Movies like Desperate Characters

If you like "Desperate Characters" you are looking for psychological, sentimental and touching movies about / with depression, midlife crisis, desperation, vandalism, boredom, paranoia and middle class themes of Drama genre shot in USA or UK.
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.
Desperate Characters (1971)
 6.2
 343
Desperate Characters (1971)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 97 min.
Story: With wit and real wisdom, Desperate Characters brilliantly examines the life of two disillusioned New Yorkers as they struggle to come to grips with the "normal" life with which they can no longer cope. Featuring powerful performances by MacLaine, Kenneth Mars (The Producers) as her disenchanted husband, and a young Carol Kane (The Princess Bride).
Style: psychological, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Plot: depression, midlife crisis, desperation, vandalism, boredom, paranoia, middle class, frigidity, translator, forced sex, childlessness, loveless marriage, anxiety, family relations, life is a bitch, couples, family problems, urban, city life, crumbling marriage, human nature, unfulfillment, unsupportive spouse, couple relations, sex ...
Time: year 1971, 70s, 20th century
Place: new york

Movie in categories

Most similar movies to Desperate Characters

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, emotional and touching films with plots about family problems, couples, family relations, unfulfillment, couple relations, crumbling marriage and life is a bitch mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like Desperate Characters: The Event (2003), The Pumpkin Eater (1964), The Mouth Agape (1974), Daybreak (2003), The Law of Enclosures (2000). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
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 6.1
 1K
The Event (2003)
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story: An intense relationship drama that takes the form of a mystery, The Event centers around a series of unexplained deaths that occur among the gay community in New York's fashionable Chelsea district. Nick, a district attorney investigating the ...
Style: serious, touching, emotional, sincere, sentimental ...
Plot: family relations, family problems, couples, terminal illness, gays and lesbians, gender, human nature, life is a bitch, aids, euthanasia, hiv, couple relations ...
Time: year 2003
Place: new york, nova scotia, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
95%
The Pumpkin Eater (1964)
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 118 min.
Story: The study of a marriage. Jo has five children and husband number two when she meets writer Jake Armitage. She leaves this husband to marry Jake, and his career takes off. A few years and at least one child later, Jo is deeply depressed, breaking ...
Style: psychological, realistic, serious, emotional, gloomy ...
Plot: writers, children, depression, family relations, trauma, kitchen sink realism, angry, existentialism, blues, mental disorder, dialogue, marriage ...
Time: 60s, 20th century
Place: england, europe, london
⇓ similarity ⇓
74%
The Mouth Agape (1974)
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 82 min.
Story: The portrait of a woman going through a terminal illness and the tumorous lives of her husband and son.
Style: realistic, serious, thought provoking, emotional, touching ...
Plot: terminal illness, love letter, family relations, death of mother, death, mother son relationship, family problems, couples, human nature, unfulfillment, crumbling marriage, life is a bitch ...
Time: year 1974, 70s, 20th century
Place: europe, france
⇓ similarity ⇓
63%
 7.1
 2K
Daybreak (2003)
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 110 min.
Story: Sweden, shortly before Christmas. Surgeon Rickard is told the job he expected goes to a Dane, because of his substance abuse. It's too late to cancel dinner with his in-laws. The guest couple announces their in-vitro is a success. Then ...
Style: realistic, psychological, touching, bleak, sincere ...
Plot: infidelity, family problems, vengeance, crumbling marriage, love affair, parents and children, family relations, couples, dishonesty, couple relations, redemption, introspection ...
Place: europe, eastern europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
60%
Movie in collections
The Law of Enclosures (2000)
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 111 min.
Story: Story of the same couple, first in their teenage years and then in their twilight years, paradoxically set in the same time during the backdrop of the Gulf War in the Middle East.
Style: psychological, touching, emotional, atmospheric, erotic ...
Plot: family relations, elderly, retirement home, family problems, fall in love, couple relations, infidelity, haunted by the past, terminal illness, couples, crumbling marriage, love and romance ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
Place: iraq, canada
⇓ similarity ⇓
57%
Late Bloomers (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Belgium, UK
Duration: 95 min.
Story: Late Bloomers stars Isabella Rossellini and William Hurt as a married couple pulled apart by the threat of old age. Each reacts in a different way: Hurt’s distinguished architect chases after his glory days, while Rossellini’s housewife installs ...
Style: sentimental, realistic, psychological, captivating, serious ...
Plot: crumbling marriage, self discovery, couple relations, family problems, couples, unfulfillment, midlife crisis, elderly, aging, husband, love story
Time: 21st century
Place: europe, england
⇓ similarity ⇓
55%
 6.3
 326
The Weekend (1999)
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Marian and John Kerr are expecting an old friend, Lyle for a weekend visit to their beautiful upstate New York home. Emotions run high since it is the one-year anniversary of the death of John's brother, the handsome and charismatic Tony, who ...
Style: independent film, contemplative, serious, realistic, gloomy ...
Plot: lgbt, glbt, loss of lover, aids, gay interest, mourning, couples, family relations, estrangement, family problems, haunted by the past, terminal illness ...
Time: 90s
Place: new york, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
53%
 6.1
 741
Three Dollars (2005)
Genre: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Eddie is a principled man, with a wife, a daughter and a mortgage and leads a seemingly stable and happy life as a government land assessor. Yet when the forces of economic and social change threaten this, he realises just how fragile his reality ...
Style: touching, sentimental, captivating, psychological, emotional ...
Plot: couple relations, self discovery, family problems, couples, hopes, redemption, moral dilemma, family relations, love triangle, love, society, rivalry ...
Time: 21st century
Place: australia
⇓ similarity ⇓
53%
Movie in collections
The End of Innocence (1990)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: Seemingly autobiographical story of a woman overwhelmed with trying to please everyone except herself, and not finding any answers until she's admitted to a rehab center by her parents. Eventually here is where she finds her answers.
Style: realistic, touching, serious, psychological, emotional ...
Plot: nervous breakdown, rehabilitation, drug abuse, mental institution, parents and children, family problems, doctors and patients, life is a bitch, rehabilitation center, addiction, power relations, family relations ...
Time: 20th century, 80s
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
52%
 5.6
 125
Automatic (2005)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 77 min.
Story: Everyone falls into self destructive habits. Automatic lets us view a small cross-section of the lives of six characters as they struggle to break free from the automatic behavior that drives their lives.
Style: contemplative, captivating, serious, realistic, bleak ...
Plot: family problems, couples, love and romance, human nature, couple relations, destiny, sexual relations, fall in love, crumbling marriage, womanizer, hopes, unfulfillment ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
51%
Particles of Truth (2003)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story: Life, love, and the fear of failing... Lilli Black, battling her painful memories and the secrets surrounding her dying father, collides into the complicated and obsessive life of Morrison Wiley on the streets of New York City. This peculiar love ...
Style: psychological, serious, realistic, independent film, gloomy
Plot: life is a bitch, mental illness, human nature, introspection, haunted by the past, family life, couples, family problems, dysfunctional family, estrangement, family relations, unfulfillment ...
Time: 21st century
Place: new york, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
51%
We Were the Mulvaneys (2002)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story: Based on the novel by the same name, We Were the Mulvaneys is a sensitive portrayal of one family's journey as they face conflict, fear, tragedy and ultimately, themselves.
Style: serious, realistic, emotional, touching, gloomy ...
Plot: family relations, family life, family problems, couples, love and romance, life is a bitch, family in crisis, alcohol abuse, brother brother relationship, loneliness, fear, trouble ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa, new york
⇓ similarity ⇓
51%
 7.0
 302
Belonging (2004)
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 96 min.
Story: Jess (Brenda Blethyn) and town handyman Jacob (Kevin Whately) have been happily married 20 years, recently taking in a trio of Jacob's elderly relatives, including his mother (Rosemary Harris). Though the relations are demanding, kindhearted ...
Style: serious, psychological, realistic, touching
Plot: family relations, love affair, family problems, betrayal, dysfunctional family, family in crisis, society, life is a bitch, crumbling marriage, infidelity, working class, couples ...
Place: england, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
49%
 7.3
 16
Scorn (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story: Scorn takes a look into the trials and tribulations of a group of people dealing with relationships, love, pain and friendship during the course of one year.
Style: serious, realistic, emotional, sincere, independent film ...
Plot: family problems, introspection, couples, human nature, destructive relationship, couple relations, bittersweet, unfulfillment, love, abuse, urban, black ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
48%
White Irish Drinkers (2010)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story: A coming of age story set in 1975 working-class Brooklyn, in which two teenage brothers living with their abusive father and their well-meaning but ineffective mother are caught up in a life of petty crime. Older brother Danny concocts a daring ...
Style: sincere, emotional, serious, realistic, sentimental ...
Plot: family problems, juvenile delinquency, life is a bitch, siblings relations, family life, parents and children, male pubic hair, society, hopes, working class, domestic disturbance, irish mob ...
Time: 20th century, 70s
Place: usa, ireland, new york
⇓ similarity ⇓
48%
The Other Woman (2009)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story: Emilia, a law-school graduate, falls in love with her married boss, Jack. After Emilia marries Jack, her happiness turns unexpectedly to grief following the death of her infant daughter. Devastated, Emilia nonetheless carries on, attempting to forge ...
Style: serious, realistic, touching, emotional, erotic ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: family life, parents and children, family problems, couple relations, death in the family, dishonesty, dealing with death, crumbling marriage, unfulfillment, woman, making love, women ...
Time: year 2009, 21st century
Place: new york, usa, manhattan new york city
⇓ similarity ⇓
47%
Candles on Bay Street (2006)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 97 min.
Story: DeeDee returns to her hometown with her 11 year old son, Trooper, 13 years after she ran off with her boyfriend. Her childhood best friend, Sam, is now married and he and his wife, Lydia, are the town's veterinarians. Lydia is a little wary ...
Style: sentimental, serious, touching, emotional, realistic
Plot: veterinarian, adoption, single parent, homecoming, life is a bitch, parents and children, terminal illness, couples, couple relations, social relations, unfulfillment, small town ...
Time: 21st century
Place: maine, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
46%
 7.5
 535
The C Word (2015)
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min.
Story: The C Word is an adaptation of Lisa Lynch's inspiring and candid book, based on her blog, about her battle with cancer.
Style: uplifting, sincere, touching, sentimental, serious ...
Plot: family relations, optimism, human spirit, life turned upside down, couple relations, life is a bitch, couples, terminal illness, journalism, hopes, cancer, blogger ...
Time: year 2008, 21st century
Place: spain
⇓ similarity ⇓
46%
Movie in collections
Curse of the Starving Class (1994)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: Curse of the Starving Class is a play by Sam Shepard, considered the first of a series on family tragedies. Drama about a dirt-poor 1950's-era farm family. Dad's a foul talking drunk and Mom is desperately trying to save what's left ...
Style: gloomy, independent film, serious, realistic
Plot: poverty, farm, alcoholic, family relations, coming of age, social misfits, society, hopes, life is a bitch, couple relations, human nature, unfulfillment ...
Time: 50s, 20th century, 1920s
⇓ similarity ⇓
45%
My Friend & His Wife (2006)
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 110 min.
Story: Two young men, Ye-joon and Jae-moon, have been close friends since doing military service together. Ye-joon has lately worked his way up to becoming a successful financier, while the unambitious Jae-moon has opted for a much less conspicuous route. ...
Style: emotional, serious, realistic, psychological, captivating ...
Plot: family in crisis, family relations, unfulfillment, family problems, parents and children, couples, crumbling marriage, best friend, love triangle, tragedy, betrayal, car accident ...
Time: 21st century
Place: south korea, asia, korea
⇓ similarity ⇓
45%
A Quiet Little Marriage (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story: A Quiet Little Marriage is the love story of Dax and Olive, who manage to find harmony even as they juggle family, romance and intimacy, but that all changes the night she asks him for a baby. Writer/director Mo Perkins’ intense and profound, raw ...
Style: emotional, realistic, psychological, captivating, sincere ...
Plot: pregnancy, family problems, couple relations, family relations, parents and children, unfulfillment, dishonesty, love, rivalry, sexual relations, crumbling marriage, couples ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
43%
The Grief of Others (2015)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story: The Ryries have suffered a loss: the death of a baby just fifty-seven hours after his birth. Without words to express their grief, the parents, John and Ricky, try to return to their previous lives. The couple's children, ten-year-old Biscuit ...
Style: serious, touching, emotional, disturbing, realistic ...
Plot: family relations, couples, family problems, couple relations, life is a bitch, parents and children, death in the family, dealing with death, dysfunctional family, family crisis, mourning, reconciliation ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
42%
The Kreutzer Sonata (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story: A film by Bernard Rose, based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy with music by Ludwig Van Beethoven. Edgar Hudson meets Abby, a concert pianist, at a dinner party. Abby is involved with someone else but that doesn't stop the two from acting upon their ...
Style: erotic, sexy, serious, suspenseful, captivating ...
Plot: sexual abuse, obsession, couple relations, family problems, couples, life is a bitch, crumbling marriage, dysfunctional marriage, nudity, infidelity, erotica, unfulfillment ...
Time: 21st century
Place: beverly hills, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
42%
Movie in collections
 7.5
 902
All Around Us (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 140 min.
Story: Kanao, a courtroom portrait artist, observes crimes, scandals and the decline of Japanese values without passing judgement. As he and his wife endure the tragedy of their first child’s death, hope slowly unfolds and their love story flickers to ...
Style: realistic, emotional, touching, psychological, serious ...
Plot: family problems, couple relations, estrangement, society, pregnancy, death in the family, social decay, dysfunctional family, unfulfillment, love and romance, painter, painting ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
Place: tokyo, japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
41%
Look Back in Anger (1989)
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 115 min.
Story: Look Back in Anger is a love triangle involving the brilliant-but-disaffected young Jimmy Porter (Branagh), his upper-middle-class, impassive wife Alison Porter (Thompson), and her aristocratic best friend Helena Charles (Redmond). Cliff (Horan), an ...
Style: realistic, psychological, serious, tense, gloomy ...
Plot: social misfits, dance, working class, social differences, family in crisis, down on your luck, betrayal, couple relations, society, unsupportive spouse, life is a bitch, unfulfillment ...
Time: 80s, 50s
Place: europe, london, england
⇓ similarity ⇓
40%
A Doll's House (1973)
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min.
Story: Nora Helmer has years earlier committed a forgery in order to save the life of her authoritarian husband Torvald. Now she is being blackmailed lives in fear of her husband's finding out and of the shame such a revelation would bring to his ...
Style: talky, serious, psychological, realistic, clever ...
Plot: couples, working class, social differences, introspection, family problems, gender, society, human nature, unfulfillment, loneliness, stage play, women ...
Time: 19th century
⇓ similarity ⇓
40%
A Streetcar Named Desire (1995)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 156 min.
Story: Blanche Dubois goes to visit her pregnant sister and husband Stanley in New Orleans. Stanley doesn't like her, and starts pushing her for information on some property he know was left to the sisters. He discovers she has mortgaged the place and ...
Style: disturbing, serious, psychological, touching, emotional ...
Plot: sister sister relationship, abusive husband, family problems, family relations, rape, redemption, unfulfillment, love and romance, obsession, infidelity, couples, human nature ...
Time: 50s
Place: new orleans, mississippi, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
39%
 5.9
 410
Bereft (2004)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story: A young Vermont widow is haunted by the memory of her dead husband, while trying to date again.
Style: touching, psychological, serious, emotional, independent film ...
Plot: haunted by the past, parents and children, friendship, family problems, estrangement, family life, impossible love, couples, solace, life is a bitch, love and romance, death in the family ...
Time: 21st century
Place: vermont
⇓ similarity ⇓
39%
The Secret Lives of Dentists (2002)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story: An introspective dentist's suspicions about his wife's infidelity stresses his mental well being and family life to the breaking point.
Style: psychological, emotional, talky, semi serious, thought provoking ...
Plot: adultery, imaginary friend, dysfunctional family, character study, human nature, couple relations, jealous spouse, dishonesty, lifestyle, family problems, couples, love and romance ...
Time: year 2002, 21st century
Place: new york state
⇓ similarity ⇓
39%
Dodson's Journey (2001)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min.
Story: A man takes his young daughter on a cross-country fly-fishing trip following the death of his father and his wife's decision to get a divorce.
Style: uplifting, serious, realistic, sentimental, touching ...
Plot: youth, single parent, bittersweet, family relations, couples, family problems, parents and children, breakup, unfulfillment, human nature, hopes, crumbling marriage ...
Time: 21st century
⇓ similarity ⇓
39%
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