4 Romantic Movies That Do Not Look Like Romantic Movies

It's Valentine's Day, and whilst couples around the globe (looking at you, Timbuktu) take advantage of the numerous gifts and treats they've prepared for their significant others, let us spare a thought for the numerous romantic movies that often get overlooked on this significant holiday. Why? Because love stories come in all shapes and sizes, and yet, as couples embrace together on their sofa tonight, ready for a flick, films that are obviously romances, or at least rom-coms, get first pick. So, this article is championing the little guy...

1) Scott Pilgrim vs The World

For all of you couples out there who have even a passing interest in retro video games, pop culture, or Edgar Wright, Scott Pilgrim vs The World is for you. While the film's aesthetics are very much a love letter to anyone familiar with "nerd" culture, the actual story is part love triangle, part coming-of-age, part awesome. Scott is relatively content with his much younger girlfriend, Knives, as she seemingly worships him and his band Sex Bob-omb. But Scott soon finds himself smitten with the mysterious Ramona Flowers, and struggles to find a way to woo her whilst letting Knives down gently.

Pretty typical stuff, right? Well, WHAM! Ramona comes with a serious level of baggage that Scott tries to comprehend. For if he is to date her, Scott must do battle with Ramona's Seven Evil Ex-Lovers. As he overcomes these seemingly superior men (and one girl)  one by one, Scott learns more and more about the girl he's sacrificing everything for, and what makes her so guarded in the first place. All the while, Knives is on a serious vendetta, constantly at Scott's heels. By the end, Scott has literally gained the power of self-respect, and is able to take down Gideon, Ramona's Final Ex, and Scott, Ramona and Knives are finally able to come to a peaceful resolution. Touching, yet awesome, stuff.

2) Groundhog Day

Pretty much every person you ask will have a different response to the question "What would you do if you kept living the same day over and over again?", and I'd wager that about 90% of those answers get covered by Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Cynical  Weatherman, Phil Connors, basically goes through every perceivable reaction, emotion and situation that can possibly arise within the confines of a single, repeating day. It's a terrific character study, as well as entertaining one of the most fascinating "What if?" scenarios in history. But here's the part where half of you will applaud and the other half will roll your eyes - Love is what sets him free.

Over the course of the movie, Phil's attempts to impress his producer, Rita, show the progression of a man who comes to understand the value of love. After initially failing, Phil resorts to various forms of manipulation, staging events to make himself appear desirable to her, but, of course, that only gets him so far. Phil comes clean to Rita about his situation in a moment of desperation, and the truth prompts them to spend the night together... only for Phil to wake up on the same day again. From this point, Phil makes a conscious effort to make himself a better person, and someone truly deserving of Rita's love, which, in turn, allows him to break the time loop. Now if that isn't romantic, I don't know what is...

3) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Ok, perhaps this one is a little bit of an anomaly on this list. If you were to look at the DVD box art / poster for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (and ignore the baffling title), you would probably assume that this was a romantic film - Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey lying next to each other in the snow. But then, such is the genius of Charlie Kaufman that he can turn a concept of "a dude getting part of his memory erased" into one of the most beautiful love stories ever committed to film. Yeah, it's light Sci-Fi, and gets pretty damn trippy in a few places, but the real strength lies in who and what the film is actually about.

Joel Barish is utterly devastated to learn that his ex-girlfriend, Clementine, underwent a new, experimental procedure to erase their relationship from her memory. In his pain, Joel decides to do the same, unable to live with the hurt that his memories are causing. However, as he sees Clementine slip away in front of his very eyes, he realises that he still is very much in love, and desperately tries to hold on to the good memories before they're taken from him. Yes, the story is pretty heartbreaking, and the performances of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet alone more than sell their relationship. All in all, it's a powerful reminder that just because something good came to an end, doesn't mean that it isn't good any more.

4) Drive

In my mind, there's no way I could have done this list without Drive. Whilst Nicolas Winding Refn's view of what constitutes "romance" may be slightly different from what everyone else would typically cite, there's no denying that the chemistry between Irene, played by Carey Mulligan, and the Driver, played by Ryan Gosling, is absolutely there on screen for all to see. Most scenes go by with the two of them literally just staring at one another, but nothing really needs to be said. The moment is there, and words will only ruin it. When the mysterious Driver, part Hollywood stuntman, part garage mechanic, part getaway driver, meets and falls for his neighbour, we fall for her too.

But, of course, it's a romance that can never be. Irene is raising her child, Benicio, alone, whilst her husband, Standard, is in prison. The Driver cares for Irene and Benicio, filling a void in both of their lives. However, the Driver's dangerous work catches up with him, and when Standard is released from prison, his relationship with Irene suddenly becomes nothing more than a distant hope. Making it all the more heartbreaking is the fact that Irene has been faithful to Standard, and the Driver has been respectful enough to not instigate anything beyond their extended, longing stares. But it all leads to one incredible scene in an elevator, which I literally don't have the heart to spoil for you, but all I'll say is that work and pleasure rarely mix well...

James Cottle, after studying Scriptwriting for 4 years, is now an embittered real life freelance writer, and seeks to unlearn everything he knows. But he needs your help... Follow him on Twitter @Jxmxsc and share this blog to help spread his anarchic plight for reform amongst the writing masses.