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Bronson poster

Movies that feel likeBronson (2009)

A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.

If you loved Bronson, the closest films we have are Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Pusher II (2004). All three share Bronson's contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Wall (2012).

πŸ… 75% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Nicolas Winding Refncontemplativekineticgrittylonely
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video

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If Bronson hit the spot, these will too

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring poster
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8drama

The same preoccupation in both: isolation

The difference: Takes it somewhere less kinetic than Bronson does

An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.

To Kill a Mockingbird poster
To Kill a Mockingbird
1962 Β· dir. Robert Mulligan
πŸ… 93%β˜… 8.2drama

One thread runs through both: isolation

The difference: 47 years apart, and the 1960s show

Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.

Pusher II poster
Pusher II
2004 Β· dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.3action Β· crime Β· dramaPrime Video

Nicolas Winding Refn directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

Tonny is released from prison - again. This time he has his mind set on changing his broken down life, but that is easier said than done.

Perfect Days poster
Perfect Days
2023 Β· dir. Wim Wenders
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.9dramaRent or buy

The same mix in both: stillness, then loneliness

Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.

Certain Women poster
Certain Women
2016 Β· dir. Kelly Reichardt
πŸ… 92%β˜… 6.4dramaParamount+

Contemplative drama in both cases

Three strong-willed women strive to forge their own paths amidst the wide-open plains of the American Northwest: a lawyer forced to subdue a troubled client; a wife and mother whose plans to construct her dream home reveal fissures in her marriage; and a lonely ranch hand who forms an ambiguous bond with a young law student.

The Wall poster
The Wall
2012 Β· dir. Julian PΓΆlsler
πŸ… 76%β˜… 6.7science fiction Β· dramaPrime Video

Both lean on loneliness more than on action

The difference: Sits closer to science fiction than Bronson does

A woman inexplicably finds herself cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the countryside. Accompanied by her loyal dog Lynx, she becomes immersed in a world untouched by civilization and ruled by the laws of nature.

Chocolate poster
Chocolate
2008 Β· dir. Prachya Pinkaew
πŸ… 71%β˜… 6.9action Β· crime

Kinetic where it counts, gritty underneath

Zen, an autistic teenage girl with powerful martial arts skills, gets money to pay for her sick mother Zin's treatment by seeking out all the people who owe Zin money and making them pay.

Ikiru poster
Ikiru
1952 Β· dir. Akira Kurosawa
πŸ… 98%β˜… 8.3dramaMax

Crime built on stillness, twice over

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

Room poster
Room
2015 Β· dir. Lenny Abrahamson
πŸ… 93%β˜… 8.1drama Β· thrillerMax

Lonely drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Bronson does

Held captive for 7 years in an enclosed space, a woman and her young son finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time.

Requiem for a Dream poster
Requiem for a Dream
2000 Β· dir. Darren Aronofsky
πŸ… 80%β˜… 8.3dramaPeacock

The drama is handled with the same confidence

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.

God's Own Country poster
God's Own Country
2017 Β· dir. Francis Lee
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.6romance Β· drama

Cut from the same drama cloth

A young farmer in rural Yorkshire numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile poster
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
2019 Β· dir. Joe Berlinger
πŸ… 54%β˜… 6.7drama Β· crimeNetflix

Both are working the same pair: prison, biography

A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Bronson’s defining feeling.