Movies Like Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands is a 2002 comedy, drama, romance film from Shane Meadows with a MovieMagicScore of 6.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Fabulous Baker Boys and A Star Is Born.

Comedy Drama Romance

The Fabulous Baker Boys

1989

The lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.

6.6

MagicScore

A Star Is Born

2018

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers — and falls in love with — struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer — until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.

7.5

MagicScore

Masculin Féminin

1966

Paul, a young idealist trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life, takes a job interviewing people for a marketing research firm. He moves in with aspiring pop singer Madeleine. Paul, however, is disillusioned by the growing commercialism in society, while Madeleine just wants to be successful. The story is told in a series of 15 unrelated vignettes.

7.2

MagicScore

Raise Your Voice

2004

A coming-of-age story centered around a small-town singer brokenhearted by the death of her brother in a car crash, who had secretly submitted her for a summer session at a performing arts academy in Los Angeles. In the academy, she experiences a whole new way of life in the big city, far from the small town lifestyle she's used to.

6.5

MagicScore

Undiscovered

2005

A group of aspiring entertainers try to establish careers for themselves in the city of Los Angeles.

4.5

MagicScore

My Last Day Without You

2011

On a one-day business trip to New York, a German business executive falls in love with a singer-songwriter who exposes him to her Brooklyn world and emotions he's never experienced before.

5.3

MagicScore

If Only

2004

After his impetuous musician girlfriend, Samantha, dies in an accident shortly after they had a fight (and nearly broke up), Ian Wyndham, a grief-stricken British businessman living in London gets a chance to relive the day all over again, in the hope of changing the events that led up to her getting killed.

7.0

MagicScore

Annie Hall

1977

New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.

7.7

MagicScore

Transistor Love Story

2001

An aspiring singer leaves his pregnant bride a radio for company when he is drafted into the army; unfit for military life, the man goes AWOL and joins a pop music troupe but soon after his wife tracks him down his life spirals out of control.

6.8

MagicScore

#10

Resort to Love

2021

Aspiring pop star Erica ends up as the entertainment at her ex-fiancé’s wedding after reluctantly taking a gig at a luxurious island resort while in the wake of a music career meltdown.

7.2

MagicScore

#11

Love Affair

1939

A French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship. They arrange to reunite six months later, if neither has changed their mind.

7.0

MagicScore

#12

Priscilla

2023

When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.

6.8

MagicScore

#13

Taxing Love

2018

Klara, devoted to her work as a tax inspector, becomes infatuated with the dashing but irresponsible and cynical Marian who is about to be charged with tax evasion.

6.6

MagicScore

#14

I'll See You in My Dreams

2015

A sudden loss disrupts Carol’s orderly life, propelling her into the dating world for the first time in 20 years. Finally living in the present tense, she finds herself swept up in not one, but two unexpected relationships that challenge her assumptions about what it means to grow old.

6.3

MagicScore

#15

Country Strong

2010

Soon after the rising young singer-songwriter Beau Williams gets involved with a fallen, emotionally unstable country star Kelly Canter, the pair embark on a career resurrection tour helmed by her husband/manager James and featuring a beauty queen-turned-singer Chiles Stanton. Between concerts, romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all.

6.1

MagicScore

#16

Dicen que soy mujeriego

1949

Pedro has had many lovers but he only loves one of them, but this romance stop going on for his flirts with other women.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Your Face

1987

A tenor, in suit and tie, with a receding hairline, sings a ballad to his love, “Your Face Is Like a Song,” to simple piano accompaniment. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.

6.6

MagicScore

#18

Country at Heart

2020

A struggling country singer meets a Nashville songwriter in need of inspiration. Teaming up to write a song, their work gets complicated but results in both a hit song...and true love.

6.4

MagicScore

#19

Factory Girl

2006

In the mid-1960s, wealthy debutant Edie Sedgwick meets artist Andy Warhol. She joins Warhol's famous Factory and becomes his muse. Although she seems to have it all, Edie cannot have the love she craves from Andy, and she has an affair with a charismatic musician, who pushes her to seek independence from the artist and the milieu.

6.0

MagicScore

#20

Autumn Girl

2021

Polish film and music icon Kalina Jedrusik, a scandalous free-spirited sex symbol, fights for her independence in the prude society of the 1960s.

4.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Once Upon a Time in the Midlands?

The top films similar to Once Upon a Time in the Midlands by MovieMagicScore are The Fabulous Baker Boys (6.6), A Star Is Born (7.5), Masculin Féminin (7.2). Each shares comedy/drama/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Once Upon a Time in the Midlands worth watching?

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.2/10 from 55 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Once Upon a Time in the Midlands?

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002) is a comedy, drama, romance film directed by Shane Meadows, starring Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Shirley Henderson.

Where can I find more recommendations like Once Upon a Time in the Midlands?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Fabulous Baker Boys Movies like A Star Is Born Movies like Masculin Féminin Movies like Raise Your Voice Movies like Undiscovered Movies like My Last Day Without You

About movies like Once Upon a Time in the Midlands

This ranked list pairs Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002), a comedy and drama and romance film from Shane Meadows, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Robert Carlyle take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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