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Pleasure poster

Movies that feel likePleasure (2021)

Bella Cherry arrives in Los Angeles with dreams of becoming an adult film star, but she soon learns that fame won't come easy as she harnesses her ambition and cunning to rise to the top of this mesmerizing and singular world.

If you loved Pleasure, the closest films we have are Bad Education (2004), Spring Breakers (2013) and The Yards (2000). All three share Pleasure's contemplative and warm feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Wendy and Lucy (2008).

πŸ… 88% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.3 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Ninja Thybergcontemplativewarmgritty
8 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Hulu

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If Pleasure hit the spot, these will too

Bad Education poster
Bad Education
2004 Β· dir. Pedro AlmodΓ³var
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.4drama Β· crime

Contemplative and warm in the same breath

The difference: Sits closer to crime than Pleasure does

When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.

Spring Breakers poster
Spring Breakers
2013 Β· dir. Harmony Korine
πŸ… 67%β˜… 5.3drama Β· crimeMax

The same preoccupation in both: female friendship

After four college girls rob a restaurant to fund their spring break in Florida, they get entangled with a weird dude with his own criminal agenda.

The Yards poster
The Yards
2000 Β· dir. James Gray
πŸ… 64%β˜… 6.4crime Β· drama Β· thrillerParamount+

Both lean on grit more than on drama

The difference: Made in the 2000s, in a different era of the craft

In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.

21 poster
21
2008 Β· dir. Robert Luketic
πŸ… 36%β˜… 6.8drama Β· crime

Drama built on stillness, twice over

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Ben Campbell is a young, highly intelligent student at M.I.T. who strives to succeed. Wanting a scholarship to transfer to Harvard School of Medicine to become a doctor, Ben learns that he cannot afford the $300,000 tuition as he comes from a poor, working-class background. But one evening, Ben is introduced by his unorthodox math professor to a small but secretive club of five students, Jill, Choi, Kianna, and Fisher, who are being trained by Professor Rosa to count cards at blackjack.

Shane poster
Shane
1953 Β· dir. George Stevens
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.6drama Β· westernParamount+

Warm drama, and it commits to that

A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.

Midnight Cowboy poster
Midnight Cowboy
1969 Β· dir. John Schlesinger
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7.8drama

A streak of grit through both

Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.

Wendy and Lucy poster
Wendy and Lucy
2008 Β· dir. Kelly Reichardt
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.1drama

Both sit in the same contemplative register

The difference: Takes it somewhere less gritty than Pleasure does

A near-penniless drifter's journey to Alaska in search of work is interrupted when she loses her dog while attempting to shoplift food for it.

In a Better World poster
In a Better World
2010 Β· dir. Susanne Bier
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7.6drama

Both work the same warmth

The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.

Thelma & Louise poster
Thelma & Louise
1991 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.6drama Β· crimePrime VideoHulu

Common ground: female friendship

Taking a break from their dreary lives, close friends Thelma and Louise embark on a short weekend trip that ends in unforeseen incriminating circumstances. As fugitives, both women rediscover the strength of their bond and their newfound resilience.

Gran Torino poster
Gran Torino
2008 Β· dir. Clint Eastwood
πŸ… 81%β˜… 8.1drama

The shared currency is grit

Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, Thao Lor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.

A Simple Plan poster
A Simple Plan
1998 Β· dir. Sam Raimi
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.5crime Β· drama Β· thrillerParamount+

Both working the same drama territory

Captivated by the lure of sudden wealth, the quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over $4 million in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small airplane. Their simple plan to retain the money while avoiding detection opens a Pandora's box when the fear of getting caught triggers panicked behavior and leads to virulent consequences.

The Last Duel poster
The Last Duel
2021 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.3drama Β· historyRent or buy

Both play drama straight

King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire, Jacques Le Gris, by challenging him to a duel.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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