Movies Like Netflix’s ‘Doing Life’ That Explore Second Chances, Single Motherhood and Life After Prison

Tyler Perry’s ‘Doing Life’ arrives globally on Netflix on October 2, with Perry writing and directing a drama about Anika, a struggling single mother, and a reformed former inmate who form an unexpected connection. Naomi Baker plays Anika, while Jay Reeves plays the man who has left prison behind. The trailer opens with a flashback in which Anika, then a prison officer, is injured during a riot and rescued by an inmate named Carousel.

Anyone looking for movies like ‘Doing Life’ will find that the story pulls from two threads. Perry has said he has known people who resemble both central characters, from those leaving prison in search of a second chance to single mothers doing everything they can for their children. The films below follow one thread or the other, and a few touch both.

‘Straw’

‘Straw’ is a Netflix drama written and directed by Perry about a single mother who struggles to provide for her ill daughter until a series of events pushes her to extreme measures. Taraji P. Henson leads the cast.

According to Tom’s Guide, the film climbed to the top of Netflix’s movie chart after its June release. What’s on Netflix has suggested that ‘Doing Life’ could make a similar impact.

‘Set It Off’

‘Set It Off’ is a 1996 film directed by F. Gary Gray about T.T., a struggling single mother played by Kimberly Elise, who joins her friends in a series of bank robberies because she sees no other way to survive. Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Vivica A. Fox complete the ensemble.

Tom’s Guide argues that desperation and a relatable sense of hopelessness carry the film more than its gunfire does.

‘The Spitfire Grill’

‘The Spitfire Grill’ tells the story of a woman who is released from prison and goes to work in a small town café. Percy Talbot served time for manslaughter, then moves to Gilead, Maine, where she slowly earns the trust of most of the townspeople.

The film won the Audience Award at Sundance, although critics were less favorable when it reached theaters. Writing for RogerEbert.com, Roger Ebert called it a manipulative melodramatic tearjerker, while conceding that the acting is strong.

‘American History X’

Directed by Tony Kaye, this crime drama follows Derek Vinyard, played by Edward Norton, who is released on parole as a changed man after serving three years in prison. He then tries to keep his younger brother Danny from being pulled deeper into the white supremacist movement.

It is a far heavier picture than Perry’s romance, yet it shares the question of whether someone can truly leave a past behind. Apple’s listing shows a Tomatometer score of 84 percent.

‘The Shawshank Redemption’

Directed by Frank Darabont from a Stephen King novella, the film follows banker Andy Dufresne, who is sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover despite his claims of innocence. Over the following two decades he befriends fellow prisoner Ellis Red Redding, played by Morgan Freeman.

Its box office run was lukewarm, but it later found a long life on cable and home video and is now regarded by many as one of the greatest movies ever made. The Library of Congress selected it for the National Film Registry in 2015.

‘Life’

‘Life’ is a 1999 comedy drama and the second pairing of Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, following ‘Boomerang’. Their characters, Ray Gibson and Claude Banks, are wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

The story is framed as an elderly inmate telling their tale at the Mississippi State Penitentiary. The title alone makes it a natural companion for anyone curious about ‘Doing Life’.

‘Lou’

Released in 2022, ‘Lou’ stars Jurnee Smollett as Hannah, a mother who is out of options when her daughter is kidnapped. Her only help comes from a reclusive loner named Lou, played by Allison Janney, who turns out to be CIA trained.

Tom’s Guide connects the film to ‘Straw’ through its bleak tone, its generational trauma and its portrait of a mother let down by the system.

‘Peppermint’

In the 2018 film ‘Peppermint’, Riley, played by Jennifer Garner, watches her daughter and husband get gunned down. After the justice system fails her, she disappears for five years and returns as a trained killer.

Tom’s Guide notes that where ‘Straw’ is grounded in moral ambiguity, this film leans into stylized vigilante carnage. That makes it the most action driven entry here.

‘Panic Room’

David Fincher’s 2002 film features Meg, played by Jodie Foster, and her diabetic daughter Sarah, played by Kristen Stewart, who are trapped in a panic room by burglars. Tom’s Guide describes it as a stripped down portrait of survival instincts and a mother’s protection, with Sarah’s lack of insulin adding to the threat.

Once ‘Doing Life’ reaches Netflix, tell us in the comments which of these films Anika and Carousel’s bond ends up echoing most, and whether you see them closer to the redemption of ‘The Spitfire Grill’ or the desperation of ‘Straw’.