The 2010s were a time when the romance genre evolved. It had become harder to find ways to make a new romantic film feel unique, but romantic comedies found plenty of room to move into a more comfortable place as love and sex became more open topics in mainstream society.
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The romance genre did not flourish, but it survived and even approached thriving on occasion. From some of the most notable on-screen chemistry ever seen to films that managed to mirror others being released that year in almost every category, the power dynamics of relationships shifted, and everything fans thought they knew about the genre being thrown out; here are some of the best the decade had to offer.
8About Time
It doesn’t sound like a movie about a man who finds out he and the other men in his family can time travel would be one of the more emotional and nuanced romance films of the decade, but there it is. Domhnall Gleeson stars as Tim, whose vow when his father tells him the family secret is simplyto use it to find love.
After false starts, with the likes of Margot Robbie most notably, he meets Mary, played by Rachel McAdams, and they fall in love with only minimal fixing of moments from Tim. More surprising is the film’s focus in the second half on the relationship between Tim and his father, played by Bill Nighy. This was a tender film whose premise didn’t hold it back from a truly beautiful tale with incredibly real characters and chemistry between many of the actors that felt truly intimate.
7Call Me By Your Name
Another atypical form of romance that came to the fore in this enormously well-received film was that between a teenager and an older man who was working for the teen’s father.Played by Timothee Chalametand Armie Hammer,Call Me By Your Nameexhibited this relationship and Elio’s coming-of-age and coming to terms with his sexuality with aplomb.
The difficult subject of a relationship with such an age gap has been explored brilliantly before, but this story, set in the 1980s in Italy, was perfect for the time it was released and managed to teach a lot of lessons to other filmmakers about how to handle such completely different types of relationships and power dynamics in relationships.
6A Star Is Born
While it has been done before, it may never have been done better than with the impeccable chemistry exhibited between Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.A Star Is Bornfeatures several incredible things. Their romantic scenes were made mind-blowing by their chemistry, the performances were actually filmed live in front of huge crowds at music festivals, and the subplots about addictionwere told with surprising genius.
Cooper and Gaga both played their characters out of their skin, the songs were beautifully written and hugely memorable, and this story was brought forwards-in-time to the modern day with ease by their incredible work.
5Silver Linings Playbook
Early in the decade, when Jennifer Lawrence was still relatively new to the scene, she won an Oscar for her performance in this incredulous, baffling movie.Silver Linings Playbookagain stars Bradley Cooper, and again he has incredible chemistry with his counterpart as two struggling people, ostracized from society due to mental health difficulties, fall in love.
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The relatively low-stakes fun of this plays on other, more ridiculous romance films, and the intelligence of this film and the emotional turbulence that comes from the sort of problems both characters dealt with helped make this one of the most unusually brilliant films of the decade in any genre.
4Me Before You
Emilia Clarke’s career will be remembered as a product of the 2010s due toher long-running performanceinGame of Thrones. But one of her best feature performances to date came inMe Before You, a beautiful story about a caretaker who falls in love with her rich, paralyzed client.
Another case of amazing chemistry helping to elevate a film beyond what it might have been,Me Before Youtells a simple story but with the joyous romance between Clarke and Sam Claflin’s character at the center of it, there could be no doubt it was going to be a roaring success.
3Crazy Rich Asians
It can be difficult from the outset to see what is so original or creative about a simple girl meeting her fiancés' complicated family, butCrazy Rich Asiansmakes for something magnificent due to the fun performances of Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Awkwafina,and Michelle Yeoh.
Many members of the cast were elevated from this huge release, and with good reason, as the hilarious style and sweet, tender romance made it a massively enjoyable and replayable movie which is easily one of the best of the decade.
2Blue Is The Warmest Colour
After breaking up with her boyfriend, a young woman named Adele falls for a beautiful woman with blue hair and becomes confused about her own sexuality. While LGBTQIA+ films often have a theme of accepting oneself,Blue Is The Warmest Colouris one of the best examples of how to do it while stillfocusing heavily on the romanceitself.
The epic film, nearly three hours in length, runs through their relationship, breakup, and the aftermath in an intriguing fashion. Dealing with all the themes it tries to should make the film feel bloated, but instead, it works wonderfully and is a truly great example of a foreign romance in cinema.
1La La Land
Remembered for not winning the best picture Oscar despite it being announced as the victor,La La Landis one of the most brutally honest examples of how career and dreams can be the only thing that stops a relationship from working out everto exist on the screen.
Starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as two dreamers who meet in modern-day Los Angeles, the film uses music and dreamy choreography to traverse their relationship as it grows but makes it more difficult for each of them to achieve their truest dreams. The ending may be heart-breaking, but that doesn’t stopLa La Landfrom being one of the greatest romance movies of all time.
