Movies Like The Arbor (2010)

The Arbor is a 2010 documentary, drama film from Clio Barnard with a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Locked Up and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things.

Documentary Drama

Locked Up

2005

Dennis is a new inmate. Mike is an older black inmate. Together the two face hostile prison officals and inmates in their attempts to become a loving couple.

4.8

MagicScore

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things

2004

Young Jeremiah lives in a stable environment with loving foster parents until the day his troubled mother, Sarah, returns to claim him. Jeremiah becomes swept up in his mother's dangerous world of drugs, seedy hotels, strip joints and revolving lovers. Salvation comes in the form of the boy's ultrareligious grandparents, but soon Jeremiah's mother returns. Maternal love binds the pair together on the road until Sarah's desperate and depraved lifestyle finally consumes her.

5.8

MagicScore

Dangal

2016

Dangal is an extraordinary true story based on the life of Mahavir Singh and his two daughters, Geeta and Babita Phogat. The film traces the inspirational journey of a father who trains his daughters to become world class wrestlers.

7.9

MagicScore

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

2003

British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.

6.7

MagicScore

Foxfire

1996

The story of five teenage girls who form an unlikely bond after beating up a teacher who has sexually harassed them. They build a solid friendship but their wild ways begin to get out of control.

6.0

MagicScore

On the Edge

2006

Three flatmates in Mexico City face uncertainties: Lucía who has a great job as an art director for TV commercials is abusing alcohol and cocaine. She risks losing her job, going to prison for assault, and she's woefully in love with a bullfighter who may be two-timing her. Carmen, an artist without income, can be manic - snorting lots of cocaine and hanging out with a gay man and a transvestite. What's her future? Hanna contemplates divorce from Abraham, a wealthy momma's boy, and she's disoriented by feelings of attraction to Sandra, a customer at her jewelry store. Can any of these poor little rich girls sort things out in a world of excess?

4.7

MagicScore

Wilde

1997

Oscar Wilde is a married playwright who has occasionally indulged his weakness for male suitors. After much toil, Wilde debuts 'The Importance of Being Earnest' in London, and a chat at the theatre with Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas leads to a full-fledged romance. However, this affair leads to a legal dispute with Lord Alfred's oppressive father, the Marquess of Queensberry, and, given the local anti-gay laws, Wilde is jailed. Wilde's vast intellect helps him survive until he regains his freedom.

6.6

MagicScore

Poison

1991

A trio of interweaved transgressive tales, telling a bizarre stories of suburban patricide and a miraculous flight from justice, a mad sex experiment which unleashes a disfiguring plague, and the obsessive sexual relationship between two prison inmates.

5.9

MagicScore

Broken

2007

A waitress confronts all the wrong turns she has made in her short life and ultimately ends up facing the biggest wrong turn of all: her dangerous ex-boyfriend who's determined to win back her love or die trying.

5.4

MagicScore

#10

Toast

2010

Young Nigel Slater has big culinary aspirations, even though all his mother knows how to make is toast. When his mother dies, relations grow strained between Nigel and his father, especially when he remarries a woman who wins his heart with a lemon meringue pie. Nigel enters culinary school, starts working in a pub, and finds himself competing with his stepmother - both in the kitchen and for his father's attention.

6.6

MagicScore

#11

Private Parts

1997

The life and career of shock-jock superstar Howard Stern is recounted from his humble beginnings to his view from the top. Possessing a desire to be an on-air personality since childhood, Stern meanders through the radio world, always with his supportive wife, Alison, by his side. Landing a gig in Washington, D.C., Stern meets Robin Quivers, who will become his long-time partner in crime. When the two move to New York, they face the wrath of NBC executives.

6.4

MagicScore

#12

Dzhamilya

1969

In a remote Kyrgyz village, Dzhamilya follows her parents' orders when she marries a man without loving him. Then World War II breaks out and her new husband has to leave the village. While being alone, Dzhamiliya meets the returning soldier Daniyar and falls in love with him instead. Years later, their young friend Seid reminisces about the couple.

6.2

MagicScore

#13

Frank Film

1973

A compilation of images co-creator Frank Mouris had collected from magazines interwoven with two narrations, one giving a mostly linear autobiography and the other stating words having to do with the images, the story the first voice is relating, or neither. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

5.7

MagicScore

#14

Past Lives

2023

After decades apart, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung are reunited in New York for one fateful weekend as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.

7.7

MagicScore

#15

What Happened, Miss Simone?

2015

The film chronicles Nina Simone's journey from child piano prodigy to iconic musician and passionate activist, told in her own words.

7.4

MagicScore

#16

Bird

2024

12-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids, and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere.

7.2

MagicScore

#17

The Forty-Year-Old Version

2020

Desperate for a breakthrough as she nears the big 4-0, struggling New York City playwright Radha finds inspiration by reinventing herself as a rapper.

6.7

MagicScore

#18

Something's Gotta Give

2003

When perpetually single, aging music industry exec Harry Sanborn, and his latest trophy girlfriend, Marin, arrive at her mother's beach house in the Hamptons, they find that her mother, playwright Erica Barry, also plans to stay for the weekend. Erica is scandalized by the relationship and Harry's sexist ways. But when Harry has a heart attack while there, and the doctor prescribes bedrest, his only option is to stay at the Barry home. Left in the care of Erica and his doctor, a love triangle starts to take shape.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

Untold: Deal with the Devil

2021

Christy Martin broke boundaries and noses as she rose in the boxing world, but her public persona belied personal demons, abuse and a threat on her life.

6.9

MagicScore

#20

Merrily We Go to Hell

1932

A drunken newspaperman, Jerry Corbett, is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress, Joan Prentice, whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.

6.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Arbor?

The top films similar to The Arbor by MovieMagicScore are Locked Up (4.8), The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (5.8), Dangal (7.9). Each shares documentary/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Arbor worth watching?

The Arbor holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10 from 42 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Arbor?

The Arbor (2010) is a documentary, drama film directed by Clio Barnard, starring Christine Bottomley, Manjinder Virk, Natalie Gavin.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Arbor?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Locked Up Movies like The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things Movies like Dangal Movies like Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer Movies like Foxfire Movies like On the Edge

About movies like The Arbor

This ranked list pairs The Arbor (2010), a documentary and drama film from Clio Barnard, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Christine Bottomley 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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