Father – daughter relationship is a very special bonding in this world. Just like any other relationship, this relationship is built on love, trust, respect, and communication.
Though there is an age gap between a father and his daughter and some boundaries to maintain, the trust and support in this relationship make it beautiful.
But sometimes, this sweet relationship has to face troubles.
Here are the 12 best movies about father-daughter relationships depicting different types of father-and-daughter bonding.
The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)
Cast – Daniel Day-Lewis, Camilla Belle, Paul Dano, Catherine Keener, Beau Bridges, Jena Malone, Jason Lee, Susanna Thompson, Ryan McDonald, Kathryn Newton.
Director – Rebecca Miller
IMDB rating – 6.5
Storyline: This movie shows how a father can influence his daughter’s actions.
Though the movie is not the perfect example of a father-daughter movie, somehow, it revolves around this theme.
The father, Jack Slavin, has the desire to give up city life and live in the touch of the environment. He and his daughter, Rose, live together on an isolated island. Still, he wants to be in contact with other people.
But Rose is now familiar with living alone and dislikes anyone’s intervention. So there is a contrast between the characters of the father and his daughter.
This contrast becomes much more complicated later when Jack decides that his girlfriend and her sons will live with them.
Interstellar (2014)
Cast – Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Mackenzie Foy, Timothee Chalamet, Matt Damon, Michael Caine.
Director – Christopher Nolan
IMDB rating – 8.6
Storyline: Interstellar is one of the favorite movies of every movie-lover.
Although juggling many themes and considered a science film, this movie depicts a father’s love for his daughter.
There are so many significant thrilling scenes in this movie that are beautifully mingled with the music of Hans Zimmer in the background.
This movie sums up the love between a father and daughter.
Like Father (2018)
Cast – Kristen Bell, Seth Rogen, Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Miller, Brett Gelman, Paul W. Downs, Jon Foster.
Director – Lauren Miller
IMDB rating – 6.1
Storyline: This movie consists of the story of Rachel Hamilton who is very successful in her career. She is a very dedicated lady, and this is the reason behind her success.
Once she gets engaged in a relationship, unfortunately, her fiance leaves her. Though she gets devastated, she soon starts to think about her life.
She decides to go on a honeymoon trip that she has planned with her ex, and her father also joins her on this trip.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
Cast – Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, James Dunn, Lloyd Nolan, James Gleason, Ted Donaldson, Peggy Ann Garner.
Director – Elia Kazan
IMDB rating – 8
Storyline: The plot of this movie is set in 1912 Brooklyn. It tells us the story of an Irish American family, Nolans, who struggle very hard to make their life easy.
The woman, Katie, works hard, but her husband is irresponsible. They have a daughter, named Francie, who idolizes her father.
Francie shares a very loving relationship with her father. She is talented and focused on her education to have a better future. This movie mainly depicts how a father’s position influences his daughter’s life.
The Descendants (2011)
Cast – George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Nick Krause, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Robert Forster.
Director – Alexander Payne
IMDB rating – 7.3
Storyline: This is the story of Matthew King and his two daughters, who are dysfunctional in their own way.
Matthew King is a trustee of a very precious piece of land. But as his cousins want to sell that land, Matthew comes under huge pressure.
On the other side, Matthew’s family is also in big trouble since his wife has met with an accident and is now in a coma.
Also, Matthew comes to know that his wife has an affair with another man. The movie shows us how Matthew, with his two daughters, tries to settle with his wife’s past.
I Am Sam (2001)
Cast – Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest, Loretta Devine.
Director – Jessie Nelson
IMDB rating – 7.6
Storyline: I Am Sam is a story of a man who is suffering from an intellectual disability. He tries his best to raise his daughter single-handedly as his wife leaves both of them.
The daughter is growing up and starts to realize how hard her father is trying to raise her. She understands the condition of her father.
Sometimes she gets teased by other kids for her father’s condition. They have to face trouble when the daughter is put in a foster home because Sam is accused of not having proper parenting ability.
Sam starts the legal process with the help of a lawyer and his friends to get his daughter back.
Father of The Bride (1950)
Cast – Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor, Billie Burke, Moroni Olsen, Marietta Canty.
Director – Vincente Minnelli
IMDB rating – 7.1
Storyline: No father in this world does not worry about his daughter’s wedding. Fathers always look forward to this day and do their best to make it very special.
But they also have to struggle with the thought that they have to share their daughters with someone else. This is the case with the story of this movie.
Stanley Banks, the father of Katherine, faces this condition. When Katherine tells her father that he decided to marry, her father seemingly supports her while also remaining worried.
On Golden Pond (1981)
Cast – Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Doug Mckeon, Dabney Coleman, William Lantau, Christopher Rydell.
Director – Mark Rydell
IMDB rating – 7.6
Storyline: This is the story of a real-life father and daughter.
Here, the father, who is old, wants to repair his relationship with his daughter, while the daughter thinks her father is overbearing and does not want to keep any influence from her father in her life.
Ultimately when she realizes that her father is suffering from dementia and is dying, she starts to heal all the wounds of their relationship.
Paper Moon (1973)
Cast – Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman, Burton Gilliam, P. J. Johnson, James N. Harrell, Noble Willingham.
Director – Peter Bogdanovich
IMDB rating – 8.1
Storyline: This movie features the real father-daughter relationship of Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal. In this movie, the father is a con – man.
To dupe people, he tries to pretend to be an orphaned girl’s father. The daughter realizes that her father’s plan of conning people is to earn money.
She joins her father in this plan, and they start their journey from one place to another. They use various tricks and tactics on people and get money from them.
Taken (2008)
Cast – Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Jon Gries, Leland Orser, Olivier Rabourdin, Katie Cassidy.
Director – Pierre Morel
IMDB rating – 7.8
Storyline: This film is considered to be one of the most successful American films of the year 2008.
It tells the story of a father and his teenage daughter. The daughter gets kidnapped by human traffickers. Her father immediately sets out to rescue her.
With so many actions and thrilling scenes, this movie shows a strong bond between a father and his daughter.
Hanna (2011)
Cast – Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, Vicky Krieps, Jessica Barden, Tom Hollander.
Director – Joe Wright
IMDB rating – 6.8
Storyline: This movie features a story of a girl who has grown up with his father.
She is grown up by his father in such a wilderness that she becomes a trained girl who can look out for herself even in the most dangerous situations.
She becomes such a tremendous assassin that his father feels so proud of her. You will also find some heartfelt and emotional aspects of this movie that are critically and commercially appreciated.
Jersey Girl (2008)
Cast – Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Raquel Castro, Liv Tyler, Will Smith, George Carlin, Matt Damon, Jason Biggs, Stephen Root, Jason Lee, Paulie Litt, S. Epatha Merkerson.
Director – Kevin Smith
IMDB rating – 6.2
Storyline: Jersey Girl is one of the most beautiful movies that shows the relationship between a father and a daughter.
Here the father loses his wife while she is giving birth to the child. In spite of getting overwhelmed by the pain of losing his wife, the father tries to recover from the pain and takes all the responsibilities of taking care of his daughter.
Sometimes he gets confused between staying with his daughter and moving to another place to do better in his career. But ultimately, the movie ends with some heart-touching moments between the father and his daughter.