Forget the cheesy couples. Here are the unusual romances you’re better off rooting for this Valentine’s Day…
1. Butch and Fabienne: ‘Pulp Fiction’ While people tend to laud Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega as the superior ‘Pulp Fiction’ romance, there’s something really charming and lovely about Butch and Fabienne. There’s this very sweet affection between them that acts as a counterpoint to the violence in the rest of the film. Bruce Willis’ Butch is tender and kind whilst Fabienne is a little bit other-worldly. Plus, she shares an extremely relatable obsession with breakfast food.
‘Pulp Fiction’ is currently available on Netflix.
2. Viago and Katherine: ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ is one of those films that turns you into an evangelist – after you’ve watched it you feel the need to tell every friend who might possibly be into it that it is SO GOOD and SO FUNNY. A mockumentary about vampires in New Zealand who are roommates, the film generally focuses on friendship. However, Viago is in love with a woman he met when she was younger, and gazes hopelessly into the window of her retirement home every night. Somehow, this manages to be heartbreaking as well as hilarious.
‘What We Do in the Shadows’ is currently available on Netflix.
3. Jack and Diane: ‘Jack & Diane’ I’m going to be honest here and say I’m maybe the only person, from what I can glean from the internet, who liked this film. It follows the relationship of two teenage girls who meet one summer and have a beautiful, very realistic romance. There’s some metaphorical werewolf stuff that reviewers seem to hate, but I don’t understand the negativity. You’ll recognise the awkward, emotional dialogue Jack and Diane share from high school relationships where no one really knows how to voice their feelings.
‘Jack & Diane’ is currently available on Netflix.
4. The Driver and Irene: ‘Drive’ ‘Drive’ is amazing because it ticks every box: Ryan Gosling stamping on a man’s head until it explodes? Of course. Carey Mulligan as the cutest person in the world? It’s right here. A scene where Ryan, Carey and Carey’s on-screen son drive down to a stream in golden sunlight with a synth track playing in the background making you kind of want to cry? It goes without saying. The Driver and Irene are utterly besotted with each other. They stare at each other a lot, and then Ryan Gosling does something frightfully violent to a gangster in a picturesque location. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.
‘Drive’ is available pretty cheap on DVD or on iTunes for £5.99.
5. Tom and Dickie: ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ So I have to be upfront: this is a relationship that will make you really, really glad you’re single on Valentine’s Day. All kinds of crazy nonsense goes down in the gorgeous 1950s Rome depicted in this film. Matt Damon’s Tom Ripley is fascinating and Jude Law is great as Dickie Greenleaf, a young, rich dude whose sole purpose in life is to stress everyone out. There’s jazz, boats, beautiful preppy outfits, Cate Blanchett, a hilarious pair of neon swimming trunks (I’m not joking: you will be amazed) and the most intense rich-people angst you’ve ever seen. You’ll be wishing you had someone who looks at you the way Tom looks at Dickie, until OH GOD NO YOU DON’T.
‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ is available on Netflix.
Edited by Tia Ralhan
Image sources:
https://classichollywoodstylebook.wordpress.com/
http://www.magpictures.com/jackanddiane/
http://ryangoslingaddicted.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/drive-the-movie.html