20 movies like Bright Lights, Big City, ordered by similarity : The Lost Weekend(1945), Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot(2018), St. Vincent(2014), Nebraska(2013), The Drop(2014), Thirteen(2003), Scarred Hearts(2016), Le Voyage en Douce(1980), The Crossing Guard(1995), Boy Meets Girl(1984), Two Friends(1986), The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter(1968) ...
Drama
USA
1988
110 Minutes
Michael J. Fox Kiefer Sutherland Phoebe Cates Swoosie Kurtz Frances Sternhagen Tracy Pollan John Houseman Charlie Schlatter Jason Robards Dianne Wiest William Hickey
fact-checker writer friend ex-wife mother cousin unrestrained brooding powerful spirited manhattan, n.y. office bar nightclub drugs alcohol depression nightlife city life breakup
A disillusioned young writer living in New York City turns to drugs and drinking to block out the memories of his dead mother and estranged wife.
Drama
USA
1945
101 Minutes
Ray Milland Jane Wyman Howard da Silva Phillip Terry Doris Dowling Frank Faylen Mary Young Anita Sharp-Bolster Lillian Fontaine Lewis Russell Frank Orth
writer alcoholic brother girlfriend bartender dark bleak intense new york city bar hotel opera house hospital addiction alcoholism lying self-destruction love wretched excess temptation
The desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.
Comedy, Biography, Drama
France|USA
2018
113 Minutes
Joaquin Phoenix Jonah Hill Rooney Mara Jack Black Carrie Brownstein Beth Ditto Kim Gordon Udo Kier
handicapped person alcoholic artist friend girlfriend family member inspiring intense emotional powerful quirky witty portland, ore. house doctor's office ambulance street strip club artistic struggle therapy
On the rocky path to sobriety after a life-changing accident, John Callahan discovers the healing power of art, willing his injured hands into drawing hilarious, often controversial cartoons, which bring him a new lease on life.
Comedy, Drama
USA
2014
103 Minutes
Bill Murray Melissa McCarthy Naomi Watts Chris O'Dowd Jaeden Martell Terrence Howard Kimberly Quinn Donna Mitchell Nathan Corddry Dario Barosso Ann Dowd
single mother son misanthrope mentor friend boss charming amusing cheeky brooklyn, n.y. apartment racetrack bar strip club office single mothers work misanthropy friendship gambling
A young boy whose parents have just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door.
Drama
USA
2013
114 Minutes
Bruce Dern Will Forte June Squibb Bob Odenkirk Stacy Keach Mary Louise Wilson Rance Howard Tim Driscoll Devin Ratray Angela McEwan Elizabeth Moore
old man alcoholic son predator friend lottery winner brooding profound somber montana nebraska bar house office building car money trust celebrity alcoholism friendship
An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.
Crime, Drama
USA
2014
107 Minutes
Tom Hardy Noomi Rapace James Gandolfini Matthias Schoenaerts John Ortiz Ann Dowd Michael Aronov James Frecheville Elizabeth Rodriguez Tobias Segal Michael Esper
bartender mobster neighbor puppy abusive husband friend brooding dark intense new york city bar apartment alley car office mobsters money laundering animal rescue abuse love
Bob Saginowski finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost.
Drama
USA|UK
2003
100 Minutes
Holly Hunter Evan Rachel Wood Nikki Reed Jeremy Sisto Kip Pardue Sarah Clarke D.W. Moffett Vanessa Hudgens Jenicka Carey Ulysses Estrada
teen girl best friend mother foster mother boyfriend brother disturbing raw los angeles family home school troubled youth peer pressure mother/daughter relationship drugs sexual awakening shoplifting growing up transformation temptation
A thirteen-year-old girl's relationship with her mother is put to the test as she discovers drugs, sex, and petty crime in the company of her cool but troubled best friend.
Drama, History
2016
141 Minutes
Lucian Teodor Rus Gabriel Spahiu Ivana Mladenovic Ilinca Harnut Bogdan Cotlet Marius Damian Alexandru Dabija Dana Voicu Andrei Rus Liliana Ghita
sick person doctor nurse patient friend amusing profound powerful inspiring touching sanatorium hospital carriage office doctor's office hospital room life illness friendship relationships
Emanuel is committed to a sanatorium for treatment of his bone tuberculosis. Little by little, as Emanuel gets accustomed to the limitations of his new life, he discovers that inside the sanatorium there is still a life to be lived to the fullest.
Drama
France
1980
98 Minutes
woman friend husband wife sultry emotional france countryside apartment paris friendship relationships desire infidelity love life temptation discovery transformation 1980s
Childhood friends, dominant Helene and submissive Lucie, are now in their thirties and married. Nostalgic about their youth, they take a bonding car trip to French countryside, while discussing their real and made up sexual experiences.
Drama
USA
1995
114 Minutes
Jack Nicholson David Morse Anjelica Huston Robin Wright Piper Laurie Richard Bradford Robbie Robertson John Savage Priscilla Barnes Kari Wuhrer
father ex-wife ex-convict girlfriend alcoholic stripper brooding melodramatic powerful apartment strip club restaurant school trailer suburb grief obsession drunken driving death of child hit and run
Freddy Gale is a seedy jeweller who has sworn to kill the drunk driver who killed his little girl.
Drama
France
1984
100 Minutes
Denis Lavant Mireille Perrier Elie Poicard Carroll Brooks Maïté Nahyr Christian Cloarec Marc Desclozeaux Lorraine Berger
young man suicidal person best friend girlfriend boyfriend love interest dark dreamy paris street party café river cheating relationships depression breakup obsession love fall
Paris by night. Alex, 22, wants to become a filmmaker. He is fascinated by first times and his girlfriend, Florence, has just left him for his best friend, Thomas. First break-up, first ... See full summary »
Drama
1986
76 Minutes
Emma Coles Kris Bidenko Kris McQuade Stephen Leeder Debra May Peter Hehir Tony Barry Kerry Dwyer Arthur Faynes Kim Antonios Denise Roberts
teen girl friend mother boyfriend father sad profound sydney beach school house friendship mother/daughter relationship adolescence family coming of age divorce growing up transformation 1980s
Two Australian teenage girls (Emma Coles, Kris Bidenko) go from best friends to ex-friends in a year.
Drama
1968
124 Minutes
Alan Arkin Sondra Locke Stacy Keach Laurinda Barrett Chuck McCann Biff McGuire Percy Rodrigues Cicely Tyson Jackie Marlowe Johnny Popwell Wayne Smith
disabled person friend alcoholic doctor daughter drunk brooding engaging somber small town house doctor's office bedroom american south small-town life illness alcoholism friendship relationships growing up
John, a deaf and mute man, rents a bedroom in a small town to be closer to his friend, Spiros, who is also deaf. John attempts to strike up a friendship with Mick, the teenage daughter of his disabled landlord, and meets the town drunk.
Crime, Drama
USA
2016
80 Minutes
Ben Snyder Victor Almanzar Shirley Rumierk Elizabeth Rodriguez Robin De Jesus Mike Carlsen Goya Robles Dominic Colon John Alberto Leguizamo Kareem Savinon Johnny Rivera
marine drug dealer brother thug mother love interest brooding emotional intense town apartment barbershop strip club bar street violence drugs poverty military service determination
Returning to his hometown, US Marine Nelson Sanchez finds himself trapped by the violent past he had tried to escape.
Crime, Drama
1954
95 Minutes
Jean Gabin René Dary Jeanne Moreau Dora Doll Paul Frankeur Denise Clair Lino Ventura
gangster best friend mistress rival barmaid nightclub owner somber engaging tense france apartment bank nightclub bedroom theft betrayal kidnapping retirement friendship one last job
An aging racketeer (Jean Gabin) must surrender his gold in order to save his kidnapped friend (René Dary).
Drama
USA
1949
98 Minutes
Dana Andrews Susan Hayward Kent Smith Lois Wheeler Jessie Royce Landis Robert Keith Gigi Perreau Karin Booth Todd Karns Philip Pine Martha Mears
old friend wife alcoholic daughter old flame mother bleak melodramatic brooding new york city party house connecticut first love divorce world war ii loveless marriage mother/daughter relationship friendship sacrifice
After being visited by an old friend, a woman recalls her true love, the man she met and lost years ago.
Comedy, Drama
UK
2019
101 Minutes
Martin Donaghy Brian Ferguson Ryan Fletcher Laura Fraser Rachel Jackson Neil Leiper Lorn Macdonald Kevin Mains
scottish person teenager best friend parent partygoer amusing emotional engaging frenetic gutsy unrestrained scotland home city party rave street friendship rave culture drugs
Two teenage boys in Scotland in 1994, best friends with no control over their lives, risk everything to attend an illegal rave, hoping for the best night of their boring lives.
Drama
USA
1952
89 Minutes
actress alcoholic married man sponsor wife brooding emotional melodramatic passionate spirited theater city affair alcoholics anonymous alcoholism acting love forbidden love fall 1950s
An actress becomes an alcoholic after being jilted. She is aided by an Alcoholics Anonymous member with whom she has an affair; however, he is married.
Comedy, Drama
2017
89 Minutes
Agnès Jaoui Thibault de Montalembert Pascale Arbillot Sarah Suco Lou Roy-Lecollinet Nicolas Chupin Rachel Farmane Laurie Bordesoules Armand Paul Jean Samir Guesmi
woman ex-boyfriend husband daughter pregnant woman love interest friend best friend frenchwoman heartwarming amusing hilarious uplifting touching france restaurant bar street life menopause
A woman, separated from her husband, loses her job and discovers she's going to be a grandmother. Refusing to be pushed to the outskirts of society, she puts her foot down and decides to start over.
Drama
France
1998
113 Minutes
Élodie Bouchez Natacha Régnier Grégoire Colin Jo Prestia Patrick Mercado
seamstress club owner bouncer mother daughter boyfriend passionate tense spirited gritty lille, france sweatshop apartment nightclub hospital working class friendship sex bad choices female bonding
The lives of two dissimilar girls turned out in different ways.
Drama
USA
1997
152 Minutes
Mark Wahlberg Burt Reynolds Julianne Moore John C. Reilly Don Cheadle Heather Graham Luis Guzman Philip Seymour Hoffman William H. Macy Alfred Molina Philip Baker Hall
porn star filmmaker mother husband wife creative unrestrained offbeat san fernando valley nightclub mansion las vegas california ambition fame addiction show business pornography infidelity rise
Back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, an idealistic porn producer aspires to elevate his craft to an art when he discovers a hot young talent.