One of the most tried and true genres in the medium of film that has continuously proven itself to be home to some of the most acclaimed and emotional films of all time is romance. Whether it be a simple romantic comedy that blends the emotions of love with comedic hijinks, like You’ve Got Mail, or a grounded romantic drama that delves into deeper themes of connection and bonding, like Love Story, the romance genre always finds a way to leave a compounding impact on audiences worldwide.
The 2020s as a decade have been no stranger to having an exceptional selection of exciting and powerful original romance films that have captivated critics and audiences with their stories of love and connection. From beloved critical darlings that would go on to win Academy Awards to fan-favorite experiences from the latest streaming services, the wide swath of content released in the modern film industry has resulted in an array of brilliantly well-crafted romance films.
10 ‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’ (2022)
Directed by Sophie Hyde
One of the biggest criticisms of Hollywood romantic comedies has been their unending focus on only young, attractive stars, especially young ingenues, with little to no stories featuring older women. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande goes out of its way to challenge and deconstruct this trend, telling a comedic story of sex positivity and the generational differences in romance through the lens of an older woman and a young male sex worker.
The film follows retired schoolteacher Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson) who, after a lifetime of never having good sex, decides to experience everything that she’s missed with young, mysterious sex worker Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack). Leo Grande takes a more layered and dynamic approach to the topic of sex, attempting to bring down the taboo that has shackled the concept for so many years and giving it the maturity and nuance that it deserves. While it works well enough as a single-location rom-com between an older woman and a younger, attractive man, its core tenets of deconstructing the very notions of sexual relationships made the film a hit among critics and audiences.
9 ‘Palm Springs’ (2020)
Directed by Max Barbakow
The quintessential modern time-loop movie that lives up to the impossible legacy of Groundhog Day, Palm Springs mixes the classic premise with a manic, drunken style of humor. The film follows Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti), who find themselves in a never-ending time loop where they’re forced to relive a Palm Springs wedding. They find themselves exhausting all possibilities before eventually falling for one another while trapped in the endless cycle.
Time-loop films seem to perfectly lend themselves to becoming romances, with love and romance born from repetition and familiarity. Palm Springs handles its concepts and rom-com conventions with a layer of nuance that makes it a deeply original take on the genre, evolving instead of repeating tired clichés. Complete with the signature style of humor that launched Samberg’s career as a modern comedy icon, no wonder Palm Springs became such an immediate fan favorite.
8 ‘Licorice Pizza’ (2021)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Director Paul Thomas Anderson is no stranger when it comes to creating deeply compelling relationship dramas, with Punch-Drunk Love and Phantom Thread two the best of their respective eras. Licorice Pizza is simply another exceptionally romantic journey from the director, following a duo of lovebirds getting into all sorts of trouble and mischief together in the San Fernando Valley in 1973. However, this romance is far from standard, with the massive age gap between the two leading to complications and questions about their friendship turned romance.
Licorice Pizza finds the perfect balance between making its central relationship compelling and sweet while also deeply uncomfortable and unsettling, a strange mismatch that could only be executed by a master like PTA. It’s far from a standard romance story, battling in a constant gray area with the motivations and paths for its leads. Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman are also exceptional, giving two of the best modern performances from up-and-coming stars.
7 ‘Bones and All’ (2022)
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Finding the unexpected beauty and grace within vicious cannibalism, Bones and All blends horror and romance into a sickly powerful story that will warm hearts as much as it will rip them out. The film follows young cannibal Maren (Taylor Russell), who finds herself abandoned by her father after she accidentally attacks another young girl her age. With Maren now traveling the streets on her lonesome, she eventually connects with others like her, even forming a relationship with a young rebel named Lee (Timothée Chalamet).
While it would seem difficult to find heartfelt emotion and passion within a concept as disturbing and terrifying as cannibalism, there is an unexpected charm and raw energy that makes this story of young love work so well. The film also isn’t shy about its apparent queer themes, with the characters hiding away aspects of their true selves from society and only feeling whole when with others like them. Bones and All also features one of the most invigorating and nauseatingly good scores in recent memory, amplifying the romance and the bloodshed.
6 ‘Hit Man’ (2024)
Directed by Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater is behind some of the most acclaimed and beloved romance films of all time, with his legendary Before trilogy a landmark series that redefined what on-screen romance could be. Hit Man certainly leans more into the comedy half of its rom-com premise, but Linklater’s signature directorial style and vision give it an effective eye for romance and passion. The film follows Gary Johnson (Glen Powell), a mild-mannered professor who works on the side as a fake hitman in police stings, who ends up in over his head when he falls for a potential client.
Romantic comedies live and die by the charm and electric screen presence of their leads and their chemistry, and Powell and Adria Arjona knock it out of the park in terms of humor and working off of one another. Linklater has always given life to stories filled with charm, comedy, and romance, with Hit Man fully living up to his iconic filmography. As far as Netflix’s original romantic comedies go, it’s difficult to find an experience more fulfilling and enjoyable than Hit Man.
Watch on Netflix
5 ‘West Side Story’ (2021)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
A modern-day adaptation of the Best Picture-winning musical from one of the greatest directors of all time, West Side Story brilliantly converts the classic story to the modern era in glorious, mesmerizing fashion. Acting as a loose adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set in 1957 New York City, the film follows the continuing struggles and fighting between two city gangs. When two of the youngsters fall in love, the tension between the groups lead to an inevitable tragedy.
West Side Story never needed to rewrite the wheel story-wise, as it’s difficult to mess up an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, so it does an effective enough job at retelling the classic love story. What made the film such a massive hit with critics, however, was the masterful execution of the classic songs, with brilliant cinematic choreography that makes the most out of the medium of film. For Spielberg’s first and only musical, he feels right at home with the genre, blending music and romance to create the best musical of the 2020s.
4 ‘All of Us Strangers’ (2023)
Directed by Andrew Haigh
One of the biggest strengths that romance films can hold is their ability to conjure up deeply emotional moments to evoke genuine pain in viewers; no modern romance drama does it better than All of Us Strangers. The film tells the story of Adam (Andrew Scott), a lonesome man living in a near-empty London apartment complex who finds himself making a genuine connection with one of his few neighbors, Harry (Paul Mescal). At the same time, Adam finds himself dealing with memories of his childhood, leading to him having an unexpected reconnection with his parents, who died in a car crash 30 years ago.
As if coming to terms with one’s role in the world through the guise of a queer relationship wasn’t already moving enough, All of Us Strangers‘s reflection and use of family bonding and grief takes it over the edge as one of the decade’s biggest tearjerkers. These two different plots go hand in hand, adding to each other’s emotional weight and weaving a powerful portrait of the effects of loss, grief, and loneliness, as well as how a true connection can circumvent that.
3 ‘The Worst Person in the World’ (2021)
Directed by Joachim Trier
Love and growing up is a concept that is far from original to American filmmaking; these themes and experiences are universal and timeless. The quintessential foreign language romance of the 2020s so far has easily been The Worst Person in the World, an atypical Norwegian romance film that is as much about self-love as it is about romantic love. The film chronicles four chaotic years through the eyes of Julie, a young woman with a troubled love life that she continuously fails to balance with her career path.
Young love is special; while fleeting and unexceptional in hindsight, it feels like the most important and passionate act at the moment. The Worst Person in the World masterfully crafts a story around the reality of young love. More than simply tackling the exciting highs of love, it becomes a truly special experience thanks to its exploration of the non-glorious aspects of relationships, the self-deprecating failures, and the search for meaning. It makes for a truly exonerating, one-of-a-kind romance experience that makes for a mandatory watch, even for those unaccustomed to international filmmaking.
Watch on Hulu
2 ‘Challengers’ (2024)
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Few romance films have created such a massive buzz in such a short amount of time as Challengers, which made waves off of its exciting young stars and maintained all the hype thanks to its masterful execution. The film follows the decades-long friendship and love triangle between all-star tennis players Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor). The film cycles between periods and perspectives to give all the stakes and context for a long-awaited showdown on the courts between Art and Patrick.
Challengers is complete with all the drama and infighting that can make a high-stakes romance so compelling to watch, but what has made the film such a cultural phenomenon is its undeniable style and flair. Everything about the film, from its energetic score and upbeat pacing to its electrifying performances and stylish cinematography, comes together to amp the audience up and keep them on their toes, always second-guessing as to where it will go. Despite coming out only a short few months ago, Challengers is an instant classic and one of the decade’s defining romance films.
Watch on MGM+
1 ‘Past Lives’ (2023)
Directed by Celine Song
A fact of love is that, no matter who it happened to or how long ago, the feelings of care and undying affection for another person simply don’t go away. Past Lives fully explores this concept, taking it to its emotional extremes and providing one of the most layered and poignant portrayals of reconnecting with a former love in film history. The film follows two childhood friends, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), who find themselves reuniting in New York confronting their past feelings and the choices that led to their current lives.
Love has become such a common and largely commoditized aspect of daily life that it becomes easy to forget the impact and everlasting imprint it leaves on a person, even decades later and even after falling in love again. Past Lives is one of the few films that deeply explores this concept, not just on a surface level but with a respectful and powerful message about the undying aspects of love, destiny, and letting go. The film will only be more and more acclaimed as the decade continues, already in conversation as not just the decade’s best romance but one of the decade’s best films, period.
