23 Of The Best Romantic Films To Cosy Up With Tonight
The most romantic day of the year calls for the most romantic films of all time, so naturally, we’ve put together a list of dramas and romcoms that are perfect for Valentine’s Day.
There are new releases from last year to 90s favourites and Hollywood classics, so whether you’re desperate to find something to watch with your SO or just want to indulge in some warm and fuzzy fun, there’s plenty to pick from. Here’s what to watch tonight (or anytime you fancy a cheesy flick moment).
Past Lives
Beginning our list is Past Lives (2023), a film which quickly gained a surplus of critical acclaim. Celine Song directs this semi-autobiographical film, which focuses on the friendship between two friends who’ve not seen each other since childhood.
Greta Lee plays Nora Moon, a woman living in New York City, having moved there from South Korea, who has lost contact with her old friend Hae Sung but discovers him on Facebook. She reaches out to him to reconnect, with Hae Sung having finished his military service back in Korea, and both start chatting over long-distance video calls. Eventually, he travels to New York to meet her, with Nora now married and the two enjoy their company, but both have a melancholy nostalgia for their old life together and what could have been. It was nominated for Best Picture and makes for an emotional, heart-pulling watch this Valentine’s.
Available on: Amazon Prime
Amélie
French is the language of love, and Paris is the city of romance, so what better for Valentine’s Day than the most French film in existence, Amélie? Audrey Tautou stars as the titular waitress in this whimsical romantic comedy, which depicts an almost fantastical version of Parisian life. She decides to help other people in her world find happiness and orchestrates their lives to spread joy. She eventually finds herself on a journey to her own love and fulfilment. It’s a charming feel-good film that scored several Oscar nominations upon release. 23 years after it came out, it’s lost none of its appeal.
Available on: Amazon Prime
Notting Hill
In the 1990s, Julia Roberts was the undisputed queen of romcoms: if she was attached, it was pretty much guaranteed to be a sure-fire hit. One of the best-loved and most enduring of these is Notting Hill, and it’s probably her most popular film here in the UK – ‘cos it’s set in Britain.
It tells the story of a London bookseller, played by Hugh Grant at his most Hugh Grant-esque period, and a famous American actress (Roberts), who happens to walk into his shop. The pair, as you might guess, start a romance. It may be pretty fantastical and twee, but it’s popular for a reason: it’s very charming, and it’s pure romcom fun.
Available on: Amazon prime
Hit Man
In 2023, Anyone But You was credited, probably too generously, with revitalising the genre, but it wasn’t even the best rom-com starring Glen Powell that was released that year. The set-up is perfect rom-com fodder – a professor moonlights as a police officer who poses under various different hitman guises to entrap those looking to hire one and ends up falling for one of his clients, who in turn falls for his fake hitman persona, and he gets targeted by her abusive ex-boyfriend.
It’s actually loosely based on a true story, with presumably a strong emphasis on loose.
watch on: Netflix
People We Meet On Vacation
This recent Netflix billing became an instant hit upon being released earlier this year, with audiences and critics alike hailing it a standout in the modern rom-com revival. People We Meet On Vacation follows the friends-to-lovers trope, documenting Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex’s (Tom Blyth) evolving friendship over the span of a decade of meeting up for week long holidays every summer.
Audiences instantly fell in love with this heartfelt romcom, largely due to the electric chemistry between Blyth and Bader. This coupled with the When Harry Met Sally-esque plot makes for the perfect Valentine’s movie night watch.
Watch it on: Netflix
Maestro
Maestro is first and foremost a biopic, but romance and the relationship between its two main characters is crucial to the plot. Bradley Cooper (who spent six years learning to conduct) plays Leonard Bernstein, one of the most popular conductors and composers of the 20th century. The film takes a look at his life from the early beginnings of his career in the 1940s and continues through the decades as his fame grows and secures his place in history as a musical genius.
Opposite him is Carey Mulligan, playing Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre- and while most musical biopics are all about artists and their greatest performances, Maestro at its core is about the trials and tribulations between a husband and wife, and the lead performances truly are winners. In addition to being nominated for Best Picture, Cooper and Mulligan both received nods from the academy for their respective roles.
Watch it on: Netflix
When Harry Met Sally…
Another brilliant rom-com, this perennially popular film of the late 80s stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in the title roles, and tries to deal with the age-old question of “Can men and women ever just be friends?”
Directed by Rob Reiner, When Harry Met Sally… follows the two leads across 12 years of chance encounters, and it’s the relationship and interplay between the two that makes it great. It’s a great rom-com story, and of course, there’s the famous “I’ll have what she having” scene at a diner, which has become an iconic comedy scene. A contender for the best romcom of all time? We definitely think so.
Available on: Amazon Prime
Casablanca
Perhaps the definition of a classic: Casablanca is one of the most influential and imitated Hollywood movies ever made, and also a great romance to sink into, no matter how many decades pass.
Made and set during WWII, it stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in a story about an American expatriate who must choose between love and helping a resistance leader escape the city of Casablanca to fight the Nazis. With its iconic lines and characters, it’s one of the best films of all time and tells a great romantic story. It’s one of those films that everyone says you have to watch at least once- and you should!
Available on: Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Pretty Woman
Before the previously mentioned Notting Hill, Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven, and Eat Pray Love, Julia Roberts first shot to fame with 1990’s Pretty Woman. The film pairs her with leading man Richard Gere and tells the story of a Hollywood prostitute who becomes the escort for a rich businessman and begins to develop a relationship with him. It became a smash hit and a rom-com classic, kickstarting not only Robert’s career but also the 90s rom-com genre.
Available on: Amazon Prime, Disney+
The Incredible Jessica James
One of those ‘anti-rom-coms’ that have become so big in recent years, The Incredible Jessica James is about a break-up that feels as fresh as any recent ventures into the genre.
Comedian Jessica Williams, known for The Daily Show, broke out as a serious actor to know with a starring role that feels like it was written just for her and has some seriously talented backing in LaKeith Stanfield and Chris O’Dowd.
Call Me By Your Name
Another career-making romantic movie, Call Me By Your Name made Timothée Chalamet a household name and one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. Directed by Italian director Luca Guadagnino, the story of 17-year-old Elio and 24-year-old Oliver in 1980s Italy was lauded by critics and scored several Oscar nominations. Its performances were widely praised, particularly Chalamet’s, and its central gay love story was seen as a new stepping stone for LGBTQ representation. It’s often melancholy portrayal of first love and the heartbreak it can bring will stay with you long after the credits roll.
Watch on: Amazon Prime
Bridget Jones’s Diary
As the years pass, trends come and go, but it seems Bridget Jones‘s Diary will always remain fashionable. Based on the 1996 novel of the same name, the film orginally brought together an all-out super team of the best British talents in Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, and Richard Curtis, and combined them with Jerry Maguire star Renée Zellweger to create the iconic story of a binge-drinking thirty-something who keeps a diary about her often difficult love life. Today it consists of four beloved films, including the recent Mad About The Boy, which can be enjoyed individually or binged in a Valentine’s Day movie marathon.
The Christmas jumpers, the quotes, the (at times literal) fight between Mark and Daniel for Bridget’s affection- it all makes Bridget Jones one of those relatable yet still a bit fantastical rom-coms that you watch so many times you can recite it backwards.
Watch on: Amazon Prime
Queen & Slim
Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith lead this romantic crime drama, which sees a young couple on the run from the police. Criminal defence attorney Queen goes on an awkward dinner date with Slim, and the two are on the way back when they’re stopped by a white police officer who searches Slim without any apparent reason. The two confront the officer and get into a fight, and Slim ends up shooting him- and the two are forced to leave Ohio and go on the run. Their experience leads them to begin to develop a relationship, as they become wanted fugitives. Contrasting themes of love and police brutality and stylish direction from Melina Matsoukas elevate this above other love-on-the-run stories and result in a powerful watch.
Available on: BBC Iplayer, Amazon Prime
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
A Kate Winslet film, and one of Jim Carrey’s more serious roles, Eternal Sunshine blends elements of sci-fi to explore love and memories. When Joel (Carrey) finds out that his girlfriend Clementine (Winslet) has erased all of her memories of him after a fight, he sets out to do the same. However, while the procedure is going on, he relives his memories from the two-year-long relationship and realises that he doesn’t want to forget her even as the memories are slowly fading.
Though something of an anti-Valentine’s film, the smartly funny but still melancholy story can feel all too relatable, with its commentary on how trying to forget and block out sad memories can sometimes end up making things even harder to move on from.
Available on: Amazon Prime
Brokeback Mountain
A real milestone of a film, Brokeback Mountain was released in 2005 and became a turning point for LGBT representation in film. Powered by the lead performances of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal alongside Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, and Linda Cardellini, Brokeback centres on the developing and complex relationship between two cowboys in the American West across 20 years.
Though the two men fall in love, things become difficult when they both marry their respective girlfriends, resulting in tension not only with their wives but with each other. The film faced legal and censorship issues in the US and other countries- but it overcame these troubles to win the Best Director (for Ang Lee) and Adapted Screenplay Oscar, along with several BAFTAS including Best Film, and is remembered as a breakthrough for queer cinema.
Available on: Amazon Prime
Romeo + Juliet
Well, of course, the most famous love story of all time would find a place on this list, and Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has become a cult favourite.
The modernised version, now with guns and a Los Angeles-esque setting, features Leonardo DiCaprio before he set sail on the Titanic and Claire Danes as the two star-crossed lovers. Luhrmann’s direction and the overall feel of the film feel very 90s, and yet still very much watchable and relevant over 25 years later. Also starring Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Pete Postlethwaite and Miriam Margolyes, the film’s creativity and use of timeless Shakespearean dialogue make this not only one of the best ways to experience the story but also one of the best romantic films around.
Watch on: netflix, Disney+
Pride and Prejudice
This modernisation of Pride and Prejudice would probably be the most iconic version of Austen’s literary classic, if not for the TV version 10 years earlier with Colin Firth jumping in a lake. That doesn’t make this 2005 incarnation of the novel any less good, with Keira Knightley and Succession’s Matthew MacFadyen playing a worthy Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy.
A quick synopsis for those who don’t know the book: Elizabeth, daughter of a country landowner, and Mr Darcy, rich aristocrat, fall into a turbulent relationship with each other, as they both try to move past feelings of pride and prejudice. This version was directed by Joe Wright, who was also behind the camera on Atonement and Anna Karenina and saw Knightley nominated for a Best Actress Oscar.
Available on: Amazon Prime, netflix
Crazy Rich Asians
Something of a modern classic, Crazy Rich Asians became a breakout hit upon release. Based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan, it tells the story of a Chinese-American professor (Rachel Chu) as she travels from New York to Singapore to meet her boyfriend’s (Henry Golding) family for the first time, and finds that they’re one of the richest families in the country. What follows is a hilarious rom-com about cultural barriers and expectations, brought to life by a fab cast that includes Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Lisa Lu, Michelle Yeoh and Ronny Chieng. It ended up being the highest-grossing rom-com of the 2010s- deservedly so.
Available on: Amazon Prime
The Notebook
2004’s The Notebook is almost a cliché for an archetypal Valentine’s movie, telling the tried and true tale of a poor but determined man falling for a rich young woman. Both become infatuated and soon passionately in love with each other- but find themselves separated due to their difference in social status.
The plot flips between the youthful couple beginning in the late 30s, and an elderly man in the present day, reading to a patient from his notebook. Everything here revolves around Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams’s chemistry- evident in emotional argument scenes as much as when they’re kissing in the rain. It might be best described as a guilty pleasure- but that’s what Valentine’s is for, right?
Available on: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, bbc iplayer
Moonlight
Both a coming-of-age movie and a romantic movie, Moonlight does away with much of the usual tired cliches and sappy tropes of other love stories and instead is a very frank and at times unflinchingly gritty exploration of masculinity and sexuality.
Directed by Barry Jenkins, it focuses on protagonist Chiron (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes) in three stages of his life: childhood, teenage years, and being a young adult. It begins in the late 80s at the height of the war on drugs, with Chiron struggling with his identity and his mother’s drug addiction. Dealing with bullying for being gay and his relationship with classmate Kevin, as well as feelings of self-hate, Chiron’s tale is told in dream sequences and visually striking imagery that made it worthy to be Best Picture.
Available on: bbc iPlayer, Amazon Prime
Kal Ho Naa Ho
Nothing says romance like a classic Bollywood film, and Kal Ho Naa Ho is one of the iconic ones. Featuring Hindi cinema legends Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Preita Zinta, Kal Ho Naa Ho is set in New York, and revolves around Naina (Zinta), a serious and reserved young woman dealing with family troubles. Her life takes a turn when she meets the charming Aman (Shah Rukh Khan), who teaches her, and she finds herself falling for him, unaware that he harbours a heartbreaking secret. Meanwhile, Aman encourages her to consider Rohit (Saif Ali Khan), her best friend, who falls in love with her. Expect plenty of melodrama, dance sequences and man,y many tears.
available on Netflix
Emma
Before becoming the face of shows like The Queen’s Gambit and films like The Menu, Anya Taylor-Joy starred in this 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Emma. She of course plays the titular Miss Emma Woodhouse, a young woman who comes from a world of wealth and landed gentry in the late 1700s, Regency England. She lives on a beautiful estate with her father Mr Woodhouse (Bill Nighy), and has made friends with the younger Harriet (Mia Goth), an orphan who attends a local school. With her elegance and intelligent views of the world, Emma makes fun of life by intervening in other people’s romantic lives, navigating her own matchmaking, and moving into adulthood.
The acclaimed adaptation also stars Johnny Flynn as George Knightley, Miranda Hart as Miss Bates, along with Josh O’Connor, Callum Turner, Amber Anderson, and Rupert Graves.
Available on: Amazon Prime, Apple TV
A Room With A View
Classic romantic novels seem to always make great films, and A Room with a View is no exception- it’s still worth watching nearly 40 years after its release. Starring Helena Bonham Carter in her very first film role, it’s set in the early 20th century in Edwardian England and follows the young Lucy Honeychurch in the repressed society that tells her not to embrace her quest for self-liberation. Lucy goes on a trip to the highly romantic city of Florence, accompanied by her cousin Charlotte (played brilliantly by Maggie Smith), who also acts as her chaperone and keeps an eye on her.
Our heroine falls for a young but quiet man Geroge (Julian Sands), whose free-spirited nature encourages her to remove herself from the shackles of Edwardian culture. Daniel Day-Lewis, before becoming a three-time Oscar winner, features here in a quite low-key and funny role as uptight and pretentious Cecil Vyse, and if you love period romances, this one is for you.
Available on: Apple TV
