Jake Gyllenhaal (left) and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain.
Truly memorable romantic films break through or redefine the cliches of their genres, or have sweeping ambition. They aren't afraid to truthfully examine who we love and why – and sometimes they make us laugh along the way. It's a tough call, but here are six of the best.
Brokeback Mountain (2006)
Ang Lee's adaptation of E. Annie Proulx's 1997 short story is emotionally exhausting, but so rewarding. A beautiful, sparse and heartbreaking tale of a forbidden, passionate and complex love, Brokeback Mountain is often regarded as the quintessential mainstream queer movie.
Two ranch hands (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) fall in love one summer while working in remote Wyoming, only to return to their conventional lives and in doing so deny themselves and their wives a truly happy life. Brokeback Mountain is a superbly crafted film, with a restrained screenplay and nuanced performances, but it's also a fine example of a showing rather than telling you what's at the heart of its characters. The word "love" is barely muttered, but lies at the core of the story.
Brokeback Mountain won three Oscars, controversially missing out on the Best Film award; but perhaps more importantly it led the way for more excellent films to follow, such as Carol, God's Own Country, Call Me By Your Name, and Barry Jenkins' exceptional coming of age drama Moonlight – which did nab the Best Film award at the 2017 Academy Awards.
Before Sunrise (1995)
Our expectations of an OE were never the same after the wildly romantic Before Sunrise, in which American tourist Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and French student Celine (Julie Delpy) meet on a train in Europe, connect, and decide to walk and talk in Vienna for one night before Jesse catches his flight back home.
Naturalistically acted, and almost documentary-like, director Richard Linklater's film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995. It made an impression as it was so unconventional when compared to other romantic comedies of the time, which tended to be contrived and predictable.
Made on a tiny budget of US$2.5 million, Linklater's intention was to capture the rush of meeting someone, and the undercurrent of flirtation and romance - something he achieved in large part to the casting of Hawke and Delpy. Their chemistry is undeniable, and their ability to be in the moment and improvise as they went was invaluable. Thank goodness, after leaving us on a cliffhanger, the couple reunited in Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013) for more honest conversations about life and love.
Marriage Story (2019)
Not all love stories end well. Love can be messy and complicated and there are always two sides to the story. Writer and director Noah Baumbach captures this in Marriage Story, a film about love, marriage and divorce, inspired by Baumbach's own personal experience, starring the superb Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson.
It's a raw and real look at the demise of a relationship. While the pitch sounds like two hours and 16 minutes of misery, there's also a lot of warmth, dignity and humour. There's a lot of misery and bad behaviour too, but Baumbach makes sure to leave his audience uplifted and reassured that there is a way through; a relationship may have fallen apart but a family remains.
The Princess Bride (1984)
How many romantic films appeal to the whole family, including 10-year-old boys? That's why this 80s cult classic from director Rob Reiner makes it on to this list, but also because it throws out the rule book, merges a bunch of genres together, has fun defying cliches and conventions, and fires out one of the most quotable scripts of all time. "Inconceivable!"
And in a way it was. A crazy mix of swashbuckling fantasy, adventure, comedy and a mighty love story all mashed up together to create a farcical comedy, The Princess Bride could easily not have worked, but it does, beautifully.
For all the silliness, and there is plenty, true love is at the heart of Princess Buttercup and her faithful farmhand turned pirate Westley's story. Superb supporting characters, surprise cameos and a musical score by Mark Knopfler, makes this film irresistible.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Jim Carrey's facial gymnastics in his early films weren't my cup of tea but his performance in this utterly romantic sci-fi from screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich) and director Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep) won me over.
A smart, original, non-linear and dream-like film about Joel (Carrey), who discovers his ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had her memories of him erased after breaking up. In a rage, Joel demands the same operation and the film follows Joel as his memories of their love affair slowly disappear. We travel back and forward in time, perspectives are played with, and memories adjusted. If there was ever a film to prove the saying "it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all", then this is it. An ambitious and complex film.
Four Weddings and A Funeral (1994)
In December 2020, this British rom-com topped a poll for Britain's most rewatchable film from the last 50 years. The poll was run by the British Film Institute and Google who released a short list of 50 films to choose from - before you ask, no, Love Actually was not on the list.
It may be a lightweight crowd-pleaser with a few poignant moments, but there has always a time and place for a little bit of froth. The appeal isn't so much the love story between Charles and Carrie as the relationships between the group of friends. And, let's not forget, it kicked off a new era of British rom-coms, turned Hugh Grant into a star, and super-charged the careers of screenwriter Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, Love Actually, Bridget Jones's Diary) and director Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco).
The character of Carrie might have been underwritten and miscast (Andie MacDowell), but the rest of the film works swimmingly well. To this day, how many of us still quote Hugh Grant when running late?
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