Movies like My Son Johnny
If you like "My Son Johnny" you are looking for crime drama, emotional and intense movies about / with bullying, domestic violence, family drama, sibling rivalry, mother son relationship, abuse and moral dilemma 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).
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My Son Johnny (1991)
274
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Anthony Cortino lives with his mother in a quiet suburb. His father is dead, and his violent criminal brother is a long way off, in the city, and if Anthony has his way, that's where he will stay. However, Johnny runs into trouble with the police in the city, and when he asks to come home, his mother agrees, despite Anthony's objections. A reign of terror begins for Anthony then, for as long as Johnny is around, Anthony is never safe, and never has been.
Style:
crime drama, emotional, intense, tense, dark, tragic
Plot:
bullying, domestic violence, family drama, sibling rivalry, mother son relationship, abuse, moral dilemma, trauma, coming of age, retribution, isolation, desperation, family conflict, character study, fear, protective mother, neighborhood, family secret, slow burn, forest, violence, kitten, brother, childhood memory, fratricide ...
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Most similar movies to My Son Johnny
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out tense, intense, realistic and emotional films with plots about isolation, psychological drama, small town, family drama, trauma, coming of age and slow burn mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like My Son Johnny: When No One Would Listen (1992), Linked (2017), What Happened to Bobby Earl? (1997), Charlie (2022), Bolivar (2022). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
Jessica has been married to her controlling husband Gary for years. She began dating him at the age of fifteen and has two kids, Maggie and Pete. After some career trouble Gary moves the family out to a New York suburb. Anyway, at first Gary seems ...
Style:
tense, realistic, suspense, sad
Plot:
domestic violence, domestic abuse, female protagonist, family drama, emotional manipulation, victimization, psychological abuse, survival, women's rights, escape, resilience, survivor ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 46 min.
Story:
A troubled young man battles his inner demons as he seeks redemption and a second chance in his life.
Style:
reflective, emotional, realistic, serious, melancholic ...
Plot:
redemption, second chance, self discovery, personal growth, soul searching, regret, coming of age, trauma, moral dilemma, loss, isolation, identity ...
Similarity:
28%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min.
Story:
Rose Earl is proud as a peacock when Bobby, her eldest, whom she raised, like his kid brother Michael, to become moral men an model citizens, is the first member of the modest family ever to get accepted at college. It will take a while till she ...
Style:
dark, suspense, tense, emotional, psychological ...
Plot:
missing person, mother son relationship, family tragedy, family drama, peer pressure, betrayal, guilt, investigation, moral corruption, moral dilemma, loss, manipulation ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
26%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
In the aftermath of a traumatic event, a socially-awkward teen, Charlie, grapples with the guilt and judgement that ensues. He must confront the prison-like bondage of his fear when the perpetrator comes after him. In this tribute to contemporary ...
Style:
slow cinema, bleak, melancholic, tense, realistic ...
Plot:
guilt, character study, trauma, mother son relationship, slow burn, mental health, intimate, isolation, socially awkward, fear, family drama, claustrophobia ...
Similarity:
26%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Story:
Maggie is struggling to keep her life together after the death of her mother when her addict brother shows up, forcing her to make sense of a reality that may not be what it seems.
Style:
emotional, melancholic, tense, surreal, intense ...
Plot:
sibling relationship, addiction, grief, family drama, trauma, female protagonist, character study, mourning, family secret, traumatic past, confrontation, identity crisis ...
Similarity:
26%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
When Mr. Deen discovers one of his students has been living out of his car and thrown into jail, he decides to bail him out. Determined to curb Nate’s self-destructive behavior, Deen quickly discovers a host of dark secrets slowly tearing Nate ...
Style:
psychological, emotional, captivating, thrilling, intense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
teenager, trauma, life is a bitch, teenage life, troubled past, tragic past, confronting the past, moral dilemma, self destructing, redemption, desperation, abuse ...
Similarity:
25%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
A compelling drama about a silent, violent teenager. Kevin suffers from elective mutism and no one has ever heard him utter a word.
Style:
bleak, dramatic, intense, grim, realistic ...
Plot:
child abuse, therapy, trauma, psychologist, mental health, domestic violence, empathy, family drama, character study, family secret, isolation, recovery ...
Similarity:
25%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
As he strives to make it on his own, Nick Ramsey has alienated his father by rejecting his upbringing and lifestyle. Now 25, Nick has been rejected by his girlfriend and vows to turn his life around.
Style:
crime drama, realistic, emotional, intense, tension ...
Plot:
family drama, family conflict, father son relationship, moral dilemma, self discovery, identity crisis, redemption, male protagonist, second chance, blue collar, regret, working class ...
Similarity:
25%
Movie in collections
121
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
One year after the tragic death of his best friend, an eighteen-year-old machinist struggles with the split of his parents and the violent way of life surrounding him.
Style:
emotional, tension, intense, realistic, psychological ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, grief, teenager, trauma, loss, mourning, family drama, family conflict, young adult, confrontation, friendship, anger ...
Place:
oklahoma city, oklahoma
Similarity:
25%
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
The Night of the brother ("La Noche del Hermano") is a chiaroscuro tale in which the characters' not always explicit feelings cover the gamut from darkness to light through the thin line between love and fear. Because the events of ...
Style:
intense, grim, art house, melancholic, tense ...
Plot:
family drama, trauma, family secret, fear, guilt, slow burn, realism, symbolism, regret, small town, isolation, male protagonist ...
Similarity:
24%
87
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min.
Story:
Based on true events, 44 is the story of Migs, an 18 year old high school student trapped between the two opposing forces of his father, a drug dealer and convicted felon, and his mother, an NYPD cop.
Style:
dramatic, crime drama, realistic, emotional, tense ...
Plot:
father son relationship, family drama, family conflict, double life, coming of age, identity crisis, moral ambiguity, drug trade, moral dilemma, mother son relationship, betrayal, ambition ...
Place:
new york
Similarity:
24%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 68 min.
Story:
Parents Divorced. Children suffer.
Style:
heartbreaking, bleak, tense, disturbing, intense ...
Plot:
dysfunctional family, family drama, divorce, psychological trauma, house, abusive relationship, emotional abuse, domestic violence, social issues, intimate, family secret, loss of innocence ...
Similarity:
24%
154
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
In this coming-of-age drama, sin, conscience and responsibility take center stage when 28-year-old protagonist confesses to his part in a rape ten years earlier. Wracked by guilt, his itemization of the choices that led to his crime are ...
Style:
tense, psychological, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense ...
Plot:
redemption, rape, sexual abuse, revenge, attempted rape, sexualized violence, violence, rape and revenge, trauma, guilt, violent, criminal ...
Similarity:
24%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Georgia Benfield's, at her wit's end, loses control and begins physically abusing her elderly mother, just as Georgia had been abused herself as a child. As family and friends slowly begin to learn of the abuse, and long buried family ...
Style:
intense, tense, bleak, realistic, period drama
Plot:
mother daughter relationship, family drama, domestic abuse, dysfunctional family, trauma, female protagonist, family secret, character study, emotional abuse, guilt, social issues, realism ...
Time:
80s
Similarity:
23%
706
Genre: Drama
Country: Denmark, USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
On a March night in 1964, 37 neighbors in Queens, New York, witness the brutal murder of Kitty Genovese. None of them takes action or calls the police. 37 tells the story of a few of these people and what led up to the night when they unexplainably ...
Style:
independent film, bleak, thought provoking, historical drama, tense ...
Plot:
apathy, guilt, moral ambiguity, social commentary, silence, character study, racial tension, neighborhood, fear, apartment building, realism, family conflict ...
Time:
60s
Place:
new york
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
When Micha's mother leaves his irascible father, he tries to prevent their divorce by any means he can think of, but his attempts to hold the family together lead to a catastrophe...
Style:
tense, grim, dark, period piece, social ...
Plot:
children, sex scene, childhood, abusive father, child abuse, bullying, domestic violence, dysfunctional family, loss of innocence, violence, trauma, coming of age ...
Time:
60s
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
When a passenger ship sinks, a ship's officer must decide which passengers in an overcrowded lifeboat must be sacrificed so the rest can survive an approaching typhoon.
Style:
tense, intense, bleak, suspenseful, grim ...
Plot:
shipwreck, survival, lifeboat, boat, disaster, sea, storm, moral dilemma, sacrifice, desperation, human nature, character study ...
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: Israel
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
This is the story of three sensitive teens who are forced to deal with violence at home, violence at school. It is a story of friendship, of love and hate, where the adolescents world is revealed as cruel and beautiful, a world where the desire to ...
Style:
realistic, touching, serious, suspenseful, emotional ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
friendship, teenage love, teenage life, love and romance, coming of age, buddies, youth, family relations, violence, bullying, graphic violence, trauma ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
israel, palestine
Similarity:
22%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Drama - Richard Clayton is a maintenance man at the local police station of the small town of Montauk, Arizona. He spends his days keeping the offices clean and the equipment running. He spends his nights drinking and killing the occasional ...
Style:
crime drama, bleak, noir, tense, suspense ...
Plot:
murder, loneliness, small town, isolation, character study, violence, alcoholism, moral ambiguity, serial killer, male protagonist, desperation, criminal psychology ...
Similarity:
21%
22
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 71 min.
Story:
A young girl abducted by a serial sex criminal and is released unharmed, but decides not to inform the police. She must face the moral consequences when the assaults continue against other women.
Style:
tense, psychological thriller, crime drama, dark, suspenseful
Plot:
abduction, trauma, silence, fear, moral dilemma, guilt, sex maniac, female protagonist, serial killer, isolation, suspicion, survivor ...
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Jackie is an average young woman living an average life in the suburbs when she meets handsome, Nasir, and it's love at first sight. They get married and baby Sasha is born. Over a period of time Jackie realises the man she married is not the ...
Style:
intense, dramatic, realistic, tragic
Plot:
domestic violence, childhood trauma, mother daughter relationship, female protagonist, protective mother, motherhood, abuse, psychological abuse, dysfunctional family, survival, resilience, mature ...
Similarity:
21%
16
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Mandy White is a cheerleader. Dan LaCoy is a football player. Jason Dobbs is a bully. Eli Barker is an artist. Asia Borg is a foster kid. What they all have in common however, is that they are hurting. Each one deals with their own personal issues ...
Style:
emotional, dark, independent film, realistic, grim ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
depression, high school, bullying, suicide, mental health, high school life, school shooting, tragedy, youth, adolescence, loneliness, social issues ...
Place:
virginia
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, USA, Romania
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
A captive daughter endures around two decades of abuse at the hands of a sadistic father. One day, destiny presents her with an opportunity to break free.
Style:
tense, disturbing, suspense, psychological thriller, captivating ...
Plot:
father, child abuse, female protagonist, trauma, psychological abuse, domestic abuse, locked in a basement, locked in, captive, despot, brother sister relationship, father and daughter ...
Similarity:
21%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
Three brothers reunite at a remote cabin in the woods, when beckoned by their father. The brothers are left to deal with the dark secrets and demons that have haunted them their whole lives. The resulting truths they must face, end in an explosive ...
Style:
tragic ending, intense, tense, psychological horror, suspense ...
Plot:
trauma, family secret, dysfunctional family, dark past, brothers, sibling rivalry, guilt, family drama, grief, moral ambiguity, betrayal, haunting ...
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A disturbed young mother with some serious psychological problems begins to take them out on her infant daughter.
Style:
sad, tense, suspenseful, grindhouse, period piece ...
Plot:
child abuse, mother daughter relationship, mental illness, family drama, trauma, emotional abuse, child neglect, female protagonist, social issues, character study, domestic violence, social realism ...
Time:
year 1970
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Defending a teen charged with patricide drudges up dark memories for a lawyer.
Style:
dramatic, dark, serious, emotional, psychological ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
patricide, trauma, child abuse, murder, courtroom, shame, guilt, ethical dilemma, defense attorney, family secret, character study, secrets ...
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
Vicki Miller is a writer who has cut herself off from her dysfunctional family. Her life drastically changes when one night, her 16-year-old nephew Bobby shows up unannounced on her doorstep. He looks tired and depressed, and when Vicki realizes ...
Style:
serious, intense, sentimental, suspenseful
Plot:
runaway teen, dysfunctional family, family drama, family conflict, custody battle, psychological trauma, family secret, moral dilemma, aunt nephew relationship, redemption, coming of age, juvenile delinquency ...
Time:
2000s
Similarity:
20%
3K
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
TV show
Story:
It follows 16-year-old Erik, who is used to violence both at home and in the schoolyard. After being expelled from his school in Stockholm due to his violent behavior, he is transferred to the boarding school Stjernsberg. It is his last chance to ...
Style:
intense, bleak, dark, tense
Plot:
boarding school, bullying, violence, abuse, coming of age, moral ambiguity, forbidden romance, survival, teen romance, teen angst, domestic violence, secret relationship ...
Place:
stockholm sweden
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
Since self-made immigrant Nico Podaras's death, widow Elenie runs his lucrative garage, with an illegal side business, generously using the profits to keep control of their three sons' lives. Simpleton Dan is happy to sire the crucial heir ...
Style:
intense, bleak, grim, depressing
Plot:
serial killer, family drama, emotional manipulation, dysfunctional family, control, matriarchy, domestic abuse, coercion, resentment, moral dilemma, power struggle, cover up ...
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
This is a story of Jimmy, a high school senior, who is struggling with his school life, family pressures, future choices. When it becomes too much, Jimmy kills himself.
Style:
tragic ending, melancholic, bleak, serious, emotional ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
teen suicide, high school, grief, depression, mental health, mourning, loss, teen angst, coming of age, family conflict, trauma, character study ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
19%
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