Alternate Romance Movies To Watch On Valentine Day

Summary

• La La Land is a heartfelt Valentine’s Day choice with compelling themes of love & ambition.
• The Big Sick offers a fresh take on rom-com with realistic execution & heartwarming story.
• Django Unchained may not be romantic, but the love story is compelling & worth watching.

Couples usually like to watch something romantic on Valentine’s Day, something that’s a bit heartwarming, but there are also plenty of movies that build on character relationships and chemistry without romance being the main genre.

The usual rom-coms are great and all, but if you’re looking for a few unconventional movies that otherwise wouldn’t be your first pick, then there are some pretty solid options out there that are highly compelling, with underlying themes of love and affection.

8

La La Land

Directed By Damien Chazelle

La La Land actually makes for a great Valentine’s Day watch, despite the bittersweet ending. The musical takes place in Los Angeles and tells the story of an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) and a jazz musician (Ryan Gosling) as they try to make things work, despite their conflicts. It’s all very heartfelt.

One of the great things about it is its depiction of the compromises that come with pursuing your passions and career. The ending is pretty emotional, and can make people contemplate their life choices, where they are, and who they eventually end up with.

7

The Big Sick

Directed By Michael Showalter

The Big Sick stars Kumail Nanjiani and is based on the actor’s real history and romance. It’s a bit more of the type of rom-com that you would expect to watch, but still unique in its own way. Among other things, it focuses on cultural differences and an immigrant’s point of view of America.

The execution of it all is very realistic and heartwarming instead of feeling stereotypical, which can often be the case with these kinds of stories and adaptations. In a genre that can often feel a bit stale due to its predictability, this is something that feels fresh.

6

Django Unchained

Directed By Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained is set in 1858 and follows Django (Jamie Foxx) who is on a quest to free his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). He teams up with a bounty hunter, played by Christoph Waltz (in his second academy-award-winning performance), to take down the plantation owner Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Although it’s not exactly a romantic movie, the relationship between Django and his wife and his determination to free her, is the driving force behind the entire movie, and a highly compelling one at that. While the movie deals with a lot of heavy themes, there’s a solid love story beneath it all that’s definitely worth watching with your significant other. This is easily some of Tarantino’s best work.

5

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Directed By Edgar Wright

A must-watch for gaming fans, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has great style and visuals. The movie is mostly an action-comedy, with a decent bit of a romantic hook and a huge cast of compelling characters.

The story is about the titular Scott who meets the mysterious Ramona Flowers. But before Scott can date her, he has to defeat her seven evil exes in video-game-style battles. The editing and direction are great, and it does a good job of adapting the visual novels that the movie is based on without shying away from the style and medium of its source material.

4

Sin City

Directed By Robert Rodriguez And Frank Miller

Another movie that deals with some heavy themes, this anthology has romantic relations between two characters as the driving force behind all three of its segments. A dark noir that’s almost entirely black and white and based on the Frank Miller comics of the same name, the three stories have intertwining characters and themes, including love.

It’s packed with an ensemble cast, and the visual style is one of the most unique you’ll probably come across. It’s not a conventional Valentine’s Day watch, which makes it all that much more worth checking out if you’re tired of the alternatives. If that’s not convincing enough, it even has a sequence directed by Quentin Tarantino.

3

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Directed By Glenn Ficarra And John Requa

Crazy, Stupid, Love is an underrated movie in the rom-com genre, and one of the best in recent times. This one also stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, joined by Steve Carell and Julianne Moore in the lead roles. The movie contains several overlapping romantic stories of different types and age groups.

The movie isn’t quite straightforward in its depiction of these relationships and often focuses on the messiness of it all, including the misunderstandings. If you’re looking for a more traditional Valentine’s Day flick, this is a solid choice.

2

Marriage Story

Directed By Noam Baumbach

Marriage Story is one of the best looks at real relationships between two adults and their shared responsibilities to each other. It portrays a very authentic take on the aftermath of romance and marriage–the divorce. There’s very few movies that deal with these themes as well.

It goes into the complexities of love and trying to maintain a relationship, without sugarcoating the morally grey aspects of it. It can be a bit of a discomforting watch at times, but there’s a lot one can learn and appreciate from it.

1

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

Directed By Celine Sciamma

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is set in 18th-century France and follows two women, Marianne, a painter, and Héloïse, a woman who is set to be married off against her wishes. Marianne is tasked with painting Héloïse’s wedding portrait, and as they spend time together, they fall in love.

The film is rather quiet, featuring no musical score, and this is what greatly amplifies the silent and artistic nature of the movie. It’s also visually stunning, with a lot of the frames shot in ways that are intended to resemble classic paintings. There are a lot of unspoken emotions and long shots. It can be a bit of a slow burn at times, but is thoroughly beautiful.