Critics haven't been kind to Malcolm & Marie. Riding high on the massive success of the HBO drama Euphoria, both Netflix, who acquired the film for $30 million, and their audience expected Sam Levinson to turn out an awards season darling in the same vein as Marriage Story. With a 59% on Rotten Tomatoes and a highly negative review from The New York Times, it looks like golden statues won't be lining up on Levinson's mantel as he might have expected.
But for fans of emotionally fraught relationships who may have enjoyed the film for what it was, there's an embarrassment of highly acclaimed dramas about souring relationships that should resonate far better than the Netflix drama.
Faces
John Cassavetes' 1968 drama is the blueprint, whether intentional or not, for Sam Levinson's film. Shot over the course of one night in gorgeous black and white, the film follows an aging couple after the husband blindsides the wife with his intent on getting a divorce.
After a fight about the divorce, they split up and go off on separate night-outings accompanied by a cast of other sad characters. Taking place almost entirely in cinema verite style close-up shots, as the title would suggest, the film is essentially one long spiraling conversation about relationships and unhappiness. It's everything Malcolm & Marie wanted to be.
The Squid & The Whale
The first film about divorce from the man who seems to specialize in it, see Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach's 2005 drama follows a Brooklyn couple and their two children as they split up after one of them is unfaithful.
This already difficult situation is complicated further by the children's questionable mental states, new relationships with familiar people, and the budding career prospects as Laura Linney's character begins to experience the success her arrogant husband, Jeff Daniels, once expected for himself. Disarmingly funny when dealing with the painful subject matter, the film is a perfect illustration of the messiness of divorce.
Eyes Wide Shut
Stanley Kubrick's final film is a surreal journey through the eyes of a man, played by Tom Cruise, struggling with his wife Nicole Kidman's character's drug-induced confession that she contemplated cheating on him. From there it all goes downhill as Cruise, a doctor, is called to the house of a patient who died.
Like an R-rated Alice in Wonderland, the rest of the film is a dreamy descent into the underbelly of a society with its own sexual secrets. Ending on an ambiguous note, the film doesn't explicitly say much about the nature of relationships as it does simply reflect them back at the audience.
Revolutionary Road
Sam Mendes' drama about a mid-century couple slowly growing discontent with their lives after moving to the suburbs outside of New York is heartbreaking and entirely held up by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio's performances.
With additional weight added by a supporting cast that includes Kathy Bates and Michael Shannon, as well as perfect lighting and cinematography by the great Roger Deakins, Revolutionary Road is the perfect movie to cry to.
Early Spring
One of Yasujiro Ozu's best movies that isn't Tokyo Story, this is another film about a character who's discontent with married life. Shoji, played by Ryo Ikebe, starts up an affair with a coworker after the death of his son.
The film is far less grim in tone than the material might suggest, with Ozu's typically undramatic style, and guides the viewer through the turmoils of a relationship without ever passing judgment. It's simply an examination of a relationship.
Scenes From A Marriage
This is one of the famous director Ingmar Bergman's television miniseries', although the format shouldn't suggest any less quality than a typical Bergman film.
The film depicts the breakdown of a couple's relationship and subsequent divorce over a period of a decade. One of the first films to dig into couples' fraught relationship and divorce in such a detailed way, the series is almost 5 hours. Scenes From A Marriage has influenced pretty much every relationship drama that came after it.
Carol
Underrated director Todd Haynes' Carol, known for the psychological horror film Safe and the drama Far From Heaven, is one of the few queer couple drama's made in the past decade.
Based on The Price Of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, the film follows Therese, played by Rooney Mara, as she falls in love with an older woman Carol, played by Cate Blanchett, in the repressive environment of the 1950s. Immaculately shot and set designed, it's a rarely understated drama that never allows itself to fall into the typical "forbidden love" trope so common in film.
The One I Love
This is a film that's best to go into completely blind so as not to spoil any of the movie's clever twists and truly shocking moments. A thriller at heart, the film is really a simple examination of a crumbling relationship, but with a surreal twist.
Bolstered by a typically great performance from Elisabeth Moss, it's worth a watch if not just because it's a creative take on a well-worn narrative.
Brief Encounter
In what many believe to be David Lean's most underrated masterpiece, Brief Encounter is another film about a wife, Celia Johnson, beginning an affair with a stranger she met by chance.
What makes this film so special is the way that the characters debate their relationship, and actually discuss the emotional effect it would have on their loved ones. Even more poignant is the film's emotional final scene, leaving the viewers wanting so much more from the short, but amazing, film.
Blue Valentine
One of the more heartbreaking films on this list, Blue Valentine is Derek Cianfrance's nonlinear story about the couple Dean and Cindy and their eventual fights and relationship issues.
The stark contrast of the scenes in which the young couple is slowly falling for each other, and the scenes in which they can barely stand to look at each other, is devastating.