I Am Sam

Movies Like

I Am Sam (2001)

Drama

If you loved I Am Sam, you'll love these similar films. Handpicked based on shared themes, genre, and feel.

Losing Isaiah

Losing Isaiah

1995 ★ 6.5

Khaila Richards, a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin, and her husband, Charles. Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.

Mommie Dearest

Mommie Dearest

1981 ★ 6.4

Renowned film star Joan Crawford's abuse towards Christina, her adopted daughter, intensifies as her professional and romantic relationships turn sour.

White Oleander

White Oleander

2002 ★ 7.0

A teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.

A Home of Our Own

A Home of Our Own

1993 ★ 6.9

In 1960s Los Angeles an energetic widow and her six children try to make a dream of theirs come true: to have a home of their own. They leave L.A. and head for the countryside, all the while facing numerous difficulties and obstacles during their journey.

The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle

2017 ★ 7.1

A young girl is raised in a dysfunctional family constantly on the run from the FBI. Living in poverty, she comes of age guided by her drunkard, ingenious father who distracts her with magical stories to keep her mind off the family's dire state, and her selfish, nonconformist mother who has no intention of raising a family, along with her younger brother and sister, and her other older sister. Together, they fend for each other as they mature in an unorthodox journey that is their family life.

Ladybird Ladybird

Ladybird Ladybird

1994 ★ 7.2

Maggie has had four children, by four different fathers, removed by social services because of a previous violent relationship. When she meets Jorge, a gentle Latin American refugee, she gradually sees her chance for happiness, but her history still haunts her.

Mildred Pierce

Mildred Pierce

1945 ★ 7.6

A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot

2024 ★ 7.0

Led by Donna and Reverend W.C. Martin, 22 families from a rural Black church in the small East Texas town of Possum Trot adopt 77 of the most difficult-to-place kids in the foster system and kickstart a movement in the process.

Secrets & Lies

Secrets & Lies

1996 ★ 7.6

After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.

Evelyn

Evelyn

2002 ★ 6.4

Desmond Doyle is devastated when his wife abandons their family on the day after Christmas. His unemployment, and the fact that there is no woman in the house to care for the children—Evelyn, Dermot and Maurice—make it clear to the authorities this is an untenable situation. The Catholic Church and the Irish courts decide to put the Doyle children into Church-run orphanages.

Jack of the Red Hearts

Jack of the Red Hearts

2016 ★ 7.1

A teenage con artist tricks a desperate mother into hiring her as a live-in companion for her autistic daughter.

More Beautiful for Having Been Broken

More Beautiful for Having Been Broken

2020 ★ 6.7

Three women’s lives intersect at a lakeside resort and are forever changed by the love of a special needs boy.

The Book of Henry

The Book of Henry

2017 ★ 7.5

Susan, a single mother of two, works as a waitress in a small town. Her son, Henry, is an 11-year-old genius who not only manages the family finances but acts as emotional support for his mother and younger brother. When Henry discovers that the girl next door has a terrible secret, he implores Susan to take matters into her own hands.

The Judge

The Judge

2014 ★ 7.3

A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables

2016 ★ 7.2

A retelling of L.M. Montgomery's story of Anne Shirley, an orphan who is accidentally sent to a couple looking to adopt a boy instead.

What Maisie Knew

What Maisie Knew

2013 ★ 7.1

In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.

Dancer in the Dark

Dancer in the Dark

2000 ★ 7.8

Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.

The Boys Are Back

The Boys Are Back

2009 ★ 6.3

When the wife of sports-writer Joe Warr dies of cancer, he takes on the responsibility of raising their 6-year-old son, and his teenage son from a previous marriage. As Joe rejects the counsel of his mother-in-law and other parents, he develops his own philosophies on parenting.

99 Homes

99 Homes

2015 ★ 6.8

After his family is evicted from their home, proud and desperate construction worker Dennis Nash tries to win his home back by striking a deal with the devil and working for Rick Carver, the corrupt real estate broker who evicted him.

One & Two

One & Two

2015 ★ 5.8

In an isolated farmhouse, located in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by a mysterious wooden wall, Zac and Eva, two siblings gifted with extraordinary abilities, endure every day the wrath of their strict father while witnessing how a cruel sickness lurks their beloved mother.

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