vol. I poster
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
2013 Β· dir. Lars von Trier
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.9drama

Common ground: virgin

A man named Seligman finds a fainted wounded woman in an alley and he brings her home. She tells him that her name is Joe and that she is nymphomaniac. Joe tells her life and sexual experiences with hundreds of men since she was a young teenager while Seligman tells about his hobbies, such as fly fishing, reading about Fibonacci numbers or listening to organ music.

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Padmaavat poster
Padmaavat
2018 Β· dir. Sanjay Leela Bhansali
πŸ… 53%β˜… 7.1drama Β· history Β· romance

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to history than Cruel Intentions does

Rajputana, India, 13th century. The tyrannical usurper Alauddin Khilji, sultan of Delhi, becomes obsessed with Queen Padmavati, wife of King Ratan Singh of Mewar, and goes to great lengths to satisfy his greed for her.

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Modern Romance poster
Modern Romance
1981 Β· dir. Albert Brooks
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7comedy Β· drama Β· romance

Both lean on romance more than on romance

A film editor breaks up with his girlfriend, unsure if he is in love.

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Head-On poster
Head-On
2004 Β· dir. Fatih Akin
β˜… 7.9drama Β· romance

Both are built on the same subject: drug abuse

With the intention to break free from the strict familial restrictions, a suicidal young woman sets up a marriage of convenience with a forty-year-old addict, an act that will lead to an outburst of envious love.

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What's Eating Gilbert Grape poster
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
1993 Β· dir. Lasse HallstrΓΆm
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.7romance Β· drama

The same preoccupation in both: brothers and sisters

Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger brother, Arnie, who has a knack for finding trouble. Settled into a job at a grocery store and an ongoing affair with local woman Betty Carver, Gilbert finally has his life shaken up by the free-spirited Becky.

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Rachel Getting Married poster
Rachel Getting Married
2008 Β· dir. Jonathan Demme
πŸ… 85%β˜… 6.6drama Β· romance

Same instincts, 9 years apart

A young woman who has been in and out from rehab for the past 10 years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.

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The Blue Angel poster
The Blue Angel
1930 Β· dir. Josef von Sternberg
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.6drama

The same preoccupation in both: sexual obsession

The difference: Made in the 1930s, in a different era of the craft

Prim professor Immanuel Rath finds some of his students ogling racy photos of cabaret performer Lola Lola and visits a local club, The Blue Angel, in an attempt to catch them there. Seeing Lola perform, the teacher is filled with lust, eventually resigning his position at the school to marry the young woman. However, his marriage to a coquette -- whose job is to entice men -- proves to be more difficult than Rath imagined.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Cruel Intentions’ defining feeling.