Rather than celebrate films that perpetuate the over-commercialized and much too ubiquitous fantasies of flowers, Cole Porter songs, and just-under-the-wire admissons of true love that are associated with today's holiday, why don't we call attention to the movies that present love as dark, sordid, unsatisfying, unsuccessful, and/or doomed? Examples?
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Notes on a Scandal -- See Michele's post below for why! (PM)
Vertigo -- Nothing says "I love you" like murder, fetishism and vouyeristic obsession. (PM)
The Locket -- "Check" (PM)
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover -- nothing says "love" like gluttony, cannibalism and arch political allegory! (DO)
The War of the Roses -- with the far too underquoted line, "Now I'm going to go piss on the fish." (DO)
Closer --"What's so great about the truth? The truth hurts people--try lying for a change." Nobody wins in this dark look at relationships. (LW)
Match Point -- "I'd rather be lucky than good." Love is either obsession or means to social status in this nod to Dreiser and Dostoevsky. (LW)
The Bridges of Madison County-- just open the car door, Meryl! (MS)
Splendor in the Grass -- sexual frustration = nervous breakdown (MS)
The Night Porter -- Charlotte Rampling, S&M, and Nazis…need I say more? (MS)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? -- Oh ya, now here's a movie that says "It's snuggle up on the sofa time" ... (PM)
Audition -- Because May-September romances are never truly fulfilling until she cuts your feet off.
Now Voyager -- The stars?...um, not quite as satisfying as the moon. (MS)
Rebecca -- Unrequited workplace romances will inevitably result in the burning of cavernous English estates. (MS)
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Darn you, RD! I was coming to post this thread. That's what I get for sleeping late....
How about:
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover -- nothing says "love" like gluttony, cannibalism and arch political allegory!
The War of the Roses -- with the far too underquoted line, "Now I'm going to go piss on the fish."
My two nominations for the anti-Valentine's Day movies are:
Closer "What's so great about the truth? The truth hurts people--try lying for a change." Nobody wins in this dark look at relationships.
Match Point "I'd rather be lucky than good." Love is either obsession or means to social status in this nod to Dreiser and Dostoevsky.
The post was actually Michele's. For some reason when I went in to add my titles to the post itself it changed the authorship of the post. I didn't think it would do that.
Okay, so I made an executive decision and (as RD) moved all of the movies to the home page to establish consistency and to ensure a greater impact.
Thought I'd pitch my two cents.
How's about a serving of "Terms of Endearment" followed with a course of "Crimes of Passion?"
I think Valentine's day becomes very disapointing as one grows older because one realizes that it never really gets any better than pasing out the Valentines to all the other kids in your fith grade class. And of course being assured of a certain quantity of Valentines for oneself--replete with candy hearts--is always sweet.
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