Here are the top ten movie love stories where the lovers do not get together in the end.
SPOILERS!
Honorable Mention: Before Sunrise, The English Patient, Forrest Gump, and Moulin Rouge
10. Vanilla Sky – The entire second half of the movie is really just Tom Cruise’s imagination. His hope and desire to be with Penelope Cruz actually never came to fruitition, and the heartbreaking part is that we see the life that he truly wanted to have. This is a good movie for a person who dreams about what might have been with his or her lover. Also, I had a weird fascination with this movie when it came out. Maybe it struck a chord, maybe it was a Tom Cruise man-crush, or maybe I just really like Cameron Crowe movies. It is probably a combination of all three.9. The Fly – James Cameron once said that every movie he makes is a love story at heart. The Fly is in that vein with Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis in love, but torn apart by Goldblum’s scientific quest. This movie has regained appreciation over the years, which is wonderful to see. Ultimately, this is a good movie for a person who lost his or her lover because their lover was too involved with his or her work.
8. Out of Sight – Steven Soderbergh’s crime story has a good, law abiding girl falling in love with a bank robbing, charismatic George Clooney (NOTE: Clooney is not a man, he is his own category). While Clooney and Jennifer Lopez’s chemistry on the screen is fiery, their relationship on-set was strained, at best. However, their characters love can not come together because she has to arrest him when he is breaking the law. Even though she hesitates, Clooney forces her to make the right choice and not compromise her ethics… More than they have already been compromised.
Out of Sight is for a person whose love is incarcerated… Or a career criminal.
7. Annie Hall – Woody Allen’s finest hour. The whole movie is a build-up to a relationship that will never happen.
This movie is for someone who has been friends with someone for a very long time, but has never gotten together with their significant other.
6. Philadelphia – An amazing soundtrack and Tom Hanks’ finest performance in a golden career. What tends to get overlooked in Philadelphia is the love between Hanks and Banderas. Banderas cares so much for Hanks: Feeding him meds, taking him to the emergency room, doting on him, and wearing a matching Halloween costume.
Philadelphia is for a person who has lost his or her lover to any illness.
5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – This is my second favorite foreign language film of all-time (I don’t know where The Diving Bell and the Butterfly may fall, though. DO YOU HEAR THAT LANDMARK!?). This movie is beautiful in every single aspect, as it captured four Oscars out of ten nominations.
At the core of this movie are two love stories. One about two lovers who can not communicate how they feel to one another, and the other about two lovers who lead vastly different lives.
Ang Lee excellent constructs a tale of failed love as neither of these couples can ever really have the chance to get to be with one another.
This movie is for someone whose love has left them for reasons unknown.
4. Casablanca – If you don’t know about this movie, I am sorry. I can not help you.
3. The Lives of Others – 2007’s winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and deservedly so. The love between Koch and Gedeck in Communist Germany is harrowing as lies, the government, and a desire for freedom tear them apart. Gedeck sacrifices herself for Koch, leaving him with the memories of what they shared.The Lives of Others is for anyone who has sacrificed something for the one they loved.
2. Atonement – Betrayal, jealously, immaturity all hamper the love between Knightley and McAvoy in Joe Wright’s film. When Knightley’s younger sister “misinterprets” what she sees, it results in McAvoy being sent to prison. While Knightley and McAvoy try to be together, their love is futile as war tears them even further apart.
Atonement is for someone who has lost his or her lover because of another person’s intervening.
1. Brokeback Mountain – Entertainment Weekly recently called this a “Contemporary Masterpiece.” It is hard to argue against Ang Lee’s compelling drama about two lovers who can not come to terms with who they are. Mesmerizing performances are everywhere in this drama about two cowboys in 1960’s Wyoming. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger turn in career-defining performances as the aforementioned lovers. Gyllenhaal’s unconditional love for Ledger is admirable as all he wants in life is to be with the one he loves. Ledger’s refusal to admit to himself who he really is condemns him to loneliness until it is too late.Outstanding cinematography, an elegant score, and the most heartbreaking final scene in recent history leave the viewer breathless.
Brokeback Mountain is for anyone who has had a relationship fail because this movie is that beautiful and holds many truths within.
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