griggs's - ReelRomance 2025: Ranked List

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In a vast and opulent hotel, an unnamed man (Giorgio Albertazzi) attempts to persuade a similarly unnamed married woman (Delphine Seyrig) that they have not only met before, but they were also romantically involved and had planned to escape together.

The woman recalls no such encounter and so begins a sensual and philosophical examination into the uncertainty of truth.

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Jackie (Karen Sillas) and Michael (Tom Noonan, Manhunter, also writer-director) are co-workers at a New York law firm who, after months of flirtation, agree to meet for a 'first date' at Jackie's apartment.

Their initially charged and playful interactions eventually evolve into a long, dark night of the soul, as the two would-be lovers get to know each other properly for the first time, and discover that all may not be as it seems. Winner of the Sundance Festival Jury Prize in 1994, 'What Happened Was...'is a landmark work of American independent cinema anchored around two stunning performances, presenting an often hilarious, often bleak, but always excoriatingly honest exploration of dating in the big city.

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Is there love after death? Acerbic everyman Albert Brooks finds a perfect balance between satirical bite and romantic comedy charm as the writer, director, and star of this wonderfully warm and imaginative existential fantasy.

After he dies suddenly, the hapless advertising executive Daniel Miller (Brooks) finds himself in Judgment City, a gleaming way station where the newly deceased must prove they lived a life of sufficient courage to advance in their journey through the universe. As the self-doubting Daniel struggles to make his case, a budding relationship with the uninhibited Julia (Meryl Streep) offers him a chance to finally feel alive. Buoyed by a pitch-perfect supporting cast that includes Rip Torn, Lee Grant, and Buck Henry, 'Defending Your Life' is a rare feat of personal, philosophical filmmaking that happens to also be divinely entertaining.

Two-time Academy Award winner Renée Zellweger returns to the role that established a romantic-comedy heroine for the ages, a woman whose inimitable approach to life and love redefined an entire film genre.

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On October 12th, 1978, Nancy Spungen was found stabbed to death in a bathroom at the Chelsea Hotel, New York. Her lover Sid Vicious, bassist for punk rock legends The Sex Pistols, was immediately arrested for her murder, and died of a drugs overdose whilst awaiting trial.

Alex Cox's seminal film takes us on a darkly humorous, visually stunning journey that begins with Sid and Nancy's initial meeting during the rise of British Punk during the late seventies and follows their decline into nightmarish, drug induced squalor in New York City. Visceral, unflinching and ultimately tragic, this is the dark side of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. Love kills.

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Tarkovsky's unforgettably haunting film, his first to be made outside Russia, explores the melancholy of the expatriate through the film's protagonist, Gorchakov, a Russian poet researching in Italy.

Arriving at a Tuscan village spa with Eugenia, his beautiful Italian interpreter, Gorchakov is visited by memories of Russia and of his wife and children, and he encounters the local mystic, who sets him a challenging task. The film is filled with a series of mysterious and extraordinary images, all of which coalesce into a miraculous whole in the film's final shot. As in all Tarkovsky's films, nature, the elements of fire and water, music, painting and poetry all play a major role.

Blue Valentine is a true love story flooded with romantic memories of the courtship between Dean and Cindy. The tale is told in past and present as they recall the episodes that brought them together.

One boy must fight to save his mother from the advances of a mystic and simultaneously lure his pyromaniac girlfriend into the bedroom, armed with only a wide vocabulary and near-total self-belief. His name is Oliver Tate.

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Single, attractive Isabelle ("Izzy") Grossman has a rent-controlled uptown apartment and a blooming career in publishing. She also has Bubbie, a tradition-minded grandmother who's hired a matchmaker to find a husband for Izzy.

There's already a prospect: the corner pickle seller?!? Amy Irving as Izzy is the radiant center of this witty charmer, and her co-stars strike comic sparks galore as old-world ways rub against new-world woes: Peter Riegert as the pickle man, Jeroen Krabbe as his rival and Sylvia Miles as the matchmaker. A veteran stage performer, 74-year-old Reizl Bozyk is an ideal Bubbie, blithely snapping off one-liners and stealing scenes in "a joy of a comedy".

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Our story begins in the picturesque surroundings of Barcelona where two American girls are about to find out that they have a lot more in common than they first anticipated. Vicky is a practical, studious and engaged.

Cristina on the other hand is reckless, adventurous and recovering from a failed relationship. Both of them are about to have their worlds turned upside down by an infamous, bohemian artist called Juan and his psychotic ex-wife.

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In order to obtain funds for her research, Alma (Maren Eggert) is persuaded to participate in an extraordinary study. For three weeks she is required to live with Tom (Dan Stevens), a humanoid robot designed to be the perfect life partner for her, tailored to her character and needs.

'I'm Your Man' is a playful romance about relationships, love, and what it means to be human in the modern age.

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The five Bennet sisters have all been raised by their mother with one purpose in life - finding a husband. However, the second eldest Lizzie can think of 100 reasons not to marry.

When Mrs Bennet hears the exciting news that a wealthy bachelor and his circle of sophisticated friends are to take up summer residence in a nearby mansion the Bennets are abuzz with the hope that potential suitors will be in full supply. Obligingly, the newcomer, Mr Charles Bingley, is immediately taken with the eldest Jane. However, when Lizzie meets up with the darkly handsome and snobbish Mr Darcy, what seems like a match made in heaven quickly becomes divided by pride and prejudice. Can they get past this and can Lizzie finally find a reason to marry?

Although each is engaged to someone else, Nickie (Cary Grant) and Terry (Deborah Kerr) meet aboard an ocean liner and fall deeply in love. They agree to rendezvous six months later atop the Empire State Building, but tragedy strikes...and the lovers' future takes an emotional and uncertain turn.