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The Wrestler poster

Movies that feel likeThe Wrestler (2008)

Aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson is long past his prime but still ready and rarin' to go on the pro-wrestling circuit. After a particularly brutal beating, however, Randy hangs up his tights, pursues a serious relationship with a long-in-the-tooth stripper, and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. But he can't resist the lure of the ring and readies himself for a comeback.

If you loved The Wrestler, the closest films we have are Amour (2012), The Reader (2008) and Flipped (2010). All three share The Wrestler's contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is I Don't Want to Go Back Alone (2011).

πŸ… 99% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.9 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Darren Aronofskycontemplativeromantictender
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· Paramount Plus Premium Β· Sundance Now

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See it on the Mood Map

If The Wrestler hit the spot, these will too

Amour poster
Amour
2012 Β· dir. Michael Haneke
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.9drama Β· romance

One thread runs through both: daughter

Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.

The Reader poster
The Reader
2008 Β· dir. Stephen Daldry
πŸ… 63%β˜… 7.6drama Β· romance

Contemplative where it counts, romantic underneath

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.

Flipped poster
Flipped
2010 Β· dir. Rob Reiner
πŸ… 54%β˜… 7.7romance Β· drama

Drama built on tenderness, twice over

When Juli meets Bryce in the second grade, she knows it's true love. After spending six years trying to convince Bryce the same, she's ready to give up - until he starts to reconsider.

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

Romance with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

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.

Revolutionary Road poster
Revolutionary Road
2008 Β· dir. Sam Mendes
πŸ… 67%β˜… 7.3drama Β· romance

Both lean on romance more than on drama

A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.

Up in the Air poster
Up in the Air
2009 Β· dir. Jason Reitman
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.4drama Β· romanceParamount+

Tender romance in both cases

Corporate downsizing expert Ryan Bingham spends his life in planes, airports, and hotels, but just as he’s about to reach a milestone of ten million frequent flyer miles, he meets a woman who causes him to rethink his transient life.

Veer-Zaara poster
Veer-Zaara
2004 Β· dir. Yash Chopra
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.8drama Β· romanceNetflix

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh, a pilot in the Indian Air Force, rescues the stranded Zaara, a woman from Pakistan, following a bus accident, and their lives are forever bound.

Weekend poster
Weekend
2011 Β· dir. Andrew Haigh
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.6drama Β· romanceRent or buy

Romantic romance in both cases

After a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special.

I Don't Want to Go Back Alone poster
I Don't Want to Go Back Alone
2011 Β· dir. Daniel Ribeiro
β˜… 8.2drama Β· romance

Both run tender where it counts

The arrival of a new student in school changes Leonardo's life. This 15 year-old blind teenager has to deal with the jealousy of his friend Giovana while figuring out the new feelings he's having towards his new friend, Gabriel.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona poster
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2008 Β· dir. Woody Allen
πŸ… 80%β˜… 7.1drama Β· romance

The drama is handled with the same confidence

Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.

Before Sunset poster
Before Sunset
2004 Β· dir. Richard Linklater
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8.1drama Β· romance

Romance approached the same way

Nine years later, Jesse travels across Europe giving readings from a book he wrote about the night he spent in Vienna with Celine. After his reading in Paris, Celine finds him, and they spend part of the day together before Jesse has to again leave for a flight. They are both in relationships now, and Jesse has a son, but as their strong feelings for each other start to return, both confess a longing for more.

Sidewalls poster
Sidewalls
2011 Β· dir. Gustavo Taretto
πŸ… 70%β˜… 7.5drama Β· romance

Cut from the same drama cloth

Martin is a neurotic web designer taking baby steps out of the isolation of his one-room apartment and his virtual reality. Mariana is an artist fresh out of a long relationship. They are perfect for each other, live on the same street, in opposite buildings, but they never meet. Can the movement of a modern city of three million people bring them together?

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

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