Movies about couples who were never meant to be despite proof to the contrary will always hit.
Related: 7 Classic Movies With Star-Crossed Lovers To Be Nostalgic For
This time of year inspires many people to revisit their favorite rom-coms. Love is in the air; why not watch a heartwarming movie about two people who get together in the end? I mean, we love it when our favorite characters decide to proclaim their love. Who could forget when Anna gave her heart to William in Notting Hill? Or when Nick proposes to Rachel in Crazy Rich Asians? Of course, Lorenz and Toni finally confessing their love for one another in Got 2 Believe lives rent-free in my mind. Seeing these couples finally get together after seeing how great they are for each other makes for the perfect ending to any movie.
But as much as we love these couples, we also have a soft spot in our hearts for those who broke each other’s. From films such as La La Land to Past Lives, we can’t help but root for the main duo despite their endings or the fact that their love wasn’t meant to be. But why do we love them so much? Are we all getting in our feels over them? For us, we’ve got a few ideas why we love the couples who aren’t destined to make it (relationship wise, at least).
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
Whether it be because of right person, wrong time, we can’t help but wonder what could have been with some of these couples. The “what if” factor here is just too strong to resist. Some stories start off with a lot of potential for the main couple, or sometimes it can be doomed from the start. As the audience, we’re watching a relationship as it progresses, along with each person’s perspectives. We watch their stories even through there is a sense that it is bound to fail because the feeling of wanting them to work it out heads into overdrive.
One thing that definitely gets us truly hooked on the idea of what could have been is thinking about the one choice a person makes that changes a whole relationship. In Titanic, would Jack and Rose have made it if she never let him go? In Romeo + Juliet, if Romeo didn’t hear about Juliet’s death, would they both still be alive and remain together? These are the questions we keep asking ourselves, and thinking of different endings for these couples keeps us hooked. Even when the relationship is a bust, our curiosity can’t help but wonder why they aren’t meant to be.
WE’VE SEEN THIS FILM BEFORE
If you’ve ever found yourself starring in your own real life heartbreak movie, finding solace in a fictional couple’s demise might make it easier to deal with. The unfortunate truth is that many people find themselves relating to the main characters and we feel what they’re going through because we have, in one way or another, gone through a similar situation. I mean, how many times have you seen your local sad boy post that scene from 500 Days of Summer? Ever since the release of Past Lives, it seems like everyone has had their fair share of In-Yun with someone who they did not end up with.
Many of us have had our fair share of relationship woes, maybe even having a TOTGA in our lives. Being able to relate to and sympathize with other fictional characters who’ve gone through a similar situation allows for audiences to feel less alone in their situations. Being able to reflect on what could have been through films allows for the opportunity to relate to these stories, and maybe even work through our own love struggles.
GREAT STORIES, UNHAPPY ENDINGS
Audiences usually yearn for an ending that ties off a story, no need to wonder what happened beyond a couple’s kiss in the final act. But what do we get when they don’t? With films like these, unhappy endings might actually make for an even more interesting story overall. Love, after all, is more than just getting the girl at the end. It’s a complex feeling that has an infinite amount of branches. As much as we want to see couples working through their issues, sometimes some people are simply too different to make it work, and that still makes for an interesting story worth the watch.
La La Land sees Seb and Mia go their separate ways in pursuit of their own careers. In The Mood for Love sees Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan not want to stoop to the level of their cheating spouses. My personal favorite heartbreak movie, Us & Then, lets us wonder why Xiaoxiao and Jingqian couldn’t make it despite deeply caring for each other. These films also let us think about the world that these couples fell in love with, and what forces beyond themselves change the possibility of them ending up together.
Heartbreak is an inevitable part of life, and being able to witness one through the power of film allows for a beautiful story to be told. Seeing them for all their flaws and inability to make their relationships work makes them even more interesting for audiences to watch. Despite wanting the best for these characters, we can’t help but watch them fall out of love (and feel for it).
Continue Reading: 14 Rom-Coms Perfect For The Month Of Love That Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist
