Since the dawn of film as an art form, romance has been an integral part of cinematic storytelling. Even in gritty war epics and Westerns, a love story was practically a requirement. In the last decade, films have undergone the most radical changes since the industry’s conception, thanks to the rise of various forms of home media and altering societal and cultural sensibilities. The film community has discussed the steep decline of depictions of sex in films ad nauseam, but whatever happened to old-fashioned, respectable, PG-level romance on the big screen? Of course, rom-coms, at least on streaming, remain a prevalent genre in film, but stories that don’t revolve around a will-they-won’t-they dynamic appear to be extinct. In a sterile period, audiences are in dire need of romance films like About Time and We Live in Time that reinforce a positive image of love.
‘We Live In Time’ and ‘About Time’ Capture the Rich Complexities of Love
Netflix and nearly every streaming service feature a litany of lighthearted, easily accessible romantic comedies with two bright stars that audiences return to time and time again. As charming as your typical Richard Curtis or Nancy Meyers film is, they rarely examine the machinations of love and merely use it as a MacGuffin to set up a series of hijinks and comedic set pieces. On its own, this is no problem, but the rom-com feels more and more archaic as time goes on, and audiences deserve a sincere and nuanced study of a pre-existing relationship that doesn’t need a will-they-won’t-they arc. While these rom-coms, such as An Affair to Remember, When Harry Met Sally…, and Sleepless in Seattle, end on a climactic note of the flirtatious pair finally getting together, wouldn’t the sequel, which follows their mundane, day-to-day relationship after the honeymoon phase wears out, be more engaging, intellectually probing, and rewarding?
Our need for romantic dramedies about exploring a relationship is not about eliminating the standard rom-com, but a healthy balance would lend the theme of love in films a touch of maturity. In 2024, audiences received a solid start with We Live in Time. While, admittedly, a flawed romantic drama, the film, starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh as a married couple who experience the drastic highs and lows of a relationship, serves as the blueprint for the ideal study of love. John Crowley‘s film is both emotionally sweeping and gut-wrenching, perhaps too extreme for its own good, but it captures the raw vulnerability that manifests in a long-term relationship. While Garfield and Pugh’s characters are autonomous and free-spirited, they implicitly recognize that they need to make compromises because their love triumphs over all selfish desires and goals. Even though We Live in Time is frequently stress-inducing and ends on a somber note, the film never indicates that falling in love was a reckless endeavor.
About Time saw renowned rom-com writer Richard Curtis blend romance with science fiction and fantasy, as we follow a young man, Tim (Domhnall Gleeson), who can travel through time and witness the dramatic implications of falling in love with Mary (Rachel McAdams). In the spirit of time-loop films like Groundhog Day, About Time follows an unsatisfied character attempting to reform himself in the present and future by altering his mistakes and flawed characteristics of the past. Films have become so accustomed to using love as a genre device that the only stories that actually appreciate the sanctity of romance are these time-loop movies where the lesson revolves around stopping to smell the roses. Like We Live in Time, About Time confronts the extreme highs and lows of a long-running affair. At its best, the film highlights the level of personal character-building and flexibility required when trying to make things right with a loved one.
‘Happy Together’ and ‘Before Midnight’ Show That Love Is Burdensome but Necessary
Not only was Wong Kar-wai‘s Happy Together a landmark film for LGBTQ cinema, but it also unveils the emotional intricacies of an on-and-off-again relationship between two people who can’t quit each other. While on an excursion to Argentina, couple Po-Wing (Leslie Cheung) and Fai (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) break up and get back together while stuck in the country, trying to make ends meet and evolve from their current states. Wong’s film, which identifies the magnetic lure between two hopeful romantics, also nails the poignant feeling of aspiring to move on with your life while being lured back to a sense of previous comfort. Po-Wing and Fai are shown to be combative and detrimental to their own well-being, but their mutual love is too overpowering to cloud their relationship with a negative aura. As a signature auteur of films about romantic longing and unrequited love, Wong imbues these themes into a pre-existing relationship in Happy Together, showing that people will still feel unresolved upon finding their lifelong soulmate.
The reason why Before Midnight is the least renowned and remembered of Richard Linklater‘s Before trilogy is likely because it is the most bitter reflection of a long-term relationship. Linklater’s punishing conclusion to the series, which follows Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) and their tumultuous marriage, upends the fairy tale of their previous brief encounters in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Their marriage was never going to be as innocent and idyllic as they dreamed of while serendipitously encountering each other in Europe. Before Midnight‘s de-romanticized portrait of love between a husband and wife in their middle age is a testament to Linklater’s impeccable skill at tracking the evolution of time across two films set decades apart from each other.
Audiences Also Deserve a Positive Interpretation of Love
At the very least, receiving more films about romantic relationships will remind audiences that we don’t need to be afraid of love. Contemporary film culture is heavily predicated on irony and a glib disposition towards anything, which is a sign of a lack of love being expressed at your local theater. Many notable action romantic comedies like Ghosted and The Fall Guy, which both feature stars with romantic chops, would be much better served if they were allowed to thrive as traditional rom-coms without the forced inclusion of an action-adjacent subplot. Two 2025 horror films, Companion and Heart Eyes, demonstrate that falling in love results in fatalistic consequences. As a genre, horror has never been a great marketing tool for romance as an idea. As slasher horror and date-gone-wrong thrillers continue to flood theaters, young viewers will continue to have an adverse relationship with love.
Love is not a requirement, and women especially should not feel societally obligated to attach themselves to a romantic partner. However, love has the power to explore our deepest human emotions and vulnerabilities, even in non-romance films. It might make us uncomfortable, but running away from a positive interpretation of love on screen is detrimental to our collective psyche.
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