Romance On The Silver Screen

Love stories. The vast majority of films include them, even though they’re notoriously difficult to get right. They make us chuckle, weep, swoon and throw things at the screen in frustration. We’re addicted to them because they supply the emotions we wish we could experience, the people we want to meet or be, and the clever or moving lines we long to say in real life.

A great cinematic love story is a combination of many things: a masterful script, careful direction, heartfelt performances and fantastic chemistry. Here are some of cinema’s best love stories to suit everyone, regardless of how cynical, disillusioned or masculine you think you are.

**Scarlett O’Hara & Rhett Butler**

**Gone With the Wind (1939)****

This cinematic epic is set against a backdrop of war, upheaval and political turbulence. But it’s the story between Scarlett and Rhett which is the real heart of the movie. She’s the spoiled Southern belle, in love with the only man she can’t have – the honourable Ashley Wilkes. Enter the suave scoundrel, Rhett Butler, the roguish black sheep of his respectable family.

His cool cynicism is the perfect match for Scarlett’s spitfire feistiness, though she doesn’t realise it until she’s steam-rollered her way through two other husbands. The film chronicles their story over many years, as Scarlett changes from a complacent, air-headed girl to a tough, courageous woman.

Part of what makes this couple so engaging is how narcissistic and unlikeable they can be, whilst still keeping audiences riveted to their story. They are most certainly not the generically sweet lovebirds of many traditional Hollywood Rom Coms. Passionate and compelling, this is most certainly a love story for the ages.

{{ quote Romance is such an enduring theme because it is a universal emotion, and no film shows this better than Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. }}

**Belle & the Beast**

**Beauty and the Beast (1991)**

For many, Disney provides a first introduction into the world of romance in the movies. They’ve certainly given us dozens of unforgettable love stories – Ariel’s yearning for a human, Philip’s quest to save his beloved Aurora, and love across the social divide in The Lady and the Tramp. But their greatest love story is arguably found in Beauty and the Beast.

Belle is one of Disney’s most enchanting leading ladies. She’s smart, kind and a little bit eccentric, and wants more than just a happy marriage to a prince. Her determined, irrepressible spirit means that she’s completely capable of holding her own against the Beast’s initially brutal and domineering nature.

Unlike most Disney couples, their relationship isn’t a simple case of ‘Love at first sight’. Initially, he’s incapable of controlling his temper and she can’t look beyond his rough exterior. But, through a series of carefully plotted events, they both begin to change.

More than anything, this is a sweepingly romantic story of redemption, which is why it loses none of its appeal as you grow up. Regardless of how adult you think you are, try watching the end without choking up. Go on, I defy you not to be moved.

**Princess Ann & Joe Bradley**

**Roman Holiday (1953)**

This bittersweet Romantic Comedy marks Audrey Hepburn’s Hollywood debut – and she’s never been lovelier. She plays a European princess who’s come to Rome as part of a goodwill tour. Tired of her regimented and claustrophobic existence behind palace walls, she decides to escape and explore the city by herself.

Whilst asleep on a public street, she is discovered by Joe Bradley (played by the effortlessly suave Gregory Peck). He’s a down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter, who spots an opportunity for a truly scandalous exposé of royal life. So he proposes a day to do all the things she’s wanted to do, but never been allowed to.

Set in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and with two of cinema’s brightest stars, this film is arguably the classic Hollywood Rom Com. Fun, frothy and touching, it’s guaranteed to make you want to eat gelato and scoot about Rome on a vespa.

**Ennis Del Mar & Jack Twist**

**Brokeback Mountain (2005)**

Romance is such an enduring theme because it is a universal emotion, and no film shows this better than Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. It chronicles the relationship between a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy who are shepherding in the harsh mountains of Wyoming.

Initially hostile and laconic, Ennis (Heath Ledger) gradually opens up to Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal). The pair begin a clandestine, intensely passionate affair, but both know that in the deeply homophobic society they live in, their love is doomed from the start. With bleakly atmospheric cinematography, capturing the desolate but beautiful landscape, and a haunting score, this is a poignant study of thwarted attraction, and the real cost that two men must pay for the prejudices of a society.

**Tom Hansen & Summer**

**(500) Days of Summer (2009)**

If fairytales and ‘weepies’ really aren’t your thing, you should try the quirky (500) Days of Summer. Based on a real-life failed romantic relationship experienced by the screenplay writer, this film is about a greetings card writer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who falls in love with an eccentric boy magnet, played by Zooey Deschanel.

Even though she says she doesn’t want a serious relationship, the two become more than just friends. When Tom becomes “too clingy”, Summer is quick to distance herself from him. But surely she’ll realise that she really loves him and they’ll end up back together? Well…not really.

Part of what makes this film so refreshing is that it deconstructs the rosy, idealistic picture of love normally provided by Hollywood, and gives us something real instead. Summer and Tom have an attractive but dysfunctional relationship, and the film presents a bittersweet, honest portrayal of a complicated feeling.

Any of these films would make the perfect night in on Valentine’s Day. So grab your significant other (or a single friend) and get watching!