Movies like Half Nelson
If you like "Half Nelson" you are looking for depressing, independent film and emotional movies about / with teacher, drug addiction, teachers and students, drug, loneliness, addiction and drug abuse themes of Drama genre shot in USA.
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1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
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Half Nelson (2006)
95K
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.
Style:
depressing, independent film, emotional, talky, inspirational, serious, feel good, melancholic, intense, indie film ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
teacher, drug addiction, teachers and students, drug, loneliness, addiction, drug abuse, friendship, student, ghetto, school, mentor, existentialism, poverty, high school, secret, teaching, lifestyle, teenager, education, dialogue, melancholy, school teacher, coming of age, renaissance ...
Time:
year 2006, future, 2000s, 21st century, contemporary
Place:
new york, usa, brooklyn new york city, california
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Half Nelson
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, sincere and dramatic films with plots about coming of age, friendship, teenager, storytelling, mentor, honest and youth mostly in Drama, Crime and Sport genres. Some movies like Half Nelson: Detachment (2011), Short Term 12 (2013), Boyhood (2014), Pay It Forward (2000), The Basketball Diaries (1995). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
110K
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of substitute teacher, Henry Barthes. Henry roams from school to school, imparting modes of knowledge, but never staying long ...
Style:
psychological, depressing, bleak, thought provoking, independent film ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
teacher, depression, suicide, teachers and students, dedicated educator, school, unhappy, social problems, high school life, teen angst, human relationship, social decay ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
81%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, works with her boyfriend and colleague, Mason, to help at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.
Style:
compassionate, sad, sweet, realistic, touching ...
Audience:
teens, kids, teen drama, adult
Plot:
child abuse, social worker, depression, troubled teen, teenager, foster child, adolescence, suicide attempt, coming of age, mental illness, problem child, self harm ...
Time:
year 2013, y2k, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
los angeles, usa
Similarity:
100%
380K
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 165 min.
Story:
The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.
Style:
philosophical, melancholic, cerebral, touching, depressing ...
Audience:
teens, kids, chick flick, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, childhood, teenager, high school, adolescence, domestic abuse, family drama, youth, divorced parents, stepsister stepsister relationship, relationships, marriage ...
Time:
2010s, year 2014, 2000s, 90s, near future ...
Place:
texas, ethiopia, houston texas, austin texas, usa
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Like some other kids, 12-year-old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded.
Style:
touching, inspirational, emotional, motivational, sentimental ...
Audience:
chick flick, kids, teens, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
teacher, childhood, single parent, life philosophy, death, boy, good deed, disfigurement, addiction, abusive husband, childhood trauma, teacher student relationship ...
Time:
year 2000, 20th century, 90s
Place:
tibet, usa, nevada, las vegas
Similarity:
86%
Movie in collections
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
Film adaptation of street tough Jim Carroll's epistle about his kaleidoscopic free fall into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
Style:
rough, emotional, teen, harsh, serious ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
addiction, heroin, drug abuse, basketball, downfall, drug, teenage life, life is a bitch, drug overdose, teenager, high school, drug addiction ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, near future, 60s, year 1995 ...
Place:
boston, new york, seattle, usa, manhattan new york city ...
Similarity:
83%
Genre: Drama, Sport
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 136 min.
Story:
Gus van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help ...
Style:
feel good, sentimental, touching, sincere, inspirational ...
Audience:
teens, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
mentor, literature, dedicated educator, coming of age, prejudice, genius, basketball, writers, teacher, african american, prodigy, intergenerational friendship ...
Time:
year 2000, 90s, 20th century
Place:
new york, brooklyn new york city, scotland, usa, bronx new york city ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the ...
Style:
meditative, depressing, emotional, psychological, teen ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
prison, coming of age, dysfunctional family, murder, teacher, prison life, writers, family relations, theft, parents and children, investigation, loss of sibling ...
Time:
year 2003, 21st century
Place:
california, paris france, italy, phoenix arizona, los angeles ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
A naive male prostitute and his sickly friend struggle to survive on the streets of New York City.
Style:
controversial, realistic, cult classic, depressing, sexual ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
friendship, fish out of water, dream, loneliness, friendship between men, marijuana, flashback, sex, sexuality, homosexuality, homelessness, prostitute ...
Time:
20th century, 1950s, 60s, year 1969, 50s ...
Place:
texas, new york, usa, manhattan new york city, florida ...
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
11K
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Lyle is filled with rage. After badly beating a classmate during a schoolyard fight, Lyle is committed to a juvenile mental institution in lieu of criminal prosecution. Inside the hospital, Lyle encounters a group of adolescents struggling with a ...
Style:
psychological, disturbing, independent film, depressing, compassionate ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
mental institution, mental illness, coming of age, juvenile delinquency, depression, self harm, addiction, mental health, manic, psychology, therapy, dysfunctional family ...
Time:
year 2001
Place:
new jersey, california
Similarity:
100%
765K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends.
Style:
disturbing, psychedelic, captivating, dark comedy, black comedy ...
Audience:
boys' night, teens, teen drama
Plot:
addiction, heroin, drug addiction, drug abuse, existentialism, dark humor, counterculture, junkie, life is a bitch, subculture, dialogue, social misfits ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, year 1996
Place:
scotland, edinburgh scotland, london, england, britain ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
Based on the Henry James novella, the story frames on 7-year-old Maisie, caught in a custody battle between her mother – a rock and roll icon – and her father. What Maisie Knew is an evocative portrayal of the chaos of adult life seen entirely ...
Style:
touching, sincere, sad, talky, atmospheric ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
childhood, divorce, child, dysfunctional family, unsupportive parent, custody battle, marriage, family in crisis, family problems, crumbling marriage, starting over, crumbling relationship ...
Time:
2010s, 90s, 70s, 21st century
Place:
new york, usa, manhattan new york city, empire state building manhattan new york city, california
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min.
Story:
Raised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, she's torn between her two very different worlds as she tries to speak her ...
Style:
hood, captivating, teen, social, sad ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot:
racism, ghetto, african american, father son relationship, father daughter relationship, loss of friend, black, coming of age, black lives matter, private school, black history, teenager ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Netherlands
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.
Style:
disturbing, lgbt cinema, depressing, independent film, psychological ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, child abuse, gay, sexual abuse, pedophilia, homosexuality, homosexual, child molestation, lgbtq, male rape, homosexual rape, youth ...
Time:
90s, year 2004, 2000s, near future, y2k ...
Place:
kansas, new york, usa
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 156 min.
Story:
Charlie Simms is a student at a private preparatory school who comes from a poor family. To earn the money for his flight home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas, Charlie takes a job over Thanksgiving looking after retired U.S. Army officer Lieutenant ...
Style:
inspirational, sentimental, touching, dramatic, realistic ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
friendship, blindness, mentor, blind character, tango, human spirit, human nature, life philosophy, coming of age, thanksgiving, loneliness, preparatory school ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
new york, new england, new hampshire, usa, seattle
Similarity:
100%
32K
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
Freshman high-school student Melinda has refused to speak ever since she called the cops on a popular summer party. With her old friends snubbing her for being a rat, and her parents too busy to notice her troubles, she folds into herself, trying to ...
Style:
touching, psychological, independent film, sad, sincere ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
high school, teenage girl, rape, bullying, youth, rape victim, school, teenage life, innocence lost, teenager, unsupportive friend, high school life ...
Time:
2000s, 21st century
Place:
columbus ohio, usa
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A hardcore American racist skinhead who, because of his intelligence, leads a gang dedicated to fighting the enemy: the supposed American-Jewish conspiracy for domination. However, he's hiding a secret: he's Jewish-born, a brilliant ...
Style:
disturbing, emotional, bleak, independent film, realistic ...
Plot:
skinhead, judaism, racism, anti semitism, neo nazi, nazism, hate, politics, identity crisis, fascism, violence spree, anger ...
Time:
year 2001, y2k, 60s, 20th century
Place:
israel, new york, usa, argentina, germany
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for the holidays at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
Style:
erotic drama, erotic, stylized, art house, cerebral ...
Audience:
teens, girls' night
Plot:
drug addiction, drug addict, male nudity, friendship, male prostitution, male prostitute, hedonism, addiction, drug, drug abuse, homosexuality, love triangle ...
Time:
80s, year 1987
Place:
los angeles, beverly hills, california, usa, palm springs california ...
Similarity:
100%
68K
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, Netherlands
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Everything changes for 15 year old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend.
Style:
sexy, emotional, sincere, bleak, gloomy ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot:
adolescence, age difference, coming of age, teenage girl, rebelliousness, mother's boyfriend, hopes, dancing, youth, sexual content, older man younger woman relationship, fall in love ...
Time:
year 2009, near future, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
europe, england, california
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
290K
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
A group of high school students navigate love and friendships in a world of drugs, sex, trauma, and social media.
Style:
thought provoking, captivating, realistic, depressing, sexy ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
addiction, teenager, coming of age, drug addict, high school, mental illness, lgbt, youth, sex, sexuality, school, teenage life ...
Time:
september 11 2001, 2020s, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
london, brooklyn new york city, italy, california, singapore ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
A circle of twenty-something friends reunite for a weekend away to console a suicidal member of their group. Yet, despite their best efforts to enjoy themselves, a tinderbox of old jealousies, unrequited love, and widening political differences ...
Style:
independent film, atmospheric, surreal, serious, realistic ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
suicide attempt, depression, reunited friends, group of friends, friendship, relationships, friends, anxiety, writer's block, life philosophy, introspection, college graduate ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
usa, new york state, new york
Similarity:
100%
3K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A drama teacher's taboo relationship with an unstable student strikes a nerve in her jealous classmate, sparking a vengeful chain of events within their suburban high school that draws parallels to 'The Crucible'.
Style:
realistic, talky, emotional, atmospheric, touching ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
bullying, teacher student relationship, male teacher female student affair, taboo, sex scene, cheerleader, high school, older man younger woman relationship, teenage girl, life is a bitch, teenage life, loneliness ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
100%
120K
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
Set in Harlem in 1987, Claireece "Precious" Jones is a 16-year-old African American girl born into a life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother, ...
Style:
depressing, emotional, inspirational, bleak, rough ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama, adult
Plot:
rape, dysfunctional family, coming of age, poverty, teacher, sexual abuse, illiteracy, african american, domestic violence, aids, child abuse, parents and children ...
Time:
2000s, 20th century, year 1987, 80s
Place:
new york, america, harlem, new york city, usa, harlem ...
Similarity:
26%
37K
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
Style:
sincere, melancholic, psychological, realistic, talky ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens, kids, teen drama
Plot:
teachers and students, high school life, adolescence, dedicated educator, high school, ethnic diversity, mentor, life philosophy, social relations, workplace, self discovery, teaching ...
Time:
year 2008, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
paris france, france, europe, morocco, caribbean ...
Similarity:
26%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
The hopes and dreams of four ambitious people are shattered when their drug addictions begin spiraling out of control. A look into addiction and how it overcomes the mind and body.
Style:
psychological, disturbing, bleak, depressing, atmospheric ...
Audience:
kids, adult
Plot:
addiction, drug abuse, heroin, drug addiction, insanity, drug, junkie, loneliness, mental illness, depression, dream, subculture ...
Time:
year 2000, future, y2k, 20th century, 90s ...
Place:
britain, america, new york, usa, coney island brooklyn new york city ...
Similarity:
26%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
A coming-of-age story based on the best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, which follows 15-year-old freshman Charlie, an endearing and naive outsider who is taken under the wings of two seniors. A moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope - and the ...
Style:
touching, teen, sincere, melancholic, sad ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, high school, teenager, adolescence, first love, friendship, teenage love, youth, high school life, depression, suicide, teenage life ...
Time:
90s, 2010s, year 1991, year 2013, 20th century ...
Place:
pittsburgh, pennsylvania, usa
Similarity:
26%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
William Hundert is a passionate and principled Classics professor who finds his tightly-controlled world shaken and inexorably altered when a new student, Sedgewick Bell, walks into his classroom. What begins as a fierce battle of wills gives way to ...
Style:
inspirational, realistic, touching, contemplative, emotional ...
Audience:
kids, teens, girls' night
Plot:
teacher, dedicated educator, coming of age, boarding school life, ethics, school teacher, schoolboy, boarding school, teachers and students, youth, hardcase students, boys' school ...
Time:
20th century, year 2002, 70s, 2000s, future
Place:
washington d.c., pennsylvania, new jersey
Similarity:
26%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
A woman stuck in a stale marriage struggles to raise her children and manage her secret drug habit. But when winter comes to her small town, her balancing act begins to come crashing down.
Style:
emotional, sincere, touching, serious, scary ...
Plot:
addiction, infidelity, rehabilitation, cocaine, dysfunctional family, going straight, family life, working class, drug abuse, destructive relationship, life is a bitch, cliche ...
Place:
new york, new york state, usa
Similarity:
26%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.
Style:
inspirational, touching, educational, realistic, sentimental ...
Audience:
teens, kids, girls' night
Plot:
high school, teacher, teaching, dedicated teacher, coming of age, teenager, mentor, new teacher, cockney, gym teacher, slum, death of mother ...
Time:
60s, year 1967, 20th century, 80s
Place:
england, east end london, europe, united kingdom, london
Similarity:
25%
191K
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min.
Story:
The filmed adaptation from David Benioff's novel of the same name. Set in New York, a convicted drug dealer named Monty has one day left of freedom before he is sent to prison. Anger, blame, frustration, betrayal, guilt and loneliness are ...
Style:
bleak, cerebral, clever, psychedelic, atmospheric ...
Plot:
friendship, drug lord, organized crime, drug dealer, drug, melancholy, 9/11, freedom, redemption, paranoia, hopes, profanity ...
Time:
2000s, year 2002, 21st century
Place:
new york, usa, new jersey
Similarity:
25%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
When David Greene receives a football scholarship to a prestigious prep school in the 1950s, he feels pressure to hide the fact that he is Jewish from his classmates and teachers, fearing that they may be anti-Semitic. He quickly becomes the big man ...
Style:
emotional, talky, intense, serious, sincere ...
Audience:
teens, family outing, girls' night, kids
Plot:
high school, coming of age, friendship, preparatory school, anti semitism, american football, justice, boarding school life, prejudice, judaism, working class, youth ...
Time:
1950s, 50s, 20th century, year 1992, 80s
Place:
israel, massachusetts, harvard university, usa, boston
Similarity:
25%
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