Cue that classic Celine Dion song! When you realize that one of the most tragic events to ever happen was fictionalized for Hollywood to produce one of the most romantic films of all time, it might sound like a parody, but Titanic set the tone for what love can be. The moment Leonardo DiCaprio held Kate Winslet on the bow of the ship as “My Heart Will Go On” soars, it was the moment when the trajectory of romantic films would change forever.
Since 1997, many films have hoped to capture the magic that the James Cameron film found. If these ten films are any indication, filmmakers have found some extraordinary ways to bring love stories to life. From making the heart sing to sharing a tale meant to last forever, these films have left audiences optimistic that love is real.
10
‘La La Land’
Music can be one of the most romantic things to connect two individuals. Such is the case with the romantic movie musical La La Land. The film follows aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) and devout jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), whose meet-cute blossoms into a budding romance as they pursue their dreams in Los Angeles. Discovering whether a perfect love story or fulfilling your dreams is more important, La La Land is a story about making a sacrifice for a bittersweet ending. But is love the person or the dream? Layered with an abundance of nostalgia for Hollywood, La La Land is escapism at its finest.
Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, with songs by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul, the film is a love letter to love. It’s a cinematic marvel, with breathtaking cinematography that brings imagination to life. It’s a pleasurable film that exudes joy and enthusiasm. With truly some of the most glorious images to hit the screen, the film’s legacy will not be about that infamous Oscar gaffe, but the impact it made on pop culture. It’s a beloved film that has made the favorite list of actors, directors, and critics alike, while also giving audiences a reason to reignite a passion for films of the past.
9
‘Love Actually’
If we were to rank the greatest Christmas films, Love Actually would likely land toward the top of that list. But the holiday hit is truly one of the most charming love stories of all time. Bringing to life 10 separate vignettes about romance during Christmastime, the film delves into the varying romances that interlock as the plot progresses. With a literal all-star cast including the likes of Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, and many more, Love Actually is absolutely charming. Having turned into a pop culture phenomenon for many of its sickly sweet moments, including Andrew Lincoln’s “To me, you are perfect” cue card moment, the British film has become a timeless tale that gives you hope that love is in fact possible.
Perhaps some naysayers may disregard the film for being too naive in its portrayal of romance, but Love Actually isn’t a film destined to make you ponder life. Instead, its presence is there to make you feel joy and happiness. It’s a momentary glimpse of optimism in a sometimes pessimistic world. Not every story ends as triumphantly as one might hope; its dissection of where love can go is what allows it to maintain its place in movie history. For those cinephiles who love watching a web being woven, seeing the connections expose themselves is romance in itself! I’ve fallen truly, madly, and deeply in love with Richard Curtis’ script!
8
‘A Star Is Born’
First, it was Janet Gaynor and Fredric March in 1937. Then it was Judy Garland and James Mason in 1954. Next up was Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. But the fourth time was the charm. In 2018, Bradley Cooper directed the essential version of A Star Is Born starring himself and Lady Gaga. Bringing the tale to today, the fourth iteration of the story shares the story of Jackson “Jack” Maine, an alcoholic musician, who discovers and falls in love with a younger singer named Ally Campana. Like the sweet, sweet music they make together, A Star Is Born was a romantic drama filled with passion and chemistry.
The saga of Jack and Ally wasn’t clean nor was it perfect. It was flawed and frayed, which provided the story to earn its beautifully tragic end. Combining it with a glorious soundtrack composed by Lady Gaga, which included some of the best work in her career, A Star Is Born lived up to the hype and beyond. For Lady Gaga, it was a knockout performance that nearly earned her Oscar gold for Best Actress. Despite being a remake of a remake, this iteration lives in its own, despite certain parallels to the Streisand version. The tortured romance becomes something gripping as it unfolds. It’s near impossible not to well up upon hearing “Always Remember Us This Way” or “I’ll Never Love Again,” two songs far superior to the too obvious “Shallow.”
7
‘Call Me By Your Name’
Leave it to Luca Guadagnino to deliver one of the most mesmerizing coming-of-age romances of the 21st century. The third film in his “Desire” trilogy, Call Me by Your Name, chronicles forbidden love as a romance develops between 17-year-old Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet) and 24-year-old Oliver (Armie Hammer), the graduate student assistant to Elio’s father, Samuel (Michael Stuhlbargh). Set in the sun-drenched summer of 1983 in Lombardy, Italy, the pair discover the power of awakening desire that will alter their lives forever.
A film that explores embracing love as you embrace yourself during a critical time of self-discovery, Call Me By Your Name took audiences by storm thanks to the intricate and delicate direction of the leading men. Filling with moments of heightened intellect masquerading as romantic advances, it’s Elio’s father who defines the thesis of the story: “Our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once.” The film resonates as a portrait of first love, something we’ve all felt. But to what length does that love go? The film is filled with empathy and affection, opting for sensuality rather than sexuality. Though there is some caution taken about it exploiting the gay love story through its casting, at the end of the day, it’s about the connection at heart. It serves as a romantic fantasy for many of us queer individuals who have experienced stirrings during those formative years.
6
‘Silver Linings Playbook’
The best Hollywood romances are sometimes the ones that are based on a real romance. In 2012, David O. Russel brought Matthew Quick’s novel to life in the romantic comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook. Patrizio “Pat” Solitano Jr. (Bradley Cooper), a man with bipolar disorder who is released from a psychiatric hospital and moves in with his parents, Pat Sr. and Dolores (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver). Determined to restore the love of his estranged wife, Nikki (Brea Bee), a young widow named Tiffany Maxwell (Jennifer Lawrence) offers to help him if he enters a dance competition with her. The two become closer as they train, opening up a new world of romance through the examination of their other relationships.
Silver Linings Playbook may not have seemed like a typical love story, but thanks to the extraordinary performances of its two leads, it found success by being an atypical one. The characters were not perfect, yet their imperfections made them a perfect pair. The chemistry the stars had was truly scrumptious and delightful to watch. By depicting an individual who’s been struggling and opening up the window to a hopeful future, Silver Linings Playbook resonated in a manner that was relatable. Everything about the film was done with purpose and intent. Though the DelCo accent isn’t its own character quite like it is in Brad Ingeslby’s hit HBO series, the city of Philadelphia serves as a major presence in the film.
5
‘Moulin Rouge’
Insert Ewan McGregor’s intro into the “Elephant Love Medley” here. When Baz Luhrmann closed out his “Red Curtain Trilogy” with a jukebox musical set in the most romantic city in the world, it was clear that the movie musical was back. Larger than life with glitz, glamor, and sparkling diamonds, Moulin Rouge became a phenomenon thanks to its whimsically surreal storytelling of a love story like no other. In a Paris filled with lovers, dreamers, and artists, a young poet named Christian (McGregor) becomes infatuated with Satine (Nicole Kidman), the dazzling star of the Moulin Rouge. They fall in love, despite her hand being promised to the Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh). The lovers must meet in secret and keep their romance at bay, but when Satine’s own secret is revealed, the most beautiful romance is shattered.
With an extraordinary ensemble bringing the story to life with a songbook featuring everyone from Elton John to Madonna, Moulin Rouge was a monster smash. Dare we say, it was spectacular, spectacular! The story celebrates a reckless and foolish romance filled with immeasurable risk. And that’s what makes it so wonderful. There’s something intriguing about a forbidden love that draws us in. And even more so when the wonder is so grand. We all imagine our own version of the story, minus the illness and death, of course. Putting aside the romance for a moment, Luhrmann’s visionary direction is possibly the best of his career in this film. Toeing the line of artsy and mainstream, Moulin Rouge gave us all a place to dream and escape. It was only time before Moulin Rouge would find its way to Broadway. The stage adaptation drew in a larger catalogue of songs, while keeping most of the tracks that made the film fly away to great heights.
4
‘Once’
Are there any lyrics more beautiful than “I don’t know you, but I want to?” I think not! The opening lyrics to “Falling Slowly,” the Academy Award-winning Best Original Song, is the epitome of what Once is about. Written, composed, and performed by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, the song exemplifies the story within the film. Starring the pair, known as “Guy” and “Girl” in the film, Once tells their story as two struggling musicians in Dublin as their love intertwines with their personal lives that keep them apart. Receiving widespread acclaim thanks to its truly beautiful story and creation of music and artistry, Once was a natural story of love.
What made the film exceptionally better was the lack of star power to display such a powerful romance. It was literally as authentic as possible. Beyond the story of intimacy, it was a love letter to music. Rather than exploring a flashy musical that was beginning to find a resurgence at the time, it became a play with music, in a sense. And of course, it translated perfectly for a Broadway musical. Once is easily one of the greatest films of the 21st century. We dream of having a romance like Guy and Girl.
3
‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’
In the 90s, Jim Carrey was your go-to comedy actor. Then, in 2004, he proved that his depth goes much deeper in the bitterly beautiful and tragically touching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Telling the story of two lovers, Joel Barish (Carey), a bookish introvert, and Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), a spontaneous extrovert, who undergo a memory erasure procedure and forget each other after the dissolution of their romantic relationship. The surrealist science-fiction romantic drama delves deep into the correlation between memory and love.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a stylistically marvel that revels in bringing a heartfelt relationship through a twisty story until its torturous end at the beginning. It’s a cerebral story that shows that the only way to move on is to forget the past, with perhaps the most romantic part being that when you love someone, they truly can never leave your mind. We’re trapped inside our minds, hoping for something that can mend our broken, fragile hearts. There’s hope, but it’s hard to get there. To say that we’ve all dreamed of this procedure being magically real after a brutal breakup is an understatement. Been there, still waiting for it to work!
2
‘Brokeback Mountain’
When Brokeback Mountain premiered in 2005,it became a groundbreaking film. Directed by Ang Lee, the film depicted the complex and complicated romantic relationship between two American cowboys, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), in the American West from 1963 to 1983. Led by two prominent straight Hollywood stars in an LGBTQ+ story to critical and box office acclaim, Brokeback Mountain was ahead of its time. Serving as a reminder that love doesn’t know gender or sexuality, the brutally beautiful narrative showcases the difficulty that recital stereotypes and masculine expectations have played a part throughout time. A story about the power of a close bond, the film was more than just the “gay cowboy” movie. Brokeback Mountain helped studios understand why expanding romantic storytelling beyond traditional heterosexual narratives is crucial for visibility and representation.
Many romantic films have been noted for remarkable gestures of love, but Brokeback Mountain is best known for the most romantic line ever uttered: “I wish I knew how to quit you.” The relationship that Gyllenhaal and Ledger portrayed as Jack and Ennis is what many queer individuals see as relationship goals. Of course, as they’re complicated with their marriages with Lureen and Alma, played exquisitely by Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams. The story cuts deep and has become a universal tale of how forbidden love can truly dictate your mind.
Brokeback Mountain was centered around some accolade controversy, not for anything it did wrong, but for how it was censored by a conservative mindset that prevented it from earning the Academy Award over the less groundbreaking option in Crash. It’s no consolation prize, but we remember Brokeback Mountain fondly while Crash is still belittled as an undeservedly overhyped film.
1
‘The Notebook’
Thanks to The Notebook, a kiss in the rain has never looked more romantic. Adapted from Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 novel, The Notebook tells the story of Noah and Allie Calhoun’s (Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams) romance beginning in the 1940s. The love story is read from a notebook in the modern day by an elderly man (James Garner) to a fellow nursing home resident. Praised for its unabashedly unwavering sentimentality, The Notebook has been the epitome of romances in the 21st century.
Filled with melodramatic clichés and pure mushy moments, The Notebook doesn’t leave a dry eye in the house. Serving as a reminder that love is a tale as old as time, the film has left a lasting legacy as a sappy and sickly sweet representation of everlasting love. Gosling and McAdams provide star-making performances that set their careers in motion. They bring a chemistry to the screen that was authentically raw and natural. The film is so beloved, it even earned a Broadway adaptation that’s currently touring the country. It’s more than a chick flick; it’s required viewing for all couples.
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