2022 has been the year when romance films shined, with movies like Marry Me and the controversial Purple Hearts being very popular in theaters and streaming services. Ever since the pen first touched the paper, people have been writing romantic stories. Whether they be lighthearted comedies or darker tragedies, from writers that long pre-date Shakespeare to the present time, there have been stories about lovers and relationships.
Sometimes, however, a story is more about the experience and not the ending. Many movies, especially romantic ones, give away their tragic endings at the very beginning of the movie, with some involving the couple not ending up together and others featuring characters with far worse fates.
Love Story (1970)
Love Story was a smash hit when it came out, being both a critical and commercial success. While critics have been less fond of the film in recent years, it is still looked at as a classic film of the era. It begins with a gut punch, with Ryan O'Neil asking, "What can you say about a 25-year-old girl who died?" After that, the audience gets introduced to the tragedy.
Ali MacGraw and O'Neil were immediately movie stars after this film came out. A prime example of a tearjerker, Love Story was ranked one of the most romantic films ever made (according to AFI). Whether it has held up is a matter of debate, but the film goes right for the heart in its opening line.
The Notebook (2004)
The Notebook is kind of a weird one, as it gives away the fate of its two lovers, but it does not tell you that in the beginning. The older version of Noah is introduced as "Duke," which does not make the audience immediately presume that the story he tells is his. When it is revealed at the end, it makes it interesting as audiences realize they knew what was going to happen from the beginning.
The Notebook led to numerous other Nicholas Sparks films, many of which tried to capture the magic that came from this movie. While it does not tell you it is spoiling the ending, it does with its twist at the end. It is a creative way to tell audiences that they are going to see the couple end up together without immediately giving it away.
500 Days Of Summer (2009)
"You should know up front, that this is not a love story," the narrator says at the beginning of 500 Days Of Summer. It tells the audience that Tom and Summer will not be together, despite Summer's wedding ring shown at the beginning. And none is shown on Tom in the opening scene.
The clarification that this is not about two people falling in love makes the message of the film hit even truer. This non-linear movie is about the journey. Tom and Summer need to meet and have a relationship. Doing so is important for both characters, but they just don't end up together. 500 Days Of Summer is an unconventional rom-com that teaches some lessons about love along the way.
Romeo And Juliet (1996)
The beginning of Romeo And Juliet is incredibly famous and makes its way into any adaptation of the play. However, Luhrmann's version begins with a newsman saying the lines on the TV. This helps bring to light not only how tragic the story is, but that it is important to the in-movie universe, as well.
This adaptation actually did a famously good job of modernizing the film without straying too far away from the source material. It helps make the scene more tragic from a modern eye as the audience knows that this will have a huge impact on everyone who knew both of the characters. It's a wonderful version of a classic scene.
Moulin Rouge (2001)
Another Luhrmann film, Moulin Rouge may be his best work. The film begins with Christian, played by Ewan McGregor, writing the story of his dead love, Satine, played by Nicole Kidman. The film then focuses on their relationship, in a typically over-the-top and lavish Luhrmann way, filled with music and ending with tragedy.
Luhrmann learned a lot from making Romeo and Juliet. Now making a completely different film that has a similar ending, he was able to write it in a way that made it still not feel like it was something the audience had already seen before, and it remains captivating to this day.
Amour (2012)
The opening scene of Amour begins with Anne lying on a bed of flowers, dead. It then goes into how the couple got here and to their tragic end. It was a huge hit the year it came out.
What makes Amour so heartbreaking is that it shows true love at the end. He made a promise to Anne that he was going to take care of her, and he took her life when he saw there was nothing left to do. He walked into the world with her ghost to finish up his story as the film returns to its opening scene to end the story.
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
The beginning shot of Joe dead in a pool in Sunset Boulevard gives away everything. It does not, however, reveal that he is living in Norma's house and becomes her lover for a while and that it's his eventual rejection of her that leads to his eventual demise.
A true tragedy of a fallen star, Sunset Boulevard understood how to make the audience feel bad for everyone involved. It is a movie where there are no winners and everything goes wrong. As with many film noir, it may not be the most romantic story, but it does still end with a woman killing a man she wants and becoming so detached from reality that she believes cameras are there to film a movie that was never produced.
Peppermint Candy (1999)
This South Korean film begins with a man dying by suicide and then begins to show his life told backward, focusing on the things that led him to this moment, including his whole relationship with his now ex-wife. The film's reverse storytelling adds an interesting dynamic to the film.
Unlike other films, Peppermint Candy does not necessarily have to be a love story. But it was, and it showed how a deteriorating marriage and an affair can completely ruin someone's life. Yungho, the man, saw his life crumble and that is what led to the first scene.
Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (2019)
Portrait Of A Lady On Fire starts with the question of the subject of a painting. It then begins to show the relationship between the painter, Marianne, and the subject, Héloïse. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire has a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes details and focuses on the couple's affair that comes to an end as a result of the social climate of the 19th century.
Being an LGBTQ+ romance set in the 19th century, this story must immediately mean tragedy. Showing the painting was an important moment, as it quickly establishes the loss that came with the relationship. Historic films that deal with gay relationships often have sad endings.
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Mildred Pierce tells the story of the titular character explaining how her ex-husband could not have killed her current husband. It goes through her stories with both men before coming to a conclusion and revealing the true killer.
This is not the most romantic film, but it is still a tragic love story. It begins knowing this woman has lost her husband and her previous husband is accused. In the end, it is her daughter who has to be sent to prison for the murder, and nothing can be more devastating than that.