For as great asromantic moviescan be, they can sometimes contain frustrating conventions and tropes, and maybe one of the most divisive of these is something found near the start of some romance films. Call it the “love-at-first-sight” trope, if you want, and it’s exactly what you’d expect. Two people meet, and they’re both head over heels with each other straight away, perhaps in the interest of time, what with movies being relatively brief affairs and all.
But conventions, tropes, and even clichés can be done poorly or well, and to celebrate those love-at-first-sight movies that actually work, here’s a selection of films that use the convention well. These feel a bit more realistic than most movies that feature instant love,perhaps because the chemistry between stars is believable, or the film is supposed to explore a whirlwind romance, or it leads to interesting conflict/drama later on down the line.
10’True Romance' (1993)
Directed by Tony Scott
BesidesJackie Brown, most of the filmsQuentin Tarantinohas directed don’t put too much of an emphasis on romance. ButTrue Romancewas not a film he directed (Tony Scottdid),instead being written by Tarantino, and probably standing as the most romantic one he ever wrote. Of course, there’s also lots of swearing, violence, intensity, and some pop culture references thrown in for good measure.
The story ofTrue Romanceinvolves two people falling in love almost right after meeting, then having to go on the run from the mob after stealing a large quantity of drugs (from bad people, thankfully). Even with all the gangster-related elements and some pretty brutal scenes,True Romanceistruly romantic, and feels oddly heartwarming for a crime/thriller flick.
True Romance
9’Summer with Monika' (1953)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Counting as a love-at-first-sight movie that depicts such a thing as far from sunshine and rainbows,Summer with Monikais about the way things canturn around quickly when young love is involved. As for the sunshine, well, it’s there because of the summer alluded to in the title, but rainbows aren’t as likely to be found here, and not just because the film’s in black-and-white.
Monika is a young woman, while Harry is a young man, and their bond is initially intense before things progress in a way where they have to start living with each other, and then some problems ensue.Summer with Monikaisnot a fun or hugely romantic movie after the first act, but it is a solid drama that does deal with love… and, yeah, that makes it qualify as a romance.
Summer with Monika
8’Out of Sight' (1998)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Out of Sightis a movie about an unlikely romance that nonetheless feels right, not to mention convincing. One of the main characters is a classy bank robber, while the other is a US Marshal who’s supposed to take him down. But an instant romantic attraction intervenes, and the pair start up a strange relationship whilevarious crime/heist-related things also continueon narratively.
It’s a film that blends genres well, butOut of Sightprobablyworks best as a romantic filmabove anything else,especially because George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez have such great chemistry. Both are natural movie stars, but the two bring out the best in each other on screen, much in the same way that their characters also bring out the best in each other within the film, despite their initial – and surprisingly not too important – differences.
Out of Sight
7’Carol' (2015)
Directed by Todd Haynes
Almost as soon as their characters meet inCarol,Cate BlanchettandRooney Marahave superb chemistry.The film as a whole is about a romance that kicks off between a woman going through a divorce and another woman who’s slightly youngerand less experienced in life. Also, this romance happens at a time in history when the idea of two women falling in love was considered by some to be taboo.
Though it is a drama,Carolthankfully isn’t too depressing or upsetting, instead just focusing on feeling honest and quite grounded throughout. It’s alsoa surprisingly good Christmas movie, with this adding to the comforting aesthetic of the film, alongside the fact it’s set in a well-recreated version of New York City during the 1950s.
6’Aladdin' (1992)
Directed by Ron Clements, John Musker
Plenty of animated Disney movies featurecharacters falling in love with great speed, perhaps because it’s a convention of fairy tales, and plenty of Disney movies adapt such stories. Few do the “instant love” thing as well asAladdin, though, which sees two people from opposite walks of life – a street urchin named Aladdin and a princess named Jasmine – falling in love almost straight away.
And there’s other stuff here, givenAladdinisalso a fantasy/adventure/comedy/musical film, but you probably knew that already. This is one of those movies that’s just ubiquitous, but that means some of the things it does well are easy to take for granted. The love story here, though simple, is executed pretty effectively, though it can be overshadowed to some extent by all the crazy stuffRobin Williamsdoes while voicing the Genie.
5’Titanic' (1997)
Directed by James Cameron
Few filmmakers can makewater as scary asJames Cameroncan, and perhaps his worst (or best?) offender, as far as such movies go, would beTitanic. This is both a tragic love story and an epic disaster movie, unfolding over agrand runtime of more than three hours, and mixing fiction with some fact (and historical characters) in a remarkably successful fashion.
Before disaster strikes,Titanicis very much focused on the romance between another pair of very different people: a wealthy woman on board the Titanic, and a scrappy, poor, yet charming young man who got on board the ship at the last minute. Their romance is passionate and perhaps a little melodramatic, but thewhole movie is broad, sweeping, and sometimes a bit over-the-top, so it all just works better – and feels more believable– than you might expect.
4’Blue Is the Warmest Color' (2013)
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche
LikeTitanic,Blue is the Warmest Coloris also an extremely long movie that has its two lead characters falling in love with great speed, but it’s otherwise a different beast of a film. It’s more intimate than it is epic, even though it does still cover a good deal of time narratively, and explores a wide range of emotions – both highs and lows – over its runtime.
It’s also acontroversial film for a handful of reasons, but parts ofBlue is the Warmest Colorstill shine through and impress, especially as far as chemistry goes.Both Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux are excellent, and go a long way to making thisintense story of falling in and out of lovehit as hardas it ultimately does.
Blue is the Warmest Color
3’Up' (2009)
Directed by Pete Docter
Most ofUpis a comedic adventure movie about an old man bonding with a young boy after they get stuck together on an unlikely odyssey, but perhaps the part of the filmpeople remember most fondly is the opening. It features a famous emotional gut-punch of an opening montage, depicting the decades-spanning love between two childhood sweethearts who, owing to age and life struggles, end up not fulfilling all their dreams, and ultimately are torn apart by the inevitability of death.
It’s heavy stuff for a family-friendly movie, but it’s also tender and doesn’t feel like it’s trying overly hard to be sad. It’s just being honest about the way life can sometimes go for some people.And part of the reason it works so effectively is because you buy the bond the boy and girl (and eventual man and woman) have for each other straight away, withUponly needing a few minutes to make this tale of love feel both beautiful and heartbreaking.
2’West Side Story' (1961)
Directed by Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
Thanks to focusing on the purely emotional feeling of falling desperately in love with someone at a less mature age,West Side Storyfeels very convincing on the romantic front in a theatrical way. And it’s okay that it feels theatrical, given it’s based on the stage musical of the same name, and that stage musical in turn reworked another iconic work of theater:Shakespeare’sRomeo and Juliet.
There’s a dreaminess and expressiveness toWest Side Storythat ensures the doomed romance at its center doesn’t necessarily feel grounded or realistic necessarily, but itremains believablewithin the vivid world of the film. That’s what should be counted more than anything else, because if a believable love-at-first-sight romance had to play out the same realistic way each time on screen to be believable, that would get repetitive to anyone who watches more than a handful of films about love.
West Side Story
1’Before Sunrise' (1995)
Directed by Richard Linklater
Before Sunriseisn’t just one of themost romantic films of its decade; it could well be among the most romantic of all time. And it’s so wonderfully stripped back as a film, simply focusing on two people, Jesse and Celine, who meet by chance on a train, and then spend a memorable day together before having to go their separate ways, declaring that one day, they’ll meet up again.
They do, but it takes some time, with their relationship further explored in the also ratherplot-free/character-focusedBefore SunsetandBefore Midnight. But it’sBefore Sunrisethat has Jesse and Celine falling in love, so that’s why it’s worth shouting out here. It all feels remarkably organic and believable, even if the idea ofsomething like this (meeting a soulmate at random) happening in real life is probably more of a fantasy.
