Do you need an antidote to the PDA, hallmark sentimentality
and impending noxious romance of Valentine’s Day? Did you just yell back at a
jewelry commercial screaming “that love doesn’t last forever”? Are you about to delete
your OkCupid account? Whether you’re single or in a relationship there’s
nothing wrong with breaking through the haze of love songs and heart-shaped
candies to watch a movie that betrays some of the truth about love and life.
Here are five films that’ll hit you with the realness because, you know, life
isn’t all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. Raise your wine glass, stroke your
cat, and toast yourself because here’s to being alone!
Blue Valentine
It doesn’t get better (read worse) than this. This movie is like an exceptionally artistic, lyrical and well-made anti-drug PSA, but it warns you of the dangers of falling in love. This is your brain on love, kids; just say no. It’ll make you feel good for a moment and then you wake up in five years surrounded by the rubble that is your life. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams break your heart and then spit on what’s left of it. You see a relationship grow and then topple down like a game of Jenga. In all seriousness it’s an amazing movie and you’ll either be glad or very upset that you watched it.
Two Lovers
This movie flew under the radar a few years ago but is worth a watch. It’s not too often that you see a Hollywood movie without a happy ending. Like Blue Valentine, this film has a strong sense of honesty to it. Joaquin Pheonix plays a man struggling with mental illness and who while recovering from a suicide attempt strikes up a relationship with a woman as self-destructive as he is. This film defies expectation in that it doesn’t allow any fantasy to seep in to handily cure the problems of these two lonely and troubled people. Pheonix and his co-star Gwyneth Paltrow will both have you in the palm of their hands before you even realize what’s happening. Bring tissues is all I’m saying.
Revolutionary Road
This movie is a little bit melodramatic but so were your parent’s arguments. Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet both survived the sinking of the Titanic (they found a bigger door frame) and now they are married with kids, looking particularly sprightly for a pair of sixty year olds. What I’m trying to say with my horrible arithmetic is that this movie is set in the repressive domesticity of the 1950’s and Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet find their love shriveled by the expectations of their society and the banal side of the American dream. Their neighbors are also really annoying — bordering on psychotic. I’m not kidding. Queen of Misery Kathy Bates is mother to the perpetually disturbing Michael Shannon here. The marital arguments in this film are really intense to the point that you might want to shield your eyes or hide under the sofa because Leonardo Dicaprio is scaring you. It may be a good idea to suggest this film to that annoying couple in your life. I’m kidding, you should totally force them to watch it with their eyelids taped open, Clockwork Orange style.
Kramer vs. Kramer
This movie is about a really painful divorce and there’s a kid caught in the center of it. Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman star. What more do I need to say?
To Die For
All the previous movies are rather tough going, but this film is a fun darkly comedic alternative for those of you who don’t feel like sobbing your way through Valentine’s Day or drowning yourself in wine. Personally I can’t think of a Valentine’s Day better spent but to each her own. In one scene Nicole Kidman plays Celine Dion’s incredibly cheesy song “All by Myself” at her husband’s funeral so you can see what the tone of this film is. This movie is a great little gem for the ice queen in you.