This Top 5 is considering the Best Relationships in film - those stories that take a look at one of life’s most desired states and most confusing/difficult/amazing experiences - the process of meeting and falling in love, building a life with another person, and attaining an understanding that only those two specific people will ever know. For this list, the couples in question must not be married (I’m assuming that will be a later topic) and, even though the term ‘relationship’ can be broadly defined, in this case, must be focused on romantic love.

Gibelwho Productions Presents Best Relationship Movies:

5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

4. Brokeback Mountain

3. 10 Things I Hate About You

2. Her

1. When Harry Met Sally

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): This story truly digs into the heart of any romance - can you forgive and live with the flaws of the other person that you love and keep going in a relationship, and if not - should you attempt to erase all memory of the past in order to move on. A plot that jumps around in time and space (through memories), keeping the viewer on their toes in tracking of the various states of Clementine and Joel’s relationship, yet never losing the underlying attraction and love these two people feel for each other. With an inventive script by Charlie Kaufman, as well as Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet playing against their type, this film is a sweet and hopeful exploration of a flawed relationship that ultimately gets a second chance.

Brokeback Mountain (2005): A devastating film, featuring incredible performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, that explores an unrequited love, a relationship fraught with passion, confusion, and questions of what could have been. The film follows two cowhands who forge a connection, tentative at first and then growing more bold, while herding sheep one summer on Brokeback Mountain. While they separate at the end of their tenure and go on to build different lives, the story continues to explore their various intersections throughout the years - and the struggle and choices required for a couple when the love shared is not widely accepted by society.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999): Ahhhh, young love in a story that is adapted from Shakespeare. And set in Seattle, my hometown! My first introduction to a charming Heath Ledger, who slowly charms Julia Stiles with his charming smile. The two actors must walk a tightrope of dissonance that slowly tunes into harmony, convincing the audience and themselves that they should be together. Yes, my nostalgia pick, but there is something compelling about the chase that turns from a mission into a friendship.

Her (2013): In a world that is just a short hop from our present, where humans and technology are even more integrated in daily life, Joaquin Phoenix begins a relationship with his personal OS, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. They go through all the cycles of a typical relationship - a growing friendship, innocent flirting, sexual encounters, devastating fights and the long talks that lead to making up, and the realization of being in love. Director Spike Jonze focuses on closeups of Phoenix’s face throughout the film, capturing how he is processing the various emotions of dating an OS with artificial intelligence. Additionally, the film wouldn’t be as impactful without Johansson’s superb voice acting, which conveys just as much emotion and personality as Phoenix. The film not only explores society’s relationship with computers and machine learning, but also examines the human element of connection and whether a voice from the ether is enough to overpower people’s need for a physical connection in the real world.

When Harry Met Sally (1989):Their first conversation didn’t go well...these people did not click. When they meet by chance years later, their mutual distaste is reinforced. By the third time, they actually do become friends and this is where the story really starts to blossom. Their growing friendship is a joy to watch and their steps and missteps are so relatable to anyone who has started their relationship out as friends. Sex makes every relationship complicated, and once they cross the friendship line, the encounter forces Harry to reckon with his true feelings towards Sally. Billy Crystal balances the emotional growth of Harry through the years toward someone who declares his love for Meg Ryan’s Sally on New Years Eve. Icing on top of the cake is the couple’s interviews scattered throughout the film, where married couples discuss how they met, ending with Harry and Sally’s interview.

Honorable Mentions: 

Pride & Prejudices (1995): Technically, this is not a movie (rather a television mini-series), so didn’t quite qualify for the list; however, it is based on my favorite Jane Austen book that traces the burgeoning relationship between Eliza and Mr. Darcy. In a controlled society with a strict class hierarchy and very few outbursts of emotion, every small signal or shift can mean full steps forward in a relationship. The couple starts off in completely different states ruled by pride and prejudice, but slowly (and over the course of over five hours) find common, loving ground.

The Big Sick (2017): A love story that explores an interracial relationship, where one of the participants is in a coma for the majority of the movie, that still manages to capture the struggles of two people and cultures coming together; oh, and how to deal with your partner’s parents, especially in moments of continued crisis. The fact that this is based on the true story of Kumail and his wife Emily makes the tale have even more emotional weight and allows us to laugh at all the hospital jokes knowing it turned out happily ever after.

Crazy Rich Asians (2018): A film that has broken ground in Hollywood, proving that films with an all-Asian cast can draw money, that representing diversity onscreen matters, and that the romantic comedy is not a fading genre. At the root of all the chatter around the film is the relationship between Constance Wu and Henry Golding’s characters, whose relationship is grounded and comfortable and real amidst the spectacle in Singapore.

Notting Hill (1999): How does one fall in love and maintain a relationship when one spouse is extremely world famous? The film explores the unlikely pairing of a Hollywood movie star and a bookstore owner in Notting Hill. Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant are charming and bumbling as ever, playing to their star personalities, but giving real emotion at the climax, when Roberts delivers the famous line: “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”

Upcoming:

A Star is Born (2018): The tale as old as time that is ripe for the re-telling. The fourth iteration of this movie (first in 1937, second in 1954 and starring Judy Garland, and finally in 1976 with Barbra Streisand) gives the spotlight to Lady Gaga, playing opposite Bradley Cooper. With the plot fairly established, the question becomes the journey and whether the stars have the connection to move the audience through the steps of their romantic and ultimately destructive relationship.