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6 Cynical Movies About Romance

Valentine’s Day brings with it a typical trotting out of those same romantic movies that many people love, which all adhere to a formula so specific that it was employed recently in a film simply called Valentine’s Day. While there are plenty of films that treat romance with some skill and grace, the majority of them stick to the rule of poorly portrayed women, impossibly charming men, and serendipitous circumstances that often feel false even to the biggest romance enthusiasts. And that’s all fine enough. Studios get paid and can stay afloat by knocking down some easy targets, those of us made vulnerable by the sentimentality of the season.

[h2]4) Closer[/h2]

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2004 was a formative year for me as a movie fan, and much of this was due to the movie Closer. This is a sharp, smooth, sleek sort of film that features four fairly awful people falling in and out of love with one another. The dialogue is shocking at times and has a flow that feels like it comes from a theater play, which it does. It’s incredibly smart, and smartly made, each scene building in intensity carried by the stellar cast.

Ultimately it seems to be about the lies we tell ourselves and one another in matters of romance. There are three characters that seem to operate exclusively in lies, only using truth when it is most hurtful to their partner. Then there’s one character that is honest, but really only honest about how much she lies. It’s fascinating, brutal, and hugely pessimistic about the way relationships are conducted by most people who seem to have everything put together.

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