True Romance: The top 10 alternative love films
Tired of soppy rom-coms? Here are 10 alternative love films that won't have you (or your partner) reaching for the bucket come Valentine's Day. Or ever, actually. They're all ace.
Rex FeaturesRomeo + Juliet
Starring:Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes
Saps be gone! Baz Luhrmann’s modern interpretation of the legendary Shakespeare tragedy is about as far from rom-com territory as you can get. Set in the cinematic suburban landscape of Verona, it’s a gritty retelling with an awesome fishtank scene and a very young Leonardo DiCaprio. Fish tank + Leo = onto a winner. For sure.
Rex FeaturesTrue Romance
Starring: Patricia Arquette, Christian Slater, Brad Pitt
It would be a bit silly not to include this mini-gallery’s name sake, wouldn’t it? True romance is a Tarantino-penned, Bonnie & Clyde-esque classic with enough action to sink a battle ship and the added bonus of Brad Pitt’s bristle-free face. No alternative love movie collection should be without it.
Django Unchained
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington
Speaking of Quentin, if you take away all the violence and the controversial content of his Western epic Django Unchained, essentially you’re left with a powerful love story about one man’s struggle to be with the woman he loves no matter what obstacles stand in his way. Sounds bucket-worthy. Really isn’t.
Rex FeaturesCry-Baby
Starring: Johnny Depp, Amy Locane
Ermmm… Fancy watching a fresh-faced Johnny Depp playing a leather-clad, 50s bad boy greaser, attempting to win the heart of a good-as-gold, book carrying, Baltimore sweetheart for 85 minutes? We thought so. Also contains graphic images of Iggy Pop playing a hillbilly Uncle. It’s romantic. It’s a comedy. But it’s stylised, tongue-in-cheek, and a country mile from Grease. Steer clear if you have a phobia of needles.
Rex FeaturesChasing Amy
Starring: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams
Before all this Argo business, during Ben Affleck’s self-professed “first act”, he played a boy comic book artist who fell in love with a girl comic book artist, only to have his emotions dashed on the rocks when he discovered she is, in fact, gay. It’s romantic. It’s a comedy. And it’s actually funny. Shocker.
Rex FeaturesEternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet
When he’s not pulling ridiculous faces and working on animal-related crimes, Jim Carrey is pretty alright. Don’t believe us? Watch Michel Gondry’s sci-fi-romance Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind.
Rex FeaturesHigh Fidelity
Starring: John Cusack, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Nick Hornby’s laugh-out-loud romantic novel of the same name has been shredded, pulped and reshaped into an all-American movie starring John Cusack and the ever-hilarious Jack Black as two record-shop-owning dudes with wild ambitions and average-at-best love lives. Definitely a boy-friendly option.
Rex FeaturesAnnie Hall
Starring: Diane Keaton, Woody Allen
Witty, clever, wildly superfluous – it’s like every other Woody Allen movie. Except for one thing – Annie Hall contains Paul Simon. Yep. Worth a watch for that reason alone.
Rex FeaturesLost In Translation
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray
Sofia Coppola’s finest work to date centres around the unlikely bond between two very different life forms – an aging movie star and a young, neglected wife. She won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and everything.
Rex FeaturesSleepy Hollow
Starring:Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Christopher Walken
WHAT? It’s a love story. Essentially. And it’s got Johnny Depp in it. That’s double the Depp in one gallery. Leave Tim Burton alone, goths have hearts too, you know.
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