Clearly, romanticism has fallen victim to its overly nice image. Here is indeed a term in front of which one cannot help but smile, immediately thinking: marshmallow, sentimentalism, bouquets of cheap roses, sentimentality and drippings… And yet, certain love films constitute some of the most beautiful works of cinema, all eras combined.
For this selection of 65 love films, we obviously dug into the romantic comedy side, a fairly overwhelming sub-category which fortunately allowed us to find Antoine Doisnel, Harry and Sally, classics by Woody Allen, Billy Wilder or Ernst Lubitsch…
Romantic movies
Persuasion
A sort of Bridget Jones from a good family at the end of the Georgian era, an unloved second between a physically advantageous eldest and a delicately healthy youngest at the center of all attention, Anne Elliot ( Dakota Johnson ) drowns her sorrows in the red wine, which she drinks from the bottle. Quick-witted, blundering and bubbly, she nevertheless carries the weight of a heavy grief: 8 years earlier, deeply in love with a penniless naval officer, her family had persuaded her to break the relationship, then seen as having no future.
About Time
In the Lake family, men have the power to go back in time: this is the coming-of-age gift that his father (Bill Nighy) has in store for Tim (Domhnall Gleeson). How it works ? A dark place, he concentrates, and off he goes. Appalled by the revelation, the young man agrees with his father: “It’s going to be a complicated life”. With an argument such as this, Richard Curtis gives himself the opportunity to orchestrate several “romantic” scenes well within the canon of the genre, well found and well constructed, as usual. The first moments of the film, however, leave a strange impression: over all these repetitions of the same scene until it unfolds exactly as Tim wishes, has the director led his style in a dead end, taken a direction where the film is going, very quickly.
Me Before You
Me Before You, the adaptation of an eponymous novel by writer Jojo Moyes, revolves around Louisa Clark, a young woman from a modest background. Having lost her job at a local cafe, she is hired as a caregiver to Will Traynor, a young and wealthy banker, whose life changed when he became a quadriplegic after being hit by a motorcycle, two years before. Although she has no experience, the young man’s mother hopes that Louisa’s cheerful personality will help lift Will’s spirits. The young woman understands that the damage caused to the spinal cord will never allow the young man to walk again. Depressed, Will initially reacts coldly to Louisa’s optimistic attitude, before finally succumbing to her charm.
Blonde
Adapted from the bestseller by Joyce Carol Oates, BLONDE is a bold reinterpretation of the trajectory of Marilyn Monroe, one of Hollywood’s most timeless icons. From her tumultuous childhood to her meteoric rise and complex love stories – from Norma Jeane to Marilyn – BLONDE blurs the line between fact and fiction to explore the growing gap between her public persona and the person she she was intimate.
Romantic movies on Netflix
Rebecca
This new adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s famous novel (1938) suffers from the same torment as its heroine: it does not compare well with the one that preceded it. In the case of Mrs. de Winter, very young bride, it is about the deceased Rebecca, the former wife, the perfect woman, disappeared at sea, whose memory haunts the splendors and the shadows of the manor of Manderley, like an incomparable ghost. In the case of film, it’s an even more overwhelming black-and-white spectrum. In 1940, Alfred Hitchcock woreon screen the sexual ambivalence disorder of the original story, pseudo-gothic romance and marital trauma: initiation of an ingenue, toxic power struggles and secrets within a couple, Sapphic ambiguity and repression embodied by the omnipresent and freezing Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, passionately loyal to Rebecca.
Endless Love
Endless Love is a2014 American romantic drama film directed by Shana Feste and co-written by Joshua Safran. A remake of Franco Zeffirelli ‘s 1981 film of the same name and two adaptations of Scott Spencer ‘s novel, the film opens with an ensemble cast led by Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde. The film was released on 14 February 2014 by Universal Pictures in the US and UK, and on 13 February 2014 in Australia.
A Perfect Pairing
The first thing I need to say about this Netflix movie is that it has a nearly identical name to a Hallmark offering ( The Perfect Match ) that was also a romantic comedy about a wine critic. So if this is the movie you’re looking for, then sorry, you’ve come to the wrong place! But if you want to know if A Perfect Match, (Netflix Movie) is worth watching, then you’ve come to the right page. It has everything it takes to be a perfectly adequate and satisfying romantic comedy. A woman wants to own a wine business, flies to Australia, has to prove herself, falls in love etc…
Love in the Villa
After her breakup, a young woman goes on a trip to Verona, Italy. When she arrives, she discovers that she will have to share the villa she has rented with a British man who is as charismatic as he is cynical.
Best romantic movies
My Policeman
This film adaptation of a book published by British novelist Bethan Roberts 10 years ago emanates the impression of a strange feeling. A bit as if this feature film, correctly directed by Michael Grandage ( Genius ), arrived too late, already crushed under the weight of all these (excellent) dramas set at a time when homosexual liaisons were prohibited by law in Great Britain. And strongly suppressed. We think of Another Country (Marek Kanievska), Maurice (James Ivory), Ammonite (Francis Lee) and many others…
The Age of Adaline
Adaline was born at the beginning of the 20th century. Become over time a beautiful young woman, she falls in love, marries, and gives birth to a little girl. But before her thirtieth birthday, she was the victim of a serious road accident which should have cost her her life. However, she miraculously survives and realizes that she is no longer aging, while everyone around her – including her daughter – is not escaping the ravages of time. For fear of being seen as a freak, or worse dissected by science, she learns the art of camouflage and is always very careful not to divulge any information that could compromise her. Thus, every ten years, she changes her name, appearance and place of residence. Until she meets Ellis, a young man who will revive old memories…
Call Me by Your Name
Nothing united these two artists a priori, apart from Italy and André Aciman’s book, which recounts the brief but passionate passion between a 17-year-old boy and an American in his twenties, in 1983 first consultant for Italy with Ivory, then co-director after having resisted the producers, Luca Guadagnino finally agreed to film this romance, which took about ten years to materialize. And he did well as Call Me by Your Name is a magnificent film, extremely gentle and intoxicatingly deep, the echo of which will be felt long after.
Little Women
Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth. These four first names, made famous by the American author Louisa May Alcott, belong to the daughters of Doctor March, bubbly young women whose story begins in the middle of the Civil War, in New England in the 1860s. Revamped by director Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”), this classic of literature is refreshed, energized and freed from the moralizing character that many readers reproached it for. Moreover, the tone is set from the first scene, when Jo (Saoirse Ronan), a budding writer, presents one of her texts to an editor: “Morality no longer works, these days”, replies this last. Thus the scenario offers a breath of freedom, without losing a crumb of its initial charm. The characters are just as altruistic and generous as in the novel, but more flexible, more mischievous perhaps.
Romantic movies list
Allied
The story of Max Vatan and Marianne Beauséjour, two spies who have to pretend to be a couple to assassinate a German, who end up really falling in love with each other, living their lives with their little Anna, until that certain questions come to disturb everything. The film, in itself, is good but suffers from lengths. The script, although not badly written, is far too predictable. I overall preferred the whole first part which was more centered on espionage compared to the second part which was more centered on romance and love story.
Lady Chatterly’s Lover
To give a distinctive sign to this story, which has already been told a thousand times, the director first relies on a more modern approach in the depiction of feelings, but also, above all, on the chemistry between the two main performers. For this story of an adulterous affair to work with the division of social classes in Edwardian society, it was imperative to have a credible film couple on screen. On this level, Emma Corrin, best known until now thanks to her incarnation of Princess Diana in the series The Crown (we can also see her in My Policeman ), and Jack O’Connell ( Seberg ) modulate with great accuracy the inner torments of their character.
The Last Letter From Your Lover
Ellie, an ambitious reporter for a London daily, discovers the decades-old romantic correspondence between Jennifer, wife of a wealthy industrialist, and Anthony, a business journalist assigned to portray the latter. Ellie goes in search of these lovers separated by their choices and the passage of time. Might as well point it out right away, this little romance film, which sometimes gets bogged down in the marshmallow, is not likely to fill up with prizes and tributes. But both its constitution and the very decent work of the actors and its subject (love!) will appeal to many people. This was our case.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
A painter is in charge of painting the portrait of a young woman from a good family, fresh out of the convent and about to be married, despite her reluctance. Between the two women soon grows a passionate relationship. More than a snapshot of love fever, Céline Sciamma ‘s story chooses a more eminently mental angle, focusing on chronicling the memory of a love, the intellectual imprint of an unbreakable bond.
Sad romantic movies
La La Land
From the sadism of Whiplash, which American director Damien Chazelle revealed in 2014, there remain echoes in La La Land. Like the young drummer in that film, whipped up by a ruthless conductor, Mia ( Emma Stone ) and Seb ( Ryan Gosling) take all sorts of humiliations on their respective paths: an acting career for her, the opening of a jazz club for him. But these tests towards a hypothetical accomplishment are no longer the only obsession of the filmmaker. Witness the breathtaking opening scene on a saturated freeway ramp from Los Angeles, towards Hollywood, where the two heroes only appear late. Dozens of motorists get out of their vehicles and start dancing in the sun, singing their joy, their enthusiasm for their city and its speciality, show business.
The Notebook
The first image of movie immediately fits the genre of the film: the syrupy melodrama. With a flight of swans above a river where the setting sun is reflected in a superb, but almost supernatural red, the contemplative is posed in principle. And the spectator must then wrestle with all the clichés of the American South, bodies of water, boats and bayou. The images are certainly magnificent, like during a boat trip among hundreds of swans, but do not make a film.
Titanic
Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a poor and free artist, wins his 3rd class ticket at poker and gets on board in extremis. For her part, in first class, the young Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) embarks with her future husband, Caledon Hockley (Billy Zane), as imprisoned in conventions and in a padlocked future as Jack is free of any hindrance. Rose will attempt to commit suicide by jumping off the deck of the liner. Jack will save her. They will fall in love and live an intense, ephemeral and eternal love story, in the midst of chaos.
One day
Adapted from the eponymous bestseller by British David Nicholls, who wrote the script himself, “One day” follows a young couple in their development over twenty years, focusing only on the anniversary date of their meeting on July 15. During the film, we therefore find each time the lovers a year apart. Those allergic to romantic films can clearly go their way, because “One day” does not avoid genre clichés or pathos, even if its elliptical narration and its adult treatment allow the film to rise clearly above the competition.
Most romantic movies
Say Anything
Lloyd Dobler deserves to be known. He just finished high school, everyone likes him but he has several problems: the first is that he has no idea what he wants to do with his life. The second is that he is attracted to Diane Court, his valedictorian, the pretty big head of his high school, who has just won a prestigious scholarship for an English university which she will join in a few weeks. Taking his courage in both hands, he calls her and invites her to a party. I’m stopping here because, just at the statement at the beginning of the film, we already know how it’s going to end. But that’s okay, it’s a Lover movie.
Pride & Prejudice
In the world of posh England at the end of the 17th century, marriage is a business… Mrs Bennet has five daughters to marry, and a reason for living: to settle them at (almost) any price. One of them, Elizabeth, the liveliest, the most rebellious, refuses the rules of the social game. She is one of the great female figures of English romantic literature. She is the soul of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s masterpiece. The tumultuous romance between Lizzie and Darcy fits into a fresco scoured with irony.
Carol
In the New York of the 1950s, Therese, a young employee of a Manhattan department store, meets a distinguished client, Carol, an attractive woman, prisoner of an unhappy marriage. The spark of the first meeting is quickly followed by a deeper feeling. The two women soon find themselves trapped between conventions and their mutual attraction.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
On a station platform, Joel Barish bitterly evokes Valentine’s Day, this holiday “invented by the boxes of greeting cards to make people depressed”. It is true that Valentine’s Day is a godsend for a society like Lacuna, as the memory of lost loves can be painful as the fatal February 14 approaches. And Michel Gondry’s film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, written by Charlie Kaufman, cannot be watched without melancholy as it reminds everyone of their past loves and that it would sometimes be better to have forgotten what made us suffer, until finding a kind of original purity.
Romantic movies to watch
Atonement
The adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel by the director of Pride and Prejudice and the screenwriter of Dangerous Liaisons, Christopher Hampton, is a total success, as much in terms of direction, writing and acting. interpretation. From the same flour as The English Patient, for those who liked it. Atonement, as its title suggests, is the story of an atonement. The sin committed is that of a 13-year-old teenager from a wealthy English family in the 1930s (Saoirse Ronan), who will bear false witness against the lover (excellent James McAvoy) of her older sister (Keira Knightley), whose she is secretly in love.
The Lunchbox
She cooks with love: to win back her husband, who is abandoning her (even though she is as beautiful as the day), Ila cooks up delicious little dishes for her in the morning and entrusts them to a delivery service that sends thousands of lunches to the employees of the Mumbai companies. Her upstairs neighbor is sure: “He’ll give you the Taj Mahal!” “The Taj Mahal is a tomb,” replies the young woman with a wistful smile. In the evening, indeed, no compliment from the insipid husband. But he has an excuse: the “lunchbox” was mistakenly given to a widowed accountant on the verge of retirement. Understanding the confusion, Ila slips a short note of explanation into the bowl…
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Set in New Orleans and adapted from a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the film follows his tribulations from 1918 to the present day. The strange story of Benjamin Button: the story of an extraordinary man. His encounters and his discoveries, his loves, his joys and his dramas. And what will always survive the grip of time…
A Star Is Born
There is no need here to return in an exhaustive manner to the many pitfalls that constitute the project of retelling a story that has become a classic, a fortiori from a first-time director. However, and this from the first minutes of A Star is Born, it is clear that the artist is in full possession of his means as a director.
