Relationship Drama backdrop

Relationship Drama movies

A bond under stress (partners, friends, exes), driven by trust, betrayal, negotiation, and emotional cost.

Calendar Girls

361. Calendar Girls

Drama Comedy Satire Relationship Drama
6.9

20031h 48min

United Kingdom

Director: Nigel Cole

Overview

Members of a Yorkshire branch of the Women's Institute cause controversy when they pose nude for a charity calendar.

Themes

Media scrutiny, Illness as catalyst, Tradition vs modernity, Gendered philanthropy, Community sanction, Collective fundraising

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Code 46

362. Code 46

Drama Science Fiction Thriller Dystopian Sci-Fi Investigation Suspense
6.1

20031h 33min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Overview

In a dystopian future, insurance fraud investigator William Gold arrives in Shanghai to investigate a forgery ring for "papelles", futuristic passports that record people's identities and genetics. Gold falls for Maria Gonzalez, the woman in charge of the forgeries. After a passionate affair, Gold returns home, having named a coworker as the culprit. But when one of Gonzalez's customers is found dead, Gold is sent back to Shanghai to complete the investigation.

Themes

Deception within institutions, Forbidden romance, Biopolitical class divide, Papeles governance, Memory erasure ethics, Surveillance borders

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Anything Else

363. Anything Else

Drama Comedy Romance Romantic Comedy Awkward Comedy
6.3

20031h 48min

United States

Director: Woody Allen

Overview

Jerry Falk, an aspiring writer in New York, falls in love at first sight with a free-spirited young woman named Amanda. He has heard the phrase that life is like "anything else," but soon he finds that life with the unpredictable Amanda isn't like anything else at all.

Themes

Writer role, Anything else, Relationship problems, Advice dynamics, Infidelity impact, Psychoanalysis lens

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Shape of Things

364. The Shape of Things

Comedy Drama Romance Romantic Comedy Relationship Drama
6.6

20031h 36min

France, United Kingdom

Director: Neil LaBute

Overview

Quiet, unassuming Adam is changing in a major way, thanks to his new girlfriend, art student Evelyn. Adam's friends are a little freaked by the transformation.

Themes

Deception in relationships, Appearance as social currency, Self-image versus spectacle, Consent and autonomy, Art as manipulation, Public performance of identity

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Kitchen Stories

365. Kitchen Stories

Drama Comedy Relationship Drama Workplace Comedy
7.3

20031h 35min

Norway, Sweden

Director: Bent Hamer

Overview

Swedish efficiency researchers come to Norway for a study of Norwegian men, to optimize their use of their kitchen. Folke Nilsson (Tomas Norström) is assigned to study the habits of Isak Bjørvik (Joachim Calmeyer). By the rules of the research institute, Folke has to sit on an umpire's chair in Isak's kitchen and observe him from there, but never talk to him. Isak stops using his kitchen and observes Folke through a hole in the ceiling instead. However, the two lonely men slowly overcome the initial post-war Norwegian-Swede distrust and become friends.

Themes

Loneliness and companionship, Postwar distrust, Efficiency vs intimacy, Cross-cultural tensions, Observation as relationship catalyst, Surveillance in domestic life

Available on

SF Anytime
TV 2 Play
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Laurel Canyon

366. Laurel Canyon

Drama Romance Relationship Drama Passionate Romance
6.4

20031h 43min

United States

Director: Lisa Cholodenko

Overview

When an uptight young man and his fiancée move into his libertine mother's house, the resulting clash of life attitudes shakes everyone up.

Themes

Family boundary tensions, Romance vs ambition, Monogamy under pressure, Generational freedom, Class mobility pressure, Creative life intrusion

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Facing Windows

367. Facing Windows

Drama Romance Relationship Drama Bittersweet Romance
7.2

20031h 46min

United Kingdom, Italy

Director: Ferzan Özpetek

Overview

Overburdened and stuck in a greying marriage, Giovanna takes to caring for a Jewish Holocaust survivor her husband brings home. As she begins to reflect on her life, she turns to the man who lives across from her.

Themes

Caregiving under strain, Duty vs desire, Memory vs forgetting, Past relationships resurfacing, Family stability and change, Intimate tension vs responsibility

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

All the Real Girls

368. All the Real Girls

Drama Romance Passionate Romance Relationship Drama
6.7

20031h 48min

United States

Director: David Gordon Green

Overview

In a sleepy little mill town in North Carolina, Paul is the town Romeo. But when his best friend's sister returns home from boarding school, he finds himself falling for her innocent charm. In spite of her lack of experience and the violent protests of her brother, the two find themselves in a sweet, dreamy and all-consuming love.

Themes

Virginity and trust, Reputation vs commitment, Small-town romance expectations, Past trauma and scars, Rumors and social pressure, Moving on after heartbreak

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Spun

369. Spun

Crime Drama Comedy Narcotics Crime Relationship Drama
6.7

20031h 41min

United States

Director: Jonas Åkerlund

Overview

Over the course of three days Ross, a college dropout addicted to crystal-meth, encounters a variety of oddball folks - including a stripper named Nikki and her boyfriend, the local meth producer, The Cook - but all he really wants to do is hook up with his old girlfriend, Amy.

Themes

Surveillance and manipulation, Addiction driven crime, Drug trade under pressure, Deception within networks, Law enforcement improvisation, Unstable relationships under strain

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Hulu
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Classic

370. The Classic

Drama Romance Passionate Romance Relationship Drama
7.7

20032h 13min

South Korea

Director: Kwak Jae-yong

Overview

Ji-hae's friend is having problems expressing her feelings to the boy she loves, so she asks Ji-hae to write e-mails to him in her name. As the boy falls in love with her letters, Ji-hae discovers the story of her mother's romance which is remarkably similar to her own circumstances.

Themes

Duty vs desire, Love letter, Love at first sight, Impossible love, Bittersweet memory, Necklace symbolism