#3. The Good Father (1985)

Storyline: After his divorce, Bill Hooper (Anthony Hopkins) is a shattered man; the biggest blow was losing custody of his son. So when he meets Roger (Jim Broadbent), a man whose wife has also left him and taken their son, Bill takes up Roger's cause as his own -- agreeing to pay all his legal fees. Yet, as the custody battle heats up, Bill makes gestures to reconnect with his ex-wife, Emmy (Harriet Walter), that show that their divorce -- and Bill's anger -- may be more complex than they appear.

Plot Keywords: ex-wife, ex-husband, son, lawyer, friend, father, emotional ...

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#4. I Am Sam (2001)

Storyline: Sam Dawson has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old. He works at a Starbucks and is obsessed with the Beatles. He has a daughter with a homeless woman; she abandons them as soon as they leave the hospital. He names his daughter Lucy Diamond (after the Beatles song) and raises her. But as she reaches age 7 herself, Sam's limitations start to become a problem at school; she's intentionally holding back to avoid looking smarter than him. The authorities take her away and Sam shames high-priced lawyer Rita Harrison into taking his case pro bono. In the process, he teaches her a great deal about love and whether it's really all you need.

Plot Keywords: father, daughter, mentally disabled person, lawyer, foster mother, friend, disheartening ...

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#5. Custody (2017)

Storyline: Antoine Besson, Miriam's divorced husband, is a nice man. In charge of security in a hospital, he is esteemed both by his superiors and his fellow colleagues. Moreover he is a good father who, willing to be closer to his eleven-year-old son Julien, has chosen to be transferred to the town where the boy lives with his mother and his older sister Joséphine, soon to be of age. That is the very reason why Antoine, the caring father, is asking for joint custody of Julien. Well, all that would be fine provided Antoine actually was the man he claims to be. The trouble is that his wife and his two children see him in a very different light. For in the past, Antoine was far from an angel. On the contrary, he had a knack for creating an atmosphere of permanent fear at home, going as far as to occasionally beat his wife under his children's eyes. And he got away with it all the more easily as Miriam, wishing to avoid even more problems, never lodged a complaint against him - a fact that eventually turns against her. Which is why, despite the fact that Julien does not want to see his father any more, the family court judge complies with Antoine's request.—Guy Bellinger

Plot Keywords: divorce lawyer, son, mother, father, family member, emotional, intense ...

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#6. JCVD (2008)

Storyline: Between his tax problems and his legal battle with his wife for the custody of his daughter, these are hard times for the action movie star who finds that even Steven Seagal has pinched a role from him! In JCVD, Jean-Claude Van Damme returns to the country of his birth to seek the peace and tranquility he can no longer enjoy in the United States.

Plot Keywords: actor, daughter, star, engaging, wild, van, lost ...

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#7. The Divided Heart (1954)

Storyline: A three-year-old orphan is adopted by a German couple shortly after World War II. On his tenth birthday, he is told that his mother, a Yugoslav refugee, is alive and wants him back. The case must be decided in court, which must decide with whom the boy will be better off.—frankfob2@yahoo.com

Plot Keywords: orphan, missing person, child, judge, adoptive father, adoptive mother, melodramatic ...

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#10. That Certain Woman (1937)

Storyline: Mary Donnell was married at sixteen to a gangster and soon widowed. She works for unhappily married lawyer Lloyd Rogers. A client's son Jack elopes with her, but his father tracks them down and has the marriage annulled. Mary has a son. Unaware of this, the father remarries; his new wife is crippled in an auto accident. The lawyer, now dying, tells Mary he has left her money for her and her son, Rogers' widow suspects her husband may have been the father. Jack's ruthless father , upon learning that he is the grandparent of the child, threatens legal action to gain custody, but his son wants no part in separating little Jackie from his mother. Further, he reasserts his love for Mary and promises he will ask his now handicapped wife, Flip, for a divorce so that Jackie will have a real family. He instructs Mary to pack her belongings and get Jackie ready to leave so that the three can start a new life together. Before Jack has a chance to inform his now-handicapped wife, Flip, of these stunning developments, Flip pays an unexpected visit to Mary's apartment. To Mary's surprise, Flip makes a heartfelt, selfless plea for her to take Jack and make him happy as (in her words) she could no longer do. Mary is so struck by the offer and by Flip's true love for Jack, that she not only decides to cancel her plans to reunite with Jack, but also to ask Jack to adopt Jackie and, along with Flip, give him a 'proper' life in society. Jack enters the apartment and, in a whispered chat with Mary, is prevented from telling Flip that he ever had any intention of leaving her.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Plot Keywords: bootlegger, widow, secretary, attorney, playboy, father, melodramatic ...

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#11. Dolphin Island (2021)

Storyline: After losing her parents, teenager Annabel Coleridge lives with her fisherman grandfather on a Caribbean island paradise surrounded by an extended family of loving but quirky oddballs and her best friend, a dolphin named Mitzy. Everything changes when her rich maternal grandparents arrive with a shifty lawyer to bring her back to New York. It's up to her grandfather, her friends, Desaray, her new social worker, her charming son, Mateo, and Mitzy to find a way for Anna to stay on the island home she loves so much.—Mr. Puppy

Plot Keywords: grandfather, friend, dolphin, neighbor, social worker, teen girl, spirited ...

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#12. I Can't Sleep (1994)

Storyline: In 1980s Paris, a series of murders captures public attention. Meanwhile, the gorgeous Daiga (Yekaterina Golubeva) moves from Lithuania to Paris, immigrant musician Theo (Alex Descas) struggles to raise his young son, and Theo's brother, a gay transvestite named Camille (Richard Courcet), sings and dances in a cabaret for a living. All three grapple with isolation and the problems of modern living, but one of them could be so desperately alienated that they have a hand in the serial murders.

Plot Keywords: beautiful woman, musician, transvestite, lover, son, aunt, dark ...

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#13. Black or White (2014)

Storyline: Black or White is the story of a grandfather (Kevin Costner) who is suddenly left to care for his beloved granddaughter. When her paternal grandmother (Octavia Spencer) seeks custody with the help of her brother (Anthony Mackie), the little girl is torn between two families who love her deeply. With the best intentions at heart, both families fight for what they feel is right and are soon forced to confront their true feelings about race, forgiveness, and understanding. Anchored by an all-star cast and based on real events, the movie is a look at two seemingly different worlds, in which nothing is as simple as black or white.

Plot Keywords: grandfather, grandmother, granddaughter, lawyer, friend, emotional, passionate ...

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#14. Duane Hopwood (2005)

Storyline: A down-on-his-luck, divorced father works the night shift at an Atlantic City casino. When his relationship with his young daughters and ex-wife is jeopardized by a run-in with the law, he struggles to get his life - and family - back together before it's too late. A moving and humorous look at the limits of unconditional love and what defines a family.—Anonymous

Plot Keywords: card dealer, alcoholic, ex-wife, casino owner, best friend, daughter, somber ...

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