Top Ten Movie Couples

As every other commercial on TV reminds us, Valentine's Day is right around the corner.  While I'm not a particular fan of the holiday, I am, if nothing else, a hopeless romantic, and many of my favorite movies center on a crazy little thing called "love."  Whether you have a sweetheart or not, why not bundle up and watch one of the following movies, featuring my favorite couples in film history?  (If you're watching alone, consider buying one of those corny candy boxes and stuffing your face while crying through the climactic scenes.)

1. WALL-E and EVE, WALL-E

My top pick shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me.  Since it released a few years ago, WALL-E has held an unshakable place in my heart; I consider it my favorite movie of all time.  The film is great for many reasons - the brilliant use of silence, Thomas Newman's soaring score, the hilarious characters - but the film is most successful because of the romance between its two main characters, a lonely trash compactor with a possibly unhealthy Hello, Dolly! obsession and a sleek probe looking for signs of life on an abandoned Earth.

WALL-E's utter awe at EVE's stunning design and flying prowess are adorable, but not as heart-melting as when EVE first says his name, which makes him shutter with pure joy.  WALL-E's ultimate goal, holding EVE's hand, is so innocent, so genuine, that it's impossible not to root for him as he dedicates himself to staying by EVE's side, even when she shuts down and is whisked away into the furthest reaches of space.  It's a journey to the stars and back, yet WALL-E (the character as well as the film as a whole) remains firmly grounded by the focus of his love.

2. Joel and Clementine (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine has been lauded by some as a pinnacle of romantic comedy, which is a strange generic classification, indeed.  The film is certainly romantic and comedic, but it transcends the generally simple rom-com tradition by rooting its narrative in loss: first of memory, then of the reality contained within those memories.  It's a thrilling and chilling technology that motivates Charlie Kaufman's magnificent (and Oscar-winning) screenplay, and Michel Gondry's signature visual flair adds the right touches of drama and magic to the proceedings.

Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are at their best as Joel and Clementine, former lovers who decide to erase each other from their memories, as their relationship has crumbled from their goofy initial meeting and now seems beyond the point of repair.  As Joel experiences the erasure, however, he ironically remembers why he loved Clementine in the first place, and it's easy to understand his mad scrambling to save her in some hidden corner of his mind.  The film's conclusion is sad at first glance, but upon further thinking, one realizes how hopeful a note it really is.  Even knowing the possibility of failure, Joel and Clementine decide to give it another go, thus demonstrating an essential element of love.

3. Christian and Satine (Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman), Moulin Rouge!

Baz Luhrmann's delirious spectacular spectacular has been criticized for being overly energetic, too colorful, or confusedly busy.  That energy, color, and business, however, actually serve to demonstrate the heightened reality that comes with being in love, and makes the quieter, more intimate moments between Christian and Satine that much more meaningful.  Even in the shining glamour of the theater, there's a simpler reality that revolves around their secretly blossoming relationship.  The elaborate show being staged, on the other hand, represents what a grand epic their love might be were they not required to hide their affair from that dastardly Duke.

Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman have electrifying chemistry.  Christian comes to Paris full of ridiculous ideas about how wonderful love, and thus life, can be, and is surprised when Satine seems to realize all these dreams and more.  After a wonderfully awkward first encounter, Christian bursts into song, and Satine (not to mention the audience) falls in love with him.  When they duet with the unforgettable Elephant Love Medley and later with the musical soul of the film, Come What May, the chemistry becomes audibly apparent in the gorgeous harmonies and charming flirtations.  It's musical nirvana, and by the film's tragic conclusion, the audience feels safe is claiming the film's mantra as its own: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."

4. Rick and Ilsa (Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman), Casablanca

No romantic movie list would be complete without the requisite classic romance, Casablanca.  The film is perhaps the most quotable of all time, and the oddly melancholy "As Time Goes By" is in a class of its own when it comes to cinematic songs.  Rick and Ilsa's romance is anything but easy, plagued as it is by war, their history, and one Victor Laszlo, Ilsa's husband.  As the three points of the love triangle angle for the documents required to flee the country to safety, Rick proves himself to be one of the most genuine lovers in film history: though he has the opportunity to leave the country with Ilsa, he puts her first by putting her on a plane with Laszlo.

The only happiness in Rick and Ilsa's relationship we as an audience are treated to is in the form of flashbacks to happier times in Paris, but they serve as only a brief respite from the desperate situation the lovers find themselves in.  Still, Rick and Ilsa know that they'll always have Paris (one of the film's most famous lines), and thank God it's so: it means we'll always have this heart-breaking, beautiful masterpiece, truly one of the greatest films ever made.

5. Edward and Sandra Bloom (Ewan Mcgregor/Albert Finney and Alison Lohman/Jessica Lange), Big Fish

One of Tim Burton's finest hours is also one of his least Burton-ish.  While there is plenty of whimsy to go around, Big Fish mainly stays in the realm of the happily weird and colorful, only occasionally dipping into the dark expressionistic flair for which Burton is known.  The film's most magical moments come when recounting Edward Bloom's courtship of the love of his life and eventual-wife Sandra, who he first glimpses at a circus.

In a truly singular moment, young Edward spots Sandra across a bustling circus tent, and as his narration explains, when you see the love of your life, time stands still.  Sure enough, all the varied action comes to a standstill, allowing Edward through the now-statues, stepping through hoops and sweeping frozen popcorn kernels out of the air.  When time speeds up to resume its normal schedule, she's gone, but Edward is smitten, so smitten that he starts working at the circus, accepting weekly facts about the mysterious girl as payment, each fact a treasure that he savors upon learning.

When he finally learns her name and location, Edward pulls one of the grandest gestures ever captured on film.  Knowing her favorite flower is the daffodil, Ed fills the field outside her room with the dainty yellow blooms, demonstrating the scale of his love, not surprising considering what a big fish he really is.  In a film comprised of tall tales, none looms larger than the love Edward and Sandra share, a love that carries him through life and into old age, even unto his final emotional journey.

6. Nickie Farante and Terry McKay (Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr), An Affair to Remember                                                                                                     
One of cinema's romantic classics, An Affair to Remember has had a very obvious, even ostentatious influence on subsequent romances, most notably Sleepless in Seattle, which borrows the film's conceit and musical cues.  However, few romances measure up to the fateful relationship shared by playboy Nickie Farante and the musical Terry McKay, each of whom is betrothed to someone else when they meet aboard a cruise across the Atlantic.  The attraction is too much to deny, so the lovers make plans to meet atop the Empire State Building in six months' time.  Should one of them not show up, they know that the feelings were ephemeral, perhaps lost at sea (or relatively close to sea, at least).

Of course, such a tidy plan can't be realized smoothly, and fate intervenes, preventing the appointment that both intend to keep.  Shame and hurt feelings ensue, leading to a passive meeting and, in the end, a terribly moving reunion when Nickie finally understands why he was left waiting alone at the top of the iconic new York monolith.  The film suggests that what is meant to be will be, even if it doesn't adhere to our plans.

7. Tom Hansen and Summer Finn (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel), (500) Days of Summer                                                                           
Marc Webb's directorial debut plays like a modern day Annie Hall, a sort of greatest hits album for a young, attractive couple trying to find love in one of the greatest cities in the world.  Though Tom and Summer don't find their happy ending (as Richard McGonagle's rumbling narration warns us: "This is not a love story), their relationship represents a refreshingly honest look at love, a return to Woody Allen's radical take on the romantic comedy genre.  The film plays with the audience, ironically raising their expectations even while clearly stating what will come to be, and by doing so, the film takes on a genre and the unrealistic visions of love so many people take away from it.

That's not to say that the film is a depressing affair.  While it delves into the darker aspects of love - jealousy, differing levels of commitment, and the post-breakup slump - the film also celebrates the highest highs of love with exaggerated, but so relatable, passion.  After bedding the girl of his dreams, Tom's life becomes a big dance number in the vein of Hollywood's most raucous musicals, with passers-by joining in to congratulate him on his happiness.  Tom is every one of us when we're in love, and seeing the world through his rose-tinted vision feels familiar, even comfortable.  It's a joy to be along for the roller coaster ride of Summer.                                                                              
Even when, after the masterful split-screen party scene, our hopes are dashed along with Tom's, the film demonstrates that it's not a sad day for the couple we were all rooting for and now know will never be together.  In the final bench meeting (side note: I sat on the bench while I was in LA, and my butt cried tears of joy at the proximity), Tom and Summer each concede that the other was right, and the audience realizes: Summer isn't the cold, heartless bitch some paint her, and Tom's starry-eyed romanticism isn't healthy, even if it is fun.  Love exists somewhere in between, and must be found in the good and the bad, the easy and the hard, the dancing and the karaoke.  It's not a happy ending in the usual cinematic application of the word, but it certainly shares a truth that we should all be glad for.

8. Peter Warne and Ellie Andrews (Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert), It Happened One Night 
                                                                       

For all intents and purposes, this Oscar-winning Frank Capra film created the romantic comedy genre, and in many ways, it has never been surpassed.  One of the few films to win the five "big" Oscars, It Happened One Night is just as fresh and funny today as it was in 1934, perhaps even more so when compared to the romcom dreck that tends to populate contemporary theaters.

The film establishes many of the tropes that have come to define the genre, such as comical violence, fast-paced repartee, and an underlying sexuality that still sizzles.  The film follows unhappy heiress Ellie as she runs away from her father to consummate her marriage to King Westley.  Ellie meets wily newspaperman Peter aboard the bus, and an unlikely partnership ensues.  Posing as husband and wife, spending a night under the stars, and generally providing for each other in unexpected ways, Peter and Ellie come to fondly regard one another, leading to the establishment of yet another trope that, today, is tired, but in its day was fresh and exciting: the runaway bride.

The famous falling of the "Walls of Jericho" at the film's end remains one of the romantic genre's iconic images, and serves as a humorous ending to a hilarious journey; it plays like an inside joke between the lovers and a very lucky audience.

9. Tom and Izzi (Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz), The Fountain                                                                                         
Darren Aronofsky's recent work has been showered with praise, but his most interesting project (and by my estimation, his best) was met with mixed reviews at best.  The Fountain is a tale of love unfettered by time, stretching beyond death and even unto a sort of mythical afterlife where literature and space travel combine to give a mourning husband meaning after he fails to cure his wife's cancer.  So, it's your basic love story.

It may sound like a wild mess, but The Fountain retains a tight focus on the central romance between Tom and Izzi, which takes on three iterations: a conquistador searching for the Fountain of Youth for the Queen of Spain, a modern day veterinarian trying to cure his wife's cancer, and a bald monk-esque space traveler flying through the galaxy in a giant bubble accompanied by a tree and phantoms of the Queen and the wife.  Yes, it's an undeniably weird film, but the way the characters provide for each other, protect each other, and fight for each other is beautiful and quintessentially rooted in their love for each other.

Though Tom's crusade for his wife's sake is an obvious example of the love shared by the couple, Izzi, even in her ever-weakening state, provides for her husband, too, whether it's by sharing hopeful beliefs about death (such as it being "the road to awe) and providing him with a project to occupy him after her passing: finishing her book, which chronicles the conquistador's quest.  The words "Finish it" haunt Tom and he travels through space to Xibalba, and his efforts to complete Izzi's dying request becomes symbolic of Tom's desire to overcome death itself.  His dedication and love are boundless, and even beyond the grave, Izzi somehow reciprocates Tom's devotion, carrying him to the breath-taking arrival at Xibalba.

10. Tom and Gerri (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen), Another Year                                                                                     
The most recent entry on this list may also be the most surprising: unlike the other couples I've included here, Tom and Gerri have no sort of dramatic arc to their relationship as recorded in Mike Leigh's charming slice-of-British-life.  Their relationship, in its advanced stage of happy matrimony, has no sort of narrative motivation or spot of conflict.  They're content, still very much in love, and a source of comfort and stability for those around them, such as Gerri's manic co-worker Mary.

It's this very state of easy bliss that makes Tom and Gerri such a remarkable film couple.  Very rarely (perhaps never before) has a film centered on a happily married couple.  Most romances find their stories in the hardships that lovers face in finding one another, the undesirable others, the ups and downs of establishing a relationship, or the difficulty in realizing that "this is it."  So many films end in marriage, a promise of bliss, but few films show what happens after (Blue Valentine demonstrates why).  That's why it's so refreshing to spend time with Tom and Gerri: perhaps they, too, had a troubled, dramatic courtship, but after the credits rolled on that more typically cinematic story, they found a real sense of happiness, deeply established in a real affection that is renewed each day.  It's the sort of love each of us hopes to find, though we rarely get to see it on the big screen.  It's the sort of love that might seem "too boring" to command our attention, but I, for one, couldn't look away.


Another Year can be found in select theaters, and all the other films are available on DVD.  A big "sorry" to all those who were hoping Man and Woman from Antichrist would make the list.  They come in at a very close #11.  Happy Valentine's Day to those who care to celebrate, and happy romances to everyone else!