Movies like Detachment

If you like "Detachment" you are looking for psychological, depressing and bleak movies about / with teacher, depression, suicide, teachers and students, dedicated educator, school and unhappy themes of Drama genre shot in USA.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps: 1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below). 2. Look for them in the presented list.
Detachment (2011)
 7.7
 110K
Detachment (2011)
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 enough to form any semblance of sentient attachment.
Style: psychological, depressing, bleak, thought provoking, independent film, serious, touching, inspirational, sad, contemplative ...
Audience: teens
Plot: teacher, depression, suicide, teachers and students, dedicated educator, school, unhappy, social problems, high school life, teen angst, human relationship, social decay, photograph, animal abuse, suicidal, psychology, social relations, school teacher, bullying, destiny, mentor, life is a bitch, youth, grandfather, education ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century, contemporary
Place: usa

Movie in categories

Most similar movies to Detachment

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, thought provoking and touching films with plots about friendship, teenager, society, mentor, school, youth and coming of age mostly in Drama, Comedy and Sport genres. Some movies like Detachment: Half Nelson (2006), The Hunt (2012), The Class (2007), Dead Poets Society (1989), Short Term 12 (2013). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
 7.1
 95K
Half Nelson (2006)
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 ...
Style: depressing, independent film, emotional, talky, inspirational ...
Audience: teens, teen drama
Plot: teacher, drug addiction, teachers and students, drug, loneliness, addiction, drug abuse, friendship, student, ghetto, school, existentialism ...
Time: year 2006, future, 2000s, 21st century
Place: new york, usa, brooklyn new york city, california
Similarity:
81%
 8.3
 405K
The Hunt (2012)
Genre: Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, France
Duration: 115 min.
Story: A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son’s custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.
Style: bleak, thought provoking, emotional, depressing, controversial ...
Audience: adult
Plot: injustice, child abuse, pedophile, false accusation, life turned upside down, social injustice, divorce, social relations, parents and children, friendship between men, church, punched in the face ...
Time: 2010s, year 2013, year 2012, 21st century
Place: denmark
Similarity:
86%
 7.9
 17K
The Class (2007)
Genre: Drama
Country: Estonia
Duration: 99 min.
Story: An average guy of an Estonian high-school decides to defend his bullied classmate. This starts war between him and the informal leader of the class. As teenagers' honour is a touchy thing, everything ends in bloodshed.
Style: serious, disturbing, tense, emotional, realistic ...
Audience: teens, teen drama
Plot: bullying, school shooting, youth, humiliation, vengeance, society, life is a bitch, juvenile delinquency, social misfits, teenage life, mistreatment, friendship ...
Time: 2000s, 21st century
Place: estonia, europe, eastern europe
Similarity:
86%
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min.
Story: At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.
Style: philosophical, inspirational, sentimental, uplifting, touching ...
Audience: teens, family friendly, kids, family outing, girls' night ...
Plot: teacher, suicide, poetry, coming of age, poet, mentor, teenager, literature, teachers and students, friendship, philosophy, dedicated educator ...
Time: 50s, 1950s, 20th century, year 1989, year 1959
Place: vermont, new england, usa, harvard university
Similarity:
87%
Movie in collections
 7.9
 95K
Short Term 12 (2013)
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:
75%
 6.8
 8K
2:37 (2006)
Genre: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 91 min.
Story: A contemporary, ensemble drama telling the complex tale of six high school students whose lives are interwoven with situations that so many of today's youth are faced with. The story takes place during a normal school day. At precisely 2:37 a ...
Style: psychological, bleak, serious, sincere, depressing ...
Audience: teens, teen drama
Plot: high school, brother sister incest, incest, rape, youth, teenage life, suicide, homosexual, high school life, teenage love, incest rape, social relations ...
Place: south australia, adelaide south australia, australia
Similarity:
100%
Finding Forrester (2000)
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%
 7.2
 32K
Speak (2004)
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:
75%
Movie in collections
 6.1
 33K
Palo Alto (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story: Palo Alto weaves together three stories of teenage lust, boredom, and self-destruction: shy, sensitive April, torn between an illicit flirtation with her soccer coach and an unrequited crush on sweet stoner Teddy; Emily, who offers sexual favors to ...
Style: atmospheric, melancholic, teen, realistic, serious ...
Audience: teens, teen drama
Plot: coming of age, adolescence, older man younger woman relationship, teenage life, youth, teenager, teenage girl, crush, loneliness, high school life, high school, unfulfillment ...
Time: year 2013, 21st century
Place: california, palo alto california, britain, usa, new jersey
Similarity:
100%
 7.9
 380K
Boyhood (2014)
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%
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min.
Story: After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.
Style: depressing, sad, heartbreaking, touching, independent film ...
Audience: teens, family friendly, adult
Plot: sadness, family drama, loneliness, suicide attempt, depression, loss, death, uncle nephew relationship, dysfunctional family, guardian, nephew, grief ...
Time: 2010s, year 2016
Place: massachusetts, boston, nebraska, new england
Similarity:
83%
 7.9
 330K
The Wrestler (2008)
Genre: Drama, Sport
Country: USA, France
Duration: 109 min.
Story: 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 ...
Style: depressing, emotional, sexy, sincere, serious ...
Audience: manly, adult
Plot: wrestling, loneliness, redemption, father daughter relationship, fame, aging, self destructing, professional wrestling, fighter, midlife crisis, life is a bitch, stripper ...
Time: year 2008, 2000s, 2010s, 80s, 21st century
Place: new jersey, bolivia, iran, usa, north america ...
Similarity:
100%
 7.6
 121K
The Wave (2008)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 107 min.
Story: A school teacher discusses types of government with his class. His students find it too boring to repeatedly go over national socialism and believe that dictatorship cannot be established in modern Germany. He starts an experiment to show how easily ...
Style: philosophical, political, disturbing, suspense, educational ...
Audience: teens, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot: fascism, nazism, suicide, dictator, experiment, bullying, teacher, teachers and students, high school, fanaticism, dictatorship, against humanity ...
Time: year 2008, 20th century, year 2011
Place: germany, middle east, israel, europe, berlin germany ...
Similarity:
75%
 7.6
 161K
I Am Sam (2001)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min.
Story: Sam has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old. He has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations start to become a problem and the ...
Style: touching, inspirational, sad, emotional, sentimental ...
Audience: chick flick, girls' night, adult
Plot: lawyer, mentally challenged, father daughter relationship, single father, child custody, social services, custody, custody battle, disability, parents and children, foster child, love ...
Time: year 2001, 21st century
Place: california, los angeles, usa
Similarity:
80%
 8.5
 1.1M
Whiplash (2014)
Genre: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story: Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.
Style: dramatic, realistic, psychological, motivational, inspirational ...
Audience: teens, family friendly, teen drama, adult
Plot: music, jazz, obsession, emotional abuse, mentor, musician, teachers and students, drummer, follow your dream, desire for fame, musician's life, public humiliation ...
Time: year 2014, 2010s, 21st century
Place: manhattan new york city, north america, peru, new york, usa
Similarity:
75%
 7.4
 102K
Reign Over Me (2007)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story: A man who lost his family in the September 11 attack on New York City runs into his old college roommate. Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help the man recover from his grief.
Style: inspirational, touching, depressing, sincere, heartbreaking ...
Audience: chick flick
Plot: friendship, grief, 9/11, mental disorder, dealing with death, mental health, trauma, character study, therapy, mental illness, tragic event, friends ...
Time: september 11 2001, year 2007, 21st century
Place: usa, new york, manhattan new york city
Similarity:
100%
 6.1
 3K
American Gun (2005)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: Seemingly disparate portraits of people -- among them a single mother, a high school principal, and an ace student -- Distinctly American -- all affected by the proliferation of guns in American society.
Style: thought provoking, emotional, realistic, serious, sincere ...
Plot: single mother, family relations, on the road, family problems, teenage life, single parent, dealing with death, human nature, working class, death in the family, parents and children, brother brother relationship ...
Time: year 2005, 20th century, 21st century
Place: chicago, usa, oregon, virginia
Similarity:
100%
 7.5
 37K
The Class (2008)
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:
67%
Movie in collections
Up the Down Staircase (1967)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story: Sylvia Barrett is a rookie teacher at New York's inner-city Calvin Coolidge High: her lit classes are overcrowded, a window is broken, there's no chalk, books arrive late. The administration is concerned mainly with forms and rules ...
Style: esoteric, independent film, serious, realistic, bleak ...
Plot: teacher, school teacher, education, teaching, teacher student relationship, high school teacher, high school, dedicated educator, racial discrimination, mentor, racism, unrequited love ...
Time: year 1967, 60s
Place: new york, usa
Similarity:
75%
The End of the Tour (2015)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story: The story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, 'Infinite Jest.'
Style: philosophical, meditative, psychological, serious, sincere ...
Audience: family friendly
Plot: loneliness, journalism, writers, book, friendship, existentialism, writer's block, dog, poet, biopic, novelist, depression ...
Time: 90s, 2010s, year 2015, 20th century, year 1996 ...
Place: minneapolis minnesota, illinois, nebraska, new york, usa ...
Similarity:
100%
 7.7
 272K
Philadelphia (1993)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story: No one would take his case until one man was willing to take on the system. Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes the prejudice and ...
Style: touching, thought provoking, emotional, sad, tear jerker ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: aids, courtroom drama, hiv, lawyer, gay, lgbt, lgbtq, discrimination, gay interest, homosexual, lawsuit, medical ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, year 1993, 80s
Place: pennsylvania, usa, philadelphia
Similarity:
100%
 6.9
 55K
Hesher (2010)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Taiwan
Duration: 106 min.
Story: A young boy has lost his mother and is losing touch with his father and the world around him. Then he meets Hesher who manages to make his life even more chaotic.
Style: bleak, thought provoking, serious, realistic, dark comedy ...
Audience: teen drama
Plot: loner, grief, antisocial behavior, depression, trauma, arson, life is a bitch, family problems, rebelliousness, youth, family drama, dealing with death ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Place: usa
Similarity:
100%
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story: The story of Katherine Ann Watson, a feminist teacher who studied at UCLA graduate school and in 1953 left her boyfriend behind in Los Angeles, California to teach at Wellesley College, a conservative women's private liberal arts college in ...
Style: inspirational, touching, sentimental, romantic, period piece ...
Audience: chick flick, girls' night, teens
Plot: feminism, teacher, college, coming of age, art, art history, feminist, gender, life philosophy, teachers and students, dedicated educator, boarding school ...
Time: 50s, 1950s, year 2003, post world war two, 20th century ...
Place: massachusetts, boston, california, usa, manhattan new york city ...
Similarity:
75%
Movie in collections
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Everybody Dies But Me (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 80 min.
Story: One Monday morning Katya, Vika and Zhanna learn that there will be a school disco, their first disco, on the coming Saturday night. The girls feverishly start preparing for the event, which rapidly becomes the most important moment ever in their ...
Style: touching, realistic, gloomy, serious, suspense ...
Audience: teens, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot: friends, teenage life, life is a bitch, boy girl relationship, youth, family problems, friendship, high school life, social relations, dysfunctional family, school, social decay ...
Time: 2000s, 21st century
Place: soviet union, moscow russia, russia, ussr
Similarity:
75%
Life of a King (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story: Life of a King is the true story of one man's mission to give inner city kids of Washington DC something he never had - a future. After being incarcerated for eighteen years, Eugene Brown established the Big Chair Chess Club to get kids off the ...
Style: sincere, rough, touching, psychological, captivating ...
Audience: teens
Plot: chess, dedicated educator, hardcase students, ex convict, teenage life, ambition, gain trust, bad attitude, society, contests and competitions, youth, redemption ...
Time: 21st century
Place: cuba, washington d.c., usa
Similarity:
100%
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
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:
56%
 7.1
 7K
After Lucia (2012)
Genre: Drama
Country: Mexico, France
Duration: 103 min.
Story: Alejandra and her dad Roberto have just moved to town. She is new at school, he has a new job. Starting over is sometimes complicated when you have left so much behind.
Style: disturbing, serious, realistic, suspense, teen ...
Audience: teens, teen drama
Plot: bullying, society, high school life, missing girl, rape, teenage life, estrangement, social decay, parents and children, social relations, family problems, high school ...
Time: near future, year 2012, 2010s, 21st century
Place: mexico, latin america, mexico city
Similarity:
100%
 8.1
 857K
Gran Torino (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story: Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors. ...
Style: serious, touching, emotional, suspense, harsh ...
Audience: chick flick, manly, teen drama, adult
Plot: gang, friendship, veteran, revenge, racism, old man, elderly, prejudice, car, war veteran, gangster, gunfight ...
Time: 2000s, year 2008, 21st century
Place: detroit, usa, michigan, italy, north america
Similarity:
100%
 7.3
 120K
Precious (2009)
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:
100%
 6.9
 12K
Towelhead (2007)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story: A young Arab-American girl struggles with her sexual obsession, a bigoted Army reservist and her strict father during the Gulf War.
Style: disturbing, sensual, teen, erotic, melancholic ...
Audience: teens, girls' night, teen drama
Plot: sexual abuse, pedophilia, adolescence, coming of age, child abuse, sexual exploration, sex with a minor, virginity, teenager, older man younger woman relationship, age difference, child molestation ...
Time: year 2007, 90s, year 1990, year 1991
Place: austin texas, usa, houston texas, texas, california
Similarity:
100%