With only a day till Valentine’s Day, couples must have already hatched elaborate plans to woo their partners. Reservations made, gifts bought, or plans include a simple quiet night; with a bowl of ice cream, two spoons, and a feel-good comedy ready to watch. However, all the singles out there might find such preparation infantile, irritating, or excruciatingly nostalgic. While being in love is a brilliant feeling, sometimes being independent and cognizant of the right kind of love is just as important.
While couples have myriad viewing options ranging from the archaic gothic romances to the offbeat indie, there is no reason that singles should feel left out. Single people would rather like to see a movie that does not romanticize love but shows it through the lens of reality. It does not require the perfect ending or the need to pressure viewers into yearning for love. Perfect Valentine’s Day movies for singles should showcase the complex nature of relationships, celebrate the independence of being alone, and convey a mature understanding of love, which does not always end in togetherness. The fortunate thing is that there are many such movies to choose from, but only a few make the final-ten cut.
10 Marriage Story (2019)
Singles who have just suffered a bad divorce should steer clear of this hauntingly realistic depiction of a failing marriage. However, for those who have broken up with someone, whom they had hoped to marry, this movie would prove to be a friendly reminder that maybe it was for the better. No relationship thrives on compromises and if there have been differences that led to a breakup, being married might have made it irreconcilable.
Directed by Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story features Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and, Laura Dern. It showcases the journey of Charlie and Nicole Barber, exploring love, marriage, and the excruciatingly grueling experience of a bad-divorce.
9 500 Days Of Summer (2009)
The concept of soulmates, or finding "The One" might seem like a romantic utopia, but reality does not usually work in such a divine fashion. While many do find the love of their lives in their partner, others have to navigate through the treacherous trenches of failed relationships to find "The One." But what to do when you have lost "The One?"
500 Days of Summer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Zooey Deschanel, is a story that intelligently talks about a painful breakup with the perfect partner and about the true realities of relationship and life. Marc Webb’s directorial debut showcases how true love is often a construct that people project in accordance with their own desires, and how life always goes on stopping for nobody. Some things are unfortunately short, but fortunately, they are sweet while they lasted. Amongst the innumerable cute teen rom-coms for younger viewers, 500 Days of Summer is a stark reality check.
8 How To Be Single (2016)
Liz Tuccillo of Sex and the City fame wrote the delightful novel How to Be Single and Christian Drifter adapted the same into an enjoyable movie depicting the lives of young adults in their early twenties, navigating the intricacies of the single life in the fast-moving city of New York. Starring Marc Silverstein, Diana Fox, and Abby Kohn, How to Be Single is refreshing, cathartic, and astoundingly real. It highlights that at the end of the day, the only person anybody truly needs is themselves.
7 Revolutionary Road (2008)
There are many horror-movies that are perfect for Valentine’s Day, but Revolutionary Road is haunting for a whole different reason. This Sam Mendes directed movie talks about societal pressures of keeping up appearances, the monotonous and rigorous task of maintaining a marriage, infidelity, and the existence of that fanciful escape, which always seems elusive.
Through the story of the Wheelers, acted beautifully by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road shrieks out the importance of stopping once in a while and putting in the effort necessary to take care of what is loved. Things that are taken for granted usually crumble, and marriage is no different. For all the singles out there, this is a reassuring movie that hauntingly portrays the reality that not all relationships are perfect, and appearances can be deceptive.
6 Cast Away (2000)
Any movie starring Tom Hanks usually turns out to be brilliant, and Cast Away is no different. One of the top 10 Tom Hanks movies, Cast Away tells the story of a disciplined FedEx employee Chuck Noland hurled into the uncertain realities of having to face the extremities of being stranded on an uninhabited island while holding on to the undying hope of returning to the person he loves.
Noland survives his ordeal, returning only to find out that he has lost his beloved all over again and must learn to live in a world that seems to have moved on. This movie shows how powerful hope can be, while also depicting that hope is usually not enough in the real life.
5 Under The Tuscan Sun (2003)
In the movie Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes (Diane Lane), a writer discovers that her perfect life is a terrible façade with her husband cheating on her with his lover whom he has gotten pregnant. As Frances starts losing herself to depression post-divorce, she pays heed to the suggestion of a friend and goes on a vacation to Tuscany to distract herself. What she ends up achieving is rediscovering her life, confidence, and happiness while being completely on her own.
This 2003 Audrey Wells directed movie is the perfect flick to watch for someone who feels like the world has ended after their last breakup. It reiterates that being alone does not necessarily mean being unhappy and that happiness can be found if an effort is made to achieve it.
4 The First Wives Club (1996)
This empowering and funny movie starring the terrific trio of Diane Keaton, Bette Midler, and Goldie Hawn tells the story of three middle-aged divorcee college friends reuniting after 30 years during the funeral of their friend. The friend had committed suicide after being ditched by her ex-husband for a younger woman and upon learning the reason, the three friends realize that even their ex-husbands have taken them for granted in the past; an indiscretion deserving of revenge. The First Wives Club is the perfect and funny detour to take from the sappy romantic comedies that plague Valentine’s Day.
3 A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Although there are myriad recently released movies and shows that complement Valentine’s Day, singles might just prefer to settle for the old and classic in the movie adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire.
Starring the iconic Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski, and Vivian Leigh as Blanche DuBois, this Elia Kazan directed movie bolsters that relationships are usually not how they are romanticized to be. The haunting lines, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers” ironically reiterates the vulnerability of love and how the lack of independence has ruined Blanche’s life.
2 Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
Another movie discovering the simple yet extremely difficult task of moving on from the love of your life, Forgetting Sarah Marshall gleefully depicts Peter Bretter’s attempts of forgetting his famous and seemingly perfect ex by going on a vacation to Hawaii.
The screenplay of this movie written by Jason Segel, who also stars as Peter, sees it hilariously portraying the dreaded and painful idea of meeting up with your ex and her current partner, as well as reminding viewers that a breakup usually does not mean the loss of all hope.
1 Gone Girl (2014)
Gone Girl is a movie that reiterates that it is not men or women who cause a relationship to falter, but that each is equally responsible for causing strains, and perhaps for the very reason make them interesting partners.
The lines “What have we done to each other? What will we do?” seems to echo throughout the movie, as singles can rejoice in the fact that they have not partnered with a cunning psychopath or a carnally driven cheater. Starring Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck, this David Fincher thriller is an absolute delight and has deservedly received various nominations and awards.
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