20 movies like A Way of Life, ordered by similarity : Winter's Bone(2010), The Arbor(2010), Stranger Inside(2001), I Capture the Castle(2003), Street Scene(1931), Lady Bird(2017), Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams(2006), Custody(2017), Manito(2002), Loveling(2018), Fruitvale Station(2013), In the Bedroom(2001) ...
Drama
UK
2004
90 Minutes
Stephanie James Nathan Jones Gary Sheppeard Dean Wong Sara Gregory Oliver Haden Brenda Blethyn
teenage mother grandmother social worker neighbor brother daughter dark gritty thrilling cardiff, wales council estate library police station custody battle racism paranoia family dysfunction abuse poverty growing up
At 17 LeighAnne Williams has a six month old baby to look after, with only the help of three teenage squatters who flog stolen gear to make ends meet. A neighbour (actually from Turkey) ... See full summary »
Drama
USA
2010
99 Minutes
Jennifer Lawrence John Hawkes Kevin Breznahan Dale Dickey Garret Dillahunt Sheryl Lee Lauren Sweetser Tate Taylor
daughter family brother father sheriff lawman bleak dark gritty suspenseful the ozarks arkansas rural community abandonment family dysfunction poverty drug trade conspiracy darkness sacrifice
An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.
Drama
UK
2010
94 Minutes
Manjinder Virk Christine Bottomley Neil Dudgeon Natalie Gavin Robert Emms Parvani Lingiah Danny Webb Liam Price
playwright daughter son drug addict mother bleak dark shocking housing project bradford, england street estate poverty drug addiction tragedy writing andrea dunbar family dysfunction wretched excess escape
Portrayal of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar.
Drama
USA
2001
97 Minutes
Yolonda Ross Davenia McFadden LaTonya "T" Hagan Mary Mara Rain Phoenix Marc Vann Medusa Ella Joyce Conchata Ferrell Emily Kuroda Patrice Fisher
mother daughter prisoner african-american woman gang leader gritty tense raw dark prison bus library yard mother/daughter relationship prison life drug trade reunion jealousy discovery rivalry
An aging former child star tries to capture the wealth that has always eluded him by latching on to a lucky man while both have their eye on the same girl of their dreams.
Romance, Drama
UK
2003
111 Minutes
Romola Garai Rose Byrne Henry Thomas Marc Blucas Bill Nighy Tara Fitzgerald Sinead Cusack Henry Cavill
father daughter sister american brother mother emotional charming england castle countryside poverty family father/daughter relationship writing marriage seduction love growing up 1930s
A love story set in 1930s England that follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, and the fortunes of her eccentric family, struggling to survive in a decaying English castle.
Drama
USA
1931
80 Minutes
Sylvia Sidney William Collier Beulah Bondi Estelle Taylor Max Montor David Landau Matt McHugh Russell Hopton Greta Grandstedt Tom H. Manning Adele Watson
mother father daughter neighbor student bleak gritty new york city brownstone stoop poverty adultery aspirations gossip fall revenge transformation 1930s
Twenty-four hours elapse on the stoop of a Hell's Kitchen tenement as a microcosm of the American melting pot interacts with each other during a summer heatwave.
Comedy, Drama
USA
2017
94 Minutes
Saoirse Ronan Laurie Metcalf Timothée Chalamet Lucas Hedges Tracy Letts Odeya Rush Jake McDorman Beanie Feldstein Lois Smith Stephen McKinley Henderson Jordan Rodrigues
mother daughter teenager high-school student best friend teacher father moving uplifting playful california high school catholic school sacramento, calif. family home university united states prom mother/daughter relationship coming of age
In 2002, an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.
Drama
Bosnia and Herzegovina|Croatia|Austria|Germany
2006
107 Minutes
Mirjana Karanovic Luna Zimic Mijovic Leon Lucev Kenan Catic Jasna Beri Dejan Acimovic Bogdan Diklic Emir Hadzihafizbegovic Ermin Bravo Semka Sokolovic
mother daughter widow love interest bouncer teen boy emotional intense sarajevo, bosnia-herzegovina family home school nightclub street mother/daughter relationship war poverty first love teen angst growing up transformation
A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Bosnian War.
Mystery & Thriller, Drama
France
2017
94 Minutes
Denis Menochet Léa Drucker Thomas Gioria Mathilde Auneveux Mathieu Saïkaly Florence Janas Saadia Bentaïeb Sophie Pincemaille Émilie Incerti-Formentini Jérome Care-Aulanier Coralie Russier
divorce divorce lawyer son mother father family member emotional intense tense disheartening office party bus house car apartment custody battle divorce family feud growing up
A broken marriage leads to a bitter custody battle with an embattled son at the centre.
Drama
USA
2002
77 Minutes
Franky G. Leo Minaya Manuel Cabral Julissa Lopez Jessica Morales Hector Gonzalez Panchito Gomez
high-school student classmate brother ex-convict father wife engaging brooding gritty new york city street subway party neighborhood changing times brotherhood crime the past family hope
Fifteen years ago, their Washington Heights neighborhood was dubbed the crack-cocaine capital of the world, but today it is transforming into one of the most vibrant, Spanish-speaking ... See full summary »
Drama
2018
95 Minutes
Karine Teles Otávio Muller Adriana Esteves Konstantinos Sarris César Troncoso Mateus Solano Camilo Pellegrini Ariclenes Barroso Pablo Riera Lucas Gouvêa
mother father child brother sister teen boy touching emotional amusing charming cheeky moving rio de janeiro house school beach car auditorium leaving home mother/son relationship
On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Irene has only a few days to overcome her anxiety about sending her eldest son out into the world on his own.
Drama
USA
2013
85 Minutes
Michael B. Jordan Octavia Spencer Melonie Diaz Ahna O'Reilly Kevin Durand Chad Michael Murray Joey Oglesby Laurel Moglen Liisa Cohen Ariana Neal Alex Alessandro Garcia
young man black man girlfriend daughter mother police officer gritty inspiring disheartening sad somber oakland, calif. subway family home city accidental death racial profiling race relations family parent/child relationship
The story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.
Drama
USA
2001
138 Minutes
Sissy Spacek Tom Wilkinson Nick Stahl Marisa Tomei William Mapother William Wise Celia Weston Karen Allen
teacher doctor son mother psychopath dark gritty suspenseful courtroom maine household forest infidelity murder death abuse kidnapping injustice fall rivalry
A New England couple's college-aged son dates an older woman who has two small children and an unwelcome ex-husband.
Drama
USA|India|France|UK
1988
113 Minutes
Shafiq Syed Hansa Vithal Aneeta Kanwar Raghubir Yadav Chanda Sharma Nana Patekar Anjaan Amrit Patel
young boy mother brother drug dealer prostitute friend dark emotional bombay, india small town street slum circus poverty addiction abandonment family homelessness homesickness growing up
The boy Krishna is abandoned by his mother at the Apollo Circus and she tells him that he can only return home when he can afford 500 rupees to pay for the bicycle of his brother that he ... See full summary »
Drama
USA
2008
96 Minutes
Micheal J. Smith Sr. JimMyron Ross Tarra Riggs Johnny McPhail
father twin widow son uncle mother bleak emotional powerful calm mississippi delta convenience store backyard school radio station house suicide grief father figure family dysfunction
A drama set in the Mississippi delta, where one man's suicide affects three people's lives.
Gay & Lesbian, Drama
USA
2018
94 Minutes
Raúl Castillo Sheila Vand Evan Rosado Isaiah Kristian Josiah Gabriel Michael Pemberton Amelia Campbell Giovanni Pacciarelli
brother mother father boy friend bleak brash emotional endearing moving house woods lake park upstate new york family dysfunction family relationships brother relationship growing up escape
Manny, Joel, and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah embraces an imagined world all on his own.
Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama, Action
India
2015
123 Minutes
Varun Dhawan Nawazuddin Siddiqui Huma Qureshi Yami Gautam Divya Dutta Vinay Pathak Radhika Apte
mother son father partner wife robber brash confident dark emotional gritty intense india house car apartment police station vengeance tragic death bank robbery
An innocent man turns brutal when his family gets killed in a bank robbery and one of the perpetrators escapes. 15 years later, he begins his deadly game of vengeance.
Drama
UK
2020
95 Minutes
mother daughter teen girl friend bleak brooding dark emotional intense melancholy moving profound sad somber tender united kingdom eating disorder substance abuse relationships parent/child relationship
A woman with an eating disorder tries to balance her relationship with her mother and her teenage daughter.
Drama
USA|Canada
1991
113 Minutes
Vincent D'Onofrio Jennifer Jason Leigh Peter Berg Peter Coyote Noah Wyle Cindy Pickett Juliette Lewis Marg Helgenberger
father mother son brother sister girlfriend dark emotional uneasy somber family home living room yard restaurant washington state family dysfunction sibling rivalry infidelity dark secrets parental pressure
How the discovery of a father's affair affects each member of his family.
Comedy, Drama
Australia
1987
104 Minutes
Judy Davis Jan Adele Claudia Karvan Colin Friels John Clayton Frankie J. Holden Monica Trapaga Mark Hembrow
mother daughter grandmother teen girl singer drifter touching emotional dark new south wales, australia town seaside trailer park beach alcoholism mother/daughter relationship estrangement abandoned child reunion secret past
Story about a backup singer for an Elvis impersonator who re-enters her past when she leaves a tour in a small town and finds her daughter in a mobile home park.
Drama
Netherlands|UK
2009
124 Minutes
Michael Fassbender Katie Jarvis Kierston Wareing Harry Treadaway Charlotte Collins Jason Maza Chelsea Chase Jack Gordon Sarah Counsell Brooke Hobby Rebecca Griffiths
teen girl mother sister boyfriend bleak gritty emotional apartment abandoned building essex, england school party mother/daughter relationship neglect poverty dance rebellion relationships discovery rivalry
Everything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend.