Had enough of Valentine's Day? Here are some anti-romance films to stream

Virgin Radio

14 Feb 2023, 14:20

Credit: Rex

If you’re already over Valentine’s Day this year, and feel like avoiding any semblance of romance in what you watch tonight, then you might want to check out one of the following movies. 

Break-ups, revenge, and bunny-boilers... there’s plenty here to put you off the idea of love.

Marriage Story

This Noah Baumbach film chronicles a divorce, from the initial separation all the way to the finalisation of the process. 

Adam Driver from Star Wars plays a theatre director, who shares a child with his actress wife, played by Lost in Translation’s Scarlett Johansson.

The narrative is told from both points of view, and is an empathetic account of a complex and heartbreaking situation.

Watch Marriage Story on Netflix.

Fatal Attraction 

Starring Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, and Anne Archer, this classic focuses on a married man who has a weekend affair with a woman. However, to her, it’s definitely more than a weekend fling, and she becomes increasingly obsessed with him.

The movie has several iconic scenes, including the family rabbit coming to a sorry end, and, of course, the classic scene in the bathroom at the end. 

The moral of the film? Just don’t have an affair. Simple. 

Watch Fatal Attraction on Sky/NOW.

Gone Girl

To the outside world, former New York-based writer Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) seem to have a blissful marriage, but when Amy goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick becomes the prime suspect. 

It turns out that there is more to the disappearance than meets the eye in this unmissable thriller. 

Watch Gone Girl on Prime Video.

(500) Days of Summer 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom, a greeting card writer who is shocked when his girlfriend, Summer (played by New Girl’s Zooey Deschanel), ditches him, seemingly out of the blue. 

The nonlinear narrative sees the newly single Tom reflecting on their 500 days together, trying to work out how and where things went wrong.

The film serves as a reminder that happiness can’t be dependent on another person, and that others aren't responsible for how a person views them.

Watch (500) Days of Summer on Disney+.

Blue Valentine

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star as Dean and Cindy, a couple who live a simple, and seemingly happy enough, life in suburbia. 

However, to peel back the layers is to discover two people caught in a seriously downward spiral. 

The narrative shifts back and forth in time between their courtship and the dissolution of their marriage several years later.

Watch Blue Valentine on Prime Video.

Do Revenge

A more recent offering in pastel shades, this movie sees Drea (Camila Mendes) at the peak of her high school powers as the it-girl on campus, until her status takes a serious hit when a somewhat intimate tape gets leaked to the entire school. The culprit is apparently her boyfriend and alpha kid in the school, Max .

Meanwhile, Eleanor (played by Stranger Things’ Maya Hawke) is new to the school where her old bully, Carissa, also attends. 

The two team up to take down each other’s bullies. Fans of the likes of Heathers and Cruel Intentions might enjoy this snappy comedy.

Watch Do Revenge on Netflix.

In the mood for love? Check out some rom-coms to stream.

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