Romantic movies It’s not always such light-hearted affairs: many films dedicated to love quickly give way to dark and depressing ones. In the modern era, romantic comedies are most often associated with romantic love. However, since the time of William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet, Combining love with tragedy was a common practice in storytelling. Many films that revolve around romantic relationships can get quite moody as they play out in different ways.
There are a few different routes that romance films can take to become darker. In many cases, genre-bending romance films combine the typical subtleties of passionate love with sad or even downright terrifying events, creating a peculiar mixture of different types of films. Less often, a given romantic film will wait until the last minute to reveal a grand story that reframes everything in an overtly dark context, turning a touching story into something darker.
10
Incorrect
Walks a fine line between love and hate
Erotica and thrillers go hand in hand, as convincingly evidenced by films such as Incorrect. As the title suggests, the film’s story centers on a seemingly happily married couple, Edward and Connie Sumner, whose relationship takes a turn for the worse when Connie, after a chance encounter, begins a scandalous affair with a stranger. Edward soon discovers her infidelity, which leads to violent events.
In truth, Incorrect is not at its core a typical romance film, with Edward and Paul developing their own romantic arcs with Connie. While the taboo thrill of Connie’s infidelity drives the drama, the incredible escalation of the narrative when Edward learns of it is shocking to say the least, resulting in a thriller that is quite romantic at its core. The most depressing ending Incorrect drives home the painful message that even the briefest error in judgment can completely ruin someone’s life, not to mention their relationship.
9
A star is born
A Disappointing Analysis of Love and Showbiz
The film that proved Lady Gaga’s acting skills. A star is born is the latest in a long line of drama films of the same name, dating back to the original film released back in 1937. Reworking the same plot A star is born Bradley Cooper portrays Jack Maine, an established musician, as opposed to Gaga’s Ellie, an up-and-coming artist yet to be discovered. Although both characters have their demons, they find mentorship and romantic love in each other in their journeys as performers.
Things take a dark turn as Jack’s underlying struggle with alcohol abuse escalates and Ellie is eclipsed by his popularity, wonderfully portrayed by Lady Gaga’s true talent as a pop star sensation. When her relationship with Jack reaches a boiling point, Ellie remains hopelessly devoted to him, sacrificing everything to prevent him from succumbing to his internal struggle. However it is sunny A star is born begins, the film will likely have audiences in tears by the time the end credits roll.
8
Bones and everything
A twisted story of young love
Sitting at a woefully under-explored crossroads of horror and romance, Bones and everything explores what passionate love is from the perspective of two slasher villains. Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet play a pair of cannibals against each other. While Russell’s Maren feels ashamed of her dark urges, hoping to find a way to overcome them, Chalamet’s Lee encourages her to embrace her lust for human flesh by showing her the ropes of a seasoned killer. They then travel across the country in search of Maren’s biological mother.
Bones and everything doesn’t keep its horrifying nature a secret, as the film openly takes place in a world in which cannibals called “eaters” are apparently much more common and are able to identify each other by smell alone. The film wallows in gore and puppy love throughout, creating a bizarre mix of emotional drama. As disgusting as Lee and Maren’s journey may be, their relationship is surprisingly sweet, even if it’s steeped in villainy.
7
Remember me
Has one of the most shocking endings in film history.
In sharp contrast with Bones and all that dark parts Remember me They don’t raise their heads until literally the last minute of its execution. The film, starring Robert Pattinson, splits much of the story between a coming-of-age story and a charming romance. Robert Pattinson plays a college student who begins a relationship with a young woman to get revenge on her father, a police detective, who arrests him after a night of brawling. But the relationship soon becomes more serious due to the couple’s similar journeys of grief and trauma.
Shocking twist: one of the penultimate scenes Remember me slowly pulls out to show Tyler standing in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, shortly after being killed in the infamous terrorist attacks. This bizarre ending, which almost destroys the film, delivers a tonal shock, plunging the charming story of young love back into tragedy. If not for the shocking ending, Remember me it would be a hopeful, if not light-hearted, love story.
6
Something wild
From rom-com to thriller in no time
While it’s easy to ruin a romantic drama with a sad ending, turning a real romantic comedy on its head is a much more difficult task. And yet somehow Something wild he manages to make it work, presenting a happy-go-lucky romantic odd couple story that quickly turns into a stalker thriller. The fun begins when investment baker Charlie falls in love with free-spirited Lulu, breaking out of his regimented lifestyle with her whimsy and joie de vivre.
Things go south when Lulu’s ex, the dangerously unstable Ray (played by Raya Liotta), storms back into her new relationship. Ray soon forces Lulu and Charlie to commit criminal acts with him, radically changing the tone of the story. As tensions rise, what was a madcap rom-com turns into an intense fight for survival as Ray poses more and more of a threat to the newlywed couple.
5
Miracle Mile
Takes its simple love story into apocalyptic territory.
Miracle Mile begins innocently enough, with a meet-cute in the La Brea tar pits between leading twins Harry and Julie offering the prospect of a new relationship. When they agree to meet again, their plans are interrupted when Harry hears something he shouldn’t have said on the pay phone. A frightened voice calling itself Chip warns Harry that all-out nuclear war is imminent before apparently being shot, sending the lovelorn protagonist into a state of terror.
Indeed, it soon became known about the impending disaster, and Miracle Mile puts itself on the path to quickly becoming a post-apocalyptic film. Harry and Julie’s desperate attempt to escape to safety together turns what could have been a carefree romance into a desperate attempt to survive. Makes for an incredibly depressing ending Miracle MileIt’s the beginning and end of two endpoints on a long sliding scale from hopeful heat to world doom and darkness.
4
Life is beautiful
One of the most poignant Holocaust films ever made
A historical film set on the cusp of World War II, in dark places. Life is beautiful quickly headed towards them shouldn’t come as a shock, but that doesn’t make them any less painful when the film eventually gets to them. Starting in Tuscany Life is beautiful begins as a casual romance between a Jewish waiter and a schoolteacher. Despite the fact that they come from different worlds, they manage to establish relationships and even have a child together.
Fast forward a few years: with the outbreak of the Holocaust, sweet Guido and his son Giosue are interned in a concentration camp. Guido does his best to calm his son’s fears, turning the atrocities of war into a game in which he and his son participate, but he can only hide the horrors from his child’s perception for so long. Ends with one of the most tear-jerking beats ever put on screen. Life is beautiful backs up its name claim with high highs and low lows.
3
Colossal
A whimsical monster romance that gets dark quickly
Combining the thrills of a typical giant monster movie with true romance doesn’t seem like a formula that will work just yet. Colossal manages to balance these two concepts quite deftly. The film revolves around a failed writer who returns to her hometown on the verge of a budding romance with her childhood friend. To complicate matters, both are somehow able to summon huge creatures in South Korea that follow their movements, a lizard and a robot, by standing in a certain spot on a local playground at a certain time of day.
Once again, disappointing expectations, Colossal gets into shockingly dark territory when the initially sweet Oscar becomes controlling and threatening, abusing the power of his kaiju for his own gain. Soon, the fight between the giant fighters becomes a metaphor for breaking down the atmosphere of a toxic relationship, creating an exciting and unique experience. It seems unlikely that romance, giant monsters and serious themes of violence could go together so well, but Colossal stands tall, making it all work somehow.
2
He loves me… He doesn’t love me
Changes genres along with the views of its characters.
Also known by its native French name, A la Folie… Pas du Tooth, This foreign language film gives a new meaning to fame and haunted romance. The story first follows a young art student named Angelique, who naively begins an affair with a charming and successful cardiologist, Dr. Loïc Le Garrec. When he seems unable or unwilling to ultimately return her affection, Angelique becomes sullen, resorting to violent acts due to her rejected adoration.
A simple tragic romance turns horrifying when the same events repeat themselves midway through the film, this time from Loïc’s point of view. It turns out that the two never actually slept together, and Angelica’s unreliable narrative at the beginning was simply a reflection of her delusions. What appears to be a hopeful romantic drama from the very first scenes quickly becomes something more sinister as Loïc discovers the depths of his secret admirer’s psychosis.
1
Stranger than fiction
A contemplative novel that breaks the fourth wall
One of the most intelligent films in Will Ferrell’s typically comedic filmography. Stranger than fiction combines heady explorations of drama with new magical realism. The film positions Ferrell as a Type A IRS agent who lives his life planned down to the last detail and thrives on routine. However, when the famous author’s narrative begins to take over his thoughts, he finds himself embroiled in a whirlwind romance with the baker he is auditing.
Things go awry when Ferrell’s character learns that his “author” has a habit of killing off his main characters, setting off a nerve-wracking countdown. In the end, the hapless IRS agent must choose between a noble sacrifice and his own life, turning the story into a troubling moral mystery. Even if Stranger than fiction ultimately has a happy ending, it’s quite suspenseful and dark for a typical romance. movieregardless of its fantasy elements.