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True Grit poster

Movies that feel likeTrue Grit (2010)

Following the murder of her father by a hired hand, a 14-year-old farm girl sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find—a man with 'true grit'—Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn.

If you loved True Grit, the closest films we have are Hostiles (2017), Short Term 12 (2013) and Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008). All three share True Grit's contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is City of Men (2007).

🍅 95% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Ethan Coencontemplativeepicgrittymelancholy
12 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If True Grit hit the spot, these will too

Hostiles poster
Hostiles
2017 · dir. Scott Cooper
🍅 71%★ 7.2drama · western · historyStarz

Contemplative where it counts, epic underneath

The difference: Leans harder into history than True Grit does

A legendary Native American-hating Army captain nearing retirement in 1892 is given one last assignment: to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory back to his Montana reservation.

Short Term 12 poster
Short Term 12
2013 · dir. Destin Daniel Cretton
🍅 98%★ 7.9dramaPrime Video

Both land grit and melancholy at once

The difference: Easier on the scale than True Grit

Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, helps at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father poster
🍅 94%★ 8.5documentary · crimePrime Video

The same preoccupation in both: grief

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.

Life of Pi poster
Life of Pi
2012 · dir. Ang Lee
🍅 86%★ 7.9adventure · dramaMax

Both are built on the same subject: grief

The story of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper's son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

Lilya 4-ever poster
Lilya 4-ever
2002 · dir. Lukas Moodysson
🍅 84%★ 7.8drama · crime

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

In a struggling post-Soviet community, Lilya a teenage girl is abandoned when her mother moves to the United States with her boyfriend. Facing neglect and poverty, she meets Andrei, who offers her a job in Sweden, giving her hope for a better life — and a journey that will change everything.

The Look of Silence poster
The Look of Silence
2014 · dir. Joshua Oppenheimer
🍅 96%★ 8.2history · documentary

Adventure built on scale, twice over

An Indonesian man with a communist background named Ramli was brutally murdered when the "Communist" purge occurred in 1965. His remaining family members lived in fear and silence until the making of this documentary. Adi, a brother of his, decided to revisit the horrific incident and visited the men who were responsible for the killings and one survivor of the purge. These meetings uncovered sadistic details of the murders and exposed raw emotions and reactions of the killers' family members about what happened in the past - much to Adi's disappointment.

The Celebration poster
The Celebration
1998 · dir. Thomas Vinterberg
🍅 91%★ 8drama

Gritty western, and it commits to that

The family of a wealthy businessman gather to celebrate his 60th birthday. During the course of the party, his eldest son presents a speech that reveals a devastating secret that turns the night into a battle of truth and denial.

Hell or High Water poster
Hell or High Water
2016 · dir. David Mackenzie
🍅 97%★ 7.6western · crime · dramaMax

Melancholy drama in both cases

A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.

The King's Speech poster
The King's Speech
2010 · dir. Tom Hooper
🍅 94%★ 8drama · historyParamount+

Both lean on stillness more than on adventure

The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.

City of Men poster
City of Men
2007 · dir. Paulo Morelli
🍅 74%★ 7.2dramaParamount+

One thread runs through both: father murder

Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.

I'm Still Here poster
I'm Still Here
2024 · dir. Walter Salles
★ 8.2drama · historyNetflix

Western built on scale, twice over

A woman married to a former politician during the 1971 military dictatorship in Brazil is forced to reinvent herself and chart a new course for her family after a violent and arbitrary act.

13 Assassins poster
13 Assassins
2010 · dir. Takashi Miike
🍅 95%★ 7.5adventure · drama · actionPrime Video

Melancholy drama, and it commits to that

A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.

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