My Favourite Romance Films

My Favourite Romance Films

" I love you, but you don't know what you're talking about" Moonrise Kingdom

Hey everyone and welcome to a different Blog Post where I'll be exploring some of my favourite Romance films that I've come to enjoy watching. Now, to put things in perspective, I'm not really the ideal guy who goes out of his time to watch Romantic-centric films just for the fun of it. I mean, what typical guy does? As naive as this may sound coming from someone who previously studied film extensively through college and university and specifically did an essay on the cultural impact of British Rom-Com's of the 90's, varying from the films of Four Weddings and Funeral to Notting Hill, Romantic films generally have a knack of looking and being the same as one another. From the inception of the narrative to the end point, the 'Hollywood-isation' of said films can sometimes be numbing to watch and sit through, and does make you contemplate how audiences can stomach and 'relate' with a Romance that can wrongly present uninspired and unrealistic themes/messages. However, while this may be the case for many Romantic-centric features, it's good to know that there are a select few films, which will be mentioned in this list, that display Romance in either a realistic or different light. Now, not every film mentioned will be your typical Rom-Com. I want to show you Romances in different genre's that were well-performed and written for people to relate to as well. So, without further a due, let's get on with the list!!

Enduring Love - Roger Mitchell (2004)

To start things off is Roger Mitchell's Enduring Love, a psychological 'Romance' which features Daniel Craig and centres around a young couple, who are celebrating their reunion with a romantic picnic in the Oxford countryside, that get mixed-up in a terrible situation involving a red hot air balloon which results into obsession, paranoia and confliction in the aftermath. While it may not be your typical Romance, in which a woman (or a man) psychically or mentally gets 'swept-away' by the gaze and look of another person, Enduring Love handles Romance in a different light with a breaking down of a couples relationship and an unlikely inception that happens between the obsessed character of Jed (Rhys Ifans) and Daniel Craig's character of Joe, who wants to forget recent events, but somehow can't find the way. Indeed, even though some of you will have studied this original book in your English classes, the film is worth the watch!! 😉

Never Let Me Go - Mark Romanek (2010)

Next on my list is another different Romance in Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go which features the likes of Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield who all play debilitated individuals who grow up together in an alternative present day that come to terms with the strength of the 'love' they feel for each other, while preparing themselves for the haunting reality that they must face. Having reviewed this film before on The Rabbitte Perspective (of which, I'll leave a link at the end of this post), Never Let Me Go was always a certainty to be placed on this list. Not just of the fact that we're presented with a love triangle between the said actors that seemingly fits in an already daunting premise, but how it illuminates this concept of the characters grasping at this freedom and loving life that is impossible for them to ever obtain. 

Howl's Moving Castle - Hayao Miyazaki (2004)

To quickly move things on a lighter note, finally!! 😄, is Hayao Miyazaki's 2004 Japanese Animated feature of Howl's Moving Castle, a film which tell's the story of an un-confident young hat-maker, Sophie, who is spitefully cursed and turned into an older version of herself by a wicked witch and is forced to seek out for a young wizard who can break this spell. Other than the twinkling and realistic portrayal of Romance that is expressed through his last major work of The Wind Rises, Howl's Moving Castle is arguably Miyazaki's most Romantic feature he's ever had to dabble with. Indeed, with paradoxical themes of identity, vanity and metamorphosis interweaving with one another, we're displayed with a Romance between the characters of Sophie and Howl that is told in a classical yet beautifully drawn form... 

500 Days Of Summer - Marc Webb (2009)

Sweeping aside the silly final sequence of Marc Webb's feature, 500 Days Of Summer, which stars Zooey Deschanel as Summer who doesn't believe in true love and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom who falls for the girl of his dreams, is a contemporary Romance that is original yet relatable all at once. With the film constantly going back-and-forth between the 500 day timeline that both Tom and Summer share with each other, Webb manages to fittingly mould the non-linear narrative with the peaks and troughs that are seen within the relationship of Tom and Summer. A cleverly filmed and off-beat comedy, 500 Days Of Summer is an honest love-story that doesn't shy away from being culturally self-aware in regards to it's specific audience group. A definite watch for Valentines... Maybe? 😁

When Harry Met Sally - Rob Reiner (1989)

For many who would go ahead and comprise a list of their own favourite Romance films, It's a certainty that the majority would place When Harry Met Sally high up the proceedings due to its chemistry between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan and the structure it utilises; easing our mind-set into an expectancy that fulfils our viewing pleasure. It's one of these films that never goes over-board with the promising premise that it entails. Everything, from the opening sequence to the infamous sequence at the diner, that everyone points to in regards to this film, is well directed and Rob Reiner, not once, overdoes the many scenarios that plotted out within each of the time-frames that are displayed to us.  

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Michael Gondry (2004)

Featuring psychological thriller elements and utilising a non-linear narrative structure to explore the delicacies of 'memory' and 'love', Michael Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a twisty yet heartfelt piece of film that mirrors the heartache of a relationship. With a story that cleverly delves into the complicated nature of memory which are majorly expressed through literal allusions and old-fashioned film techniques, it's no wonder Charlie Kaufman's original script earned him an Oscar. It also proves to be his most illuminating, posing the question - If you could erase a failed relationship from your subconscious, would you? Without spoiling anything further, if you are looking for a film that handles Romance in a highly unique and smart fashion, then this is the film to go to...

Lost In Translation - Sofia Coppola (2003)

While it may not be a Romance film of the typical sense, Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation is just as compelling and melancholic as some of the films already mentioned. Instead of it focusing on a Romantic story construct, whereby two estranged 'lovers' encounter with each and form a passionate relationship that is dramatised through montage sequences, Lost In Translation's display of the Romantic elements are construed through the various interactions that both Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) and Bob (Bill Murray) have with one another and how they are both dealing with problems of uncertainty with their individual relationships. With an ambiguous ending involving a murmured whisper, of which we can't obviously hear, Coppola's feature isn't your straight-forward Romance, but it's whimsically sincere to the core...

Drive - Nicolas Winding Refn (2011)

While Nicolas Winding Refn's film is mainly showed to be a crime-noir, filled with unusually distinctive cinematography and a visual style that is accompanied exquisitely with a blend of action sequences and fitting music, one of the better defining features that Drive exhibits within its script, is the Romantic inkling that Driver (Ryan Gosling) and Irene (Carey Mulligan) have throughout the course of the story. The moments in which see Driver with Irene, such as in the sequence where they're driving with the 'A Real Hero' song playing in the background or the moment in which the two said characters are interacting with each other in a whimsical moment in an elevator, eclipse the chemistry that both the characters/actors have with another. Yes, everything from the music to the stylistic visuals are good enough reasons to watch this film. But, so is the Romance that is portrayed through Driver and Irene...

Once - John Carney (2006)

Even though many may pick out other John Carney films, such as Begin Again or Sing Street, and state they have concentrated intentions in providing Romances that are accustomed to the natural cinema-goer, Carney's earlier film of Once, which tells the story two estranged musical lovers who meet in Dublin, is definitely a must see for those who have never taken the opportunity to gaze at this feature. In similar ways to Begin Again, the 'what if?' conception of Romance is portrayed through the love of music that 'Guy' (Glen Hansard) and 'Girl' (Markéta Irglová) both perform in various segments of the films running time. If you're a fan of music and liked watching Carney's films of either Begin Again or Sing Street, then you won't be disappointed in the wholehearted Once.

Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson (2012)

While his films aren't naturally attuned to the idea of Romance, instead favouring for kaleidoscopic visuals and poignancy within his ever erratic films, Wes Anderson's film of Moonrise Kingdom makes an effort of providing Romanticism through the endeavours of two 12 year old children who secretly make a pact to reunite and run-away together. It is a film that truly understands the precarious and indefatigable moments childhood and providing this sense of having a limited amount of time in which to do unlimited things. Much of this is expressed through the peculiar relationship that is seen through the 12 year old lovers of Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop.

Annie Hall - Woody Allen (1977)

When it comes to creating Romantic-comedies, it's hard to fathom another auteur other than Woody Allen who has created a film index of romantic flicks that very much mirror the already said director's personal preferences of location, love and ethnicity. Annie Hall, which was a "major turning point" for his film-making, is an exemplary Woody Allen Romantic film example that purposefully manages to create a mature comedy that decisively cements sombre Romance through a variety of long/short camera takes and inner monologues of Allen's character talking about the real truth of relationships and asking strangers on the streets about the nature of love. I mean, it's not exactly the most happiest of watches for Valentines, but it's still worth the time to watch this and many more of Allen's Romantic workings...

Wall-E - Andrew Stanton (2008)

As much as I think the other Pixar film of Up demonstrates the ups-and-downs of a successful relationship through their opening 10 minute montage sequence which was written and filmed perfectly, one of the other relationships that was also written rather well, considering the fact that neither of the robots have much dialogue at all, is the bond that Wall-E and Eva have in the Pixar film of well... Wall-E. Even though there's hardly a word spoken between the pair of them, there's an air of innocence between the characters of Wall-E and Eva that just hooks you into the film. Judge me as brutally as you please, but with well written and animated that engage with all audiences, such as the 'dancing' sequence that the two robots have with another, Wall-E stands as one of the better animated features that explores Romance in an innocent fashion.

Lord of the Rings - Peter Jackson (2001-2003)

To end things on a rather highly odd note, are all of the 3 Lord of the Rings films which, I know, don't exactly tell a story that is Romantic. The only reason why I'm placing Peter Jackson's epic trilogy into this short list of mine, is simply because of the Romance that is seen between the characters of Aragorn and Arwen. Throughout the course of the 3 films, it's a common motif for the film to elaborate on Aragorn's journey in becoming King of Gondor and how there's this added pressure of potentially never seeing Arwen again, Fancifully, it ends on a happy note with them meeting each other after many years being apart and is scene that is executed rather well. 

With the list done and dusted, it's time for to end. As always, thank you for reading my latest Blog Post, where I have listed some of my Romantic Film and Romantic moments in specific films, and if you feel as though there should be a film that had to be listed, please feel to drop a comment down below!! 👇. Again, I'm not really the person to go to in regards to Romantic films, but I just wanted to give you something different and share with you my favourites, being it's Valentines n' that!! 😁💖. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the read. Next week, well this week now, I will be returning to my Marvel Film Review Series by analysing Sam Raimi's last venture into the beloved wall-crawler, Spider-Man 3 which, from memory, isn't such a great film. Nevertheless, I think the review for it will be LEGENDARY!! 😂. Anywho, thank you again for everyone who read this Blog Post and I'll see you all soon. Adieu!! ✌😎

Alex Rabbitte.

Never Let Me Go - Film Review - https://rabbittevision.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/never-let-me-go-review.html