Romance is alive and well, and we’ve got just the collection of films to show you that.

Who says romance is dead? Whether it’s something quirky, poignant, darkly funny, or even tinged with action, embrace the messiness and beauty of falling in love with these movies.

It Ends With Us

A worldwide bestseller, Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel It Ends With Us gained popularity in part through ‘BookTok’, the book-centric corner of TikTok. The story’s themes of domestic violence and emotional abuse resonated with readers, and it was only a matter of time before It Ends With Us became a movie.

Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) moves from Plethora, Maine, to Boston, Massachusetts, trying to get past her traumatic childhood, during which her father abused her mother. She has long dreamt of owning her own business and opens a flower shop in Boston. After a chance rooftop encounter with charming neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni), the two fall deeply in love with each other.

As the relationship progresses, Ryle’s darker side surfaces, reminding Lily of her parents’ tumultuous relationship. When he takes her to a restaurant to meet his mother, Lily discovers that the head chef is Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar), her high school sweetheart. Atlas and Lily begin to reconnect as the latter is faced with the choice of staying with an increasingly violent Ryle or leaving him.

Like its source material, the movie is controversial because some feel it romanticises domestic violence. Yet others feel it sheds light on an issue that isn’t often discussed in public. The promotional tour has also attracted controversy, firstly for a rumoured feud between Lively and Baldoni and secondly for the tone of Lively’s interviews, which was perceived as inappropriately frothy given the movie’s heavy themes. Regardless, It Ends With Us became a box office success and sparked discussions about abuse and domestic violence online.

It Ends With Us

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It Ends With Us

Colleen Hoover's It Ends with Us is an empowering story about love, resilience, and breaking cycles.

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The Idea of You

Real person fiction (RPF) is a sometimes controversial genre of fanfiction written about real people, usually celebrities. Harry Styles, formerly of the boyband One Direction, is something of an RPF magnet. The After series of novels, which was adapted into five movies with more on the way, was inspired by Styles. And now, Robinne Lee’s The Idea of You, another story that began life as a Harry Styles RPF, is adapted into a movie.

Solène Marchand (Anne Hathaway) is a gallery owner in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighbourhood. Solène’s ex-husband Daniel (Reid Scott) buys their teenage daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) VIP tickets to a Coachella performance by boyband August Moon. When Daniel bails on Izzy because of a business trip, Solène ends up accompanying her to the festival. She meets August Moon frontman Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), and an unlikely romance ignites. As things between the pair grow more serious, they must keep their relationship on the down-low as the press hounds Hayes.

Sure, The Idea of You contains Mills & Boon-esque romance fantasy elements, but it is a solidly constructed and acted film that is deeply emotional. The film also features original songs that the cast members playing the August Moon members recorded and released as an album.

The Idea Of You

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The Idea Of You

The Idea of You centers on Solène, a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.

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The Fall Guy

This movie takes ‘falling for someone’ quite literally: Ryan Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, a veteran stunt performer who quit a year ago after a major injury on the set. Emily Blunt plays Colt’s ex-girlfriend, Jody Moreno, a first-time director who is filming the big-budget sci-fi Western Metalstorm in Australia. The movie-within-a-movie’s lead star, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), suddenly goes missing, jeopardising the production and Jody’s career. Colt, who formerly doubled for Tom, goes searching for him, uncovering a sinister cover-up in the process.

Based on the ‘80s TV series of the same name, The Fall Guy is a loving tribute to stunt performers — naturally, you can expect plenty of explosive action. It also boasts sparkling chemistry between Gosling and Blunt and even has a throwback Chicago-esque love ballad called “Waiting for Love” by the film’s composer Dominic Lewis.

The Fall Guy

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The Fall Guy

A stuntman working in movie production is hired to find the missing lead actor; instead, he gets framed for murder and must use his stuntman skills to expose the true killer.

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Hit Man

Glen Powell is the star of the moment. He’s on a winning streak, having starred in a string of hits, including Top Gun: Maverick, Devotion, Anyone but You, and Twisters. In the romantic comedy Hit Man, he heats up the screen with fellow rising star Adria Arjona. He also co-wrote the film, which is directed by Richard Linklater (they both collaborated on 2016’s Everybody Wants Some!!).

Powell plays Gary Johnson, a professor of psychology and philosophy at the University of New Orleans who provides tech support to the New Orleans Police Department as a side gig. When cop Jasper (Austin Amelio) is suspended, Gary steps in to pose as a hitman and proves to be adept at the job. He crafts various disguises and personas, successfully helping the police apprehend people intent on hiring assassins. When he meets Madison (Arjona), a beautiful woman stuck in an unhappy marriage who orders a hit on her husband, she just might be Gary’s undoing.

Challengers

One of the most talked-about movies of the year, Challengers is directed by provocateur Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name, Suspiria, Bones and All). Zillennial superstar Zendaya headlines and produces this movie, featuring up-and-comers Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, about a love triangle — or really, a ‘throuple’ of sorts. Set in the world of professional tennis, Challengers is part sports movie, part romantic drama, and part psychological thriller.

Zendaya plays Tashi Duncan, a former professional tennis player who now coaches her husband, Art Donaldson (Faist). Art is a world-famous Grand Slam champion whose career Tashi has personally shaped. The couple has a young daughter named Lily (AJ Lister). Art faces a career slump due to age and injury, and Tashi enters him in a Challenger event (a low-level tournament on the pro tour) in New Rochelle, New York, hoping to give Art a much-needed boost. Patrick Zweig (O’Connor), Art’s former best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend, is a struggling low-level player who is living out of his car and enters the New Rochelle Challenger as well. The trio share a long, complicated history, with years of tightly lidded tension culminating in a face-off between Art and Patrick on the court.