Sometimes, it’s the tragic love stories that are the most romantic. When the relationship has to end for an uncontrollable reason, there’s no chance of the romance going sour in the future. It stays perfectly preserved in memory. Tragic romances can be traced back as far as our stories go. There’s a reason Romeo and Juliet is so timeless: we can’t help but fall for a doomed romance. With no time for one person to cheat or the spark to wither away, a short-lived relationship can be the most satisfying to watch on screen.
That’s why the right person, wrong time trope is a favorite for many movie lovers. You get to watch a perfect connection blossom and grow until the pair is forced apart by circumstance rather than betrayal or a mistake. The heartache that ensues may be painful, but it’s also enjoyable, like watching a scary movie in the safety of your own home. There are endless versions of this kind of story — for a good reason. So, if you’re looking to feel that thrilling heartache, here are 11 romance movies with the right person, wrong time trope for your viewing pleasure. However, be warned there will be mild spoilers because they wouldn’t be on this list if they weren’t tragic.
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11 Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Sony Pictures Classics
Luca Guadagnino’s movie, and Timothee Chalamet’s breakout moment: Call Me By Your Name. He played Elio, who is coming of age, coming to terms with his sexuality, and falling in love. When a graduate student comes to stay with his family over the summer, it unearths strong feelings of desire within him, and the two slowly fall in love. The end of summer on the horizon hovers over their relationship as both know it must end in a matter of weeks. Even though the characters, and the audience, know the end is coming, it doesn’t make it any less tragic. Chalamet’s portrayal of heartbreak in the final scene is deeply affecting, and it’s not surprising he ended up where he is today.
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10 Casablanca (1942)
Warner Bros.
The iconic Casablanca is a perfect example of the right person, wrong time trope. Starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman as Rick and Ilsa with incredible chemistry. We find Rick, who has just come into possession of letters that will allow anyone to travel freely around Nazi-occupied Europe, running a café in Casablanca. Ilsa soon enters, with her husband in tow, and asks for the letters. Later, we learn that Rick and Ilsa had fallen in love in Paris previously when Ilsa believed her husband to be dead. Despite their admitted love for each other, it is impossible, and unsafe, for them to try and stay together. The final moments of the movie are painfully romantic and would be less so had they stayed together.
9 Before Sunrise (1995)
Columbia Pictures
Before Sunrise takes place over the course of a single day. The two characters, Celine and Jesse, meet on a train and decide to spend a night exploring Vienna together. Without much of an explicit plot, the movie revolves around the pair’s conversations and deepening connection. There is such palpable chemistry between them that it’s easy to forget they just met and will soon part again. As with many of these movies, the looming presence of their inevitable parting means that the connection they form is even more impactful. It’s clear that these two people are destined for a relationship, so the fact that they only have a mere day together is heart-wrenching.
8 La La Land (2016)
Lionsgate
Somehow, La La Land manages to be simultaneously devastating and heart-warming. The central pair, Mia and Sebastian, get off to a rocky start but once they realize they’re in love, they’re in deep. Both have big dreams, and they just can’t seem to make both of those happen at the same time. Inevitably, things take a turn for the worse, and it becomes clear that they can’t stay together. La La Land’s director, Damien Chazelle, said to CNN, “I think there’s a reason why most of the greatest love stories in history don’t end with happily ever after,” elaborating that the “love has to be bigger than the characters.” The movie’s final sequence packs a punch, with its beautiful imagining of the relationship that could have been. This visualizes the notion that these relationships remain idyllic in memory and imagination after they’re over.
7 Chungking Express (1994)
Ocean Shores Video
Chungking Express tells two stories about different Hong Kong policemen falling in love. We find both cops heartbroken when they meet new, mysterious women. The connections they make are fleeting, but deep, and cannot last for different reasons. Shot and edited in an energetic, intoxicating way, Chungking Express draws you in just like the two main characters are pulled to their relationships. It’s a bittersweet movie because the romances help their characters improve themselves, or get over heartbreak. However, the significance these relationships hold means that when they come to an abrupt end, it’s more painful. With ambiguous endings to both stories, this is one of the more hopeful movies on the list.
6 The Age of Innocence (1993)
Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence is based on the novel by Edith Wharton. It finds Daniel Day-Lewis as Newland in 1870s New York, falling in love with his fiancée’s cousin, Ellen. From the set-up alone, it’s clear that their love can never be fulfilled. The period setting is perfect for this kind of story. It means the romantic tension is even higher, with just the touch of a hand feeling electric. Additionally, Ellen’s ostracization from society as a result of her impending divorce makes the attention and kindness she receives from Newland even more impactful. Scorsese famously said that this was his most violent film (via Vulture) despite not featuring any real action. This goes to show how affecting both romance and cruelty can be when their depictions are restrained.
5 Atonement (2007)
Universal Pictures
Although Atonement is not purely a romance movie, there is a focus on the relationship between Keira Knightley’s Cecilia and James McAvoy’s Robbie. When Cecilia’s younger sister falsely accuses Robbie of a crime, the trajectory of their relationship changes forever. The two manage to confess their love for one another before Robbie is shipped off to fight in World War II. We see moments of their peaceful life together once Robbie returns from the war, but these are later overshadowed by the revelation that, in reality, Robbie died before he could come home. This imagined world where the two could be together mirrors La La Land’s epilogue montage.
4 Lovesong (2018)
Strand Releasing
In a subtly done, but richly emotional movie, Lovesong finds two best friends, Sarah and Mindy, going on a road trip when Sarah’s husband is away on business. As the trip progresses, so does their relationship, moving from mere friendship to something more. However, as so often happens, their wires get crossed and the trip is cut short. After that, the two don’t speak for a few years until Mindy is getting married and invites Sarah to her wedding. What follows makes it achingly clear that the two would have had a beautiful relationship had things worked out differently, but it simply wasn’t the right time.
3 Brief Encounter (1945)
By chance, two married strangers, Laura and Alec, meet in a café at a railway station. After this Brief Encounter, they continue to meet every Thursday, knowing that their love is impossible. Similarly to Before Sunrise, this plot may seem lacking in any real action, but the performances display such intense yet repressed emotion that it leaves the audience hanging on every word. Although the love between Laura and Alec can never go further than a meeting in a café, this movie remains one of the most passionate and evocative love stories that we have. The fact that they are both so fastidious in their morals makes you root for them to be together even more.
2 In the Mood for Love (2000)
Block 2 Pictures
Another story of two married people finding solace and connection in one another. In the Mood for Love features neighbors who bond over suspecting their spouses of having affairs. Because they don’t want to repeat the same offenses, they agree to keep their relationship platonic. What follows is tender, romantic, and beautiful. The intensity of the romance depicted is mirrored in the vivid and bold color scheme of the movie. Building this level of chemistry without following the typical structure of a romance is impressive. As a result of this extra work put in by director Wong Kar-Wai and the rest of the cast and crew, the connection portrayed is even more impactful than a successful, happy-ending relationship.
1 Beginners (2010)
Focus Features
Beginners is the charming story of a man, Oliver, whose father comes out as gay after the death of his mother. This newfound perspective on his parents’ distant marriage and unfulfilled emotional lives drives him to break out of his shell and pursue love. He meets Anna, and the two begin a relationship that develops faster than either can handle when they move in together too soon. Beginners is carefully observed, with subtle detail that builds a realistic, but lovable portrait of a life. Its ending is on the hopeful side, but it doesn’t dare venture into happily-ever-after territory, which would risk shattering the nuanced and realistic romance it so carefully built.
