5 Most Heartbreaking Romantic Movies With No Happy Ending
Piercing stories that will make you cry.
Heartbreak goes hand in hand with many movies about love. But despite the seemingly simple recipe, few manage to achieve the perfect level of sentimentality to tug at the heartstrings.
1. Marriage Story, 2019
Noah Baumbach's intimate look at the breakdown of a family is the director's most personal film to date. The acting talents of Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson complement Baumbach's dramatic skills.
This synthesis effortlessly draws the viewer into the suffocating divorce process. It's unlikely that a breakup would be painless, but the director compounds the characters' anguish with a custody battle over their son.
Only after going through all the stages of separation and hatred do the ex-spouses form a new kind of relationship, one based not on romance but on the bond of parenthood that binds them together.
2. Her, 2013
Recently separated from his beloved, Theodore has become withdrawn and antisocial. The veil of sadness lifts and the heart gradually heals when an operating system appears in the man's life, capable of not only fulfilling any wish, but also showing understanding and kindness.
Both visually and emotionally stunning, Spike Jonze's film depicts perhaps the strangest romance in the history of cinema.
Without any sci-fi methods, the director uses ordinary conversations to realistically illustrate the consequences of a breakup and the gradual emergence of a new relationship.
3. La La Land, 2016
Damien Chazelle's poignant film is a tribute to jazz, Hollywood, and all those who have had to choose between personal happiness and professional success.
Sebastian and Mia are two young Los Angeles residents whose relationship becomes an interweaving of chords and falls apart due to an excess of personal ambition. The feelings of two creators nourish each other until the time comes to devote themselves entirely to their cherished goal.
The most tragic compromise in life, breaking the hearts not only of screen dreamers, but also of millions of viewers who hold their breath watching the apotheosis of lost love.
4. Closer, 2004
Some heartbreak movies are made to help you cope with a breakup – and Mike Nichols' film is definitely on that list.
The director explores a twisted love triangle in which a surge of romance gives way to disappointment in a partner, and the characters can't stop cheating on each other. The brilliant cast and the growing tension make it impossible to look away from the screen.
Maybe this movie is for those days when you wonder if love exists at all, or if it's all a cruel joke of the universe.
5. High Fidelity, 2000
Decades later, Rob's music-loving image seems pretty toxic, and the Hulu series starring Zoe Kravitz only proves how ambiguous the character is, straight out of the pages of Nick Hornby's cult novel.
But that doesn't stop us from empathizing with Rob's experiences as he tries to find an answer to why all his relationships end in heartbreak.
Stephen Frears' film is the kind of break-up movie that you turn to for comfort and unexpectedly discover your own mistakes.