Romancestories have been around since the beginning of storytelling. The first ever traditional romance novel dates back to 1740 with Samuel Richardson’sPamela,orVirtue Rewarded, but romance has always been integral to theater, whether it’s Shakespeare in the 16th century or Euripides in the fifth century BC. People everywhere have loved to fall in love with different characters in excruciating circumstances. This has translated to movies, which leads to the question: what makes a romance story so great to watch?
The first romance movie ever madewas calledFirst Kiss, and was released in 1896. And needless to say, the genre has only become more popular since. These movies make people laugh and weep when going on the journey of the main duo. There are some stories that the audience has seen hundreds of times and continues to love, such as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy inPride and Prejudice.However, due to the high demand for these types of stories, there are many movies in the genre coming out every year - and not all of them are good. Here is what needs to be present to make a great romance movie.
Intense Chemistry and Interesting Characters
Before discussing any element that needs to be ina good romance movie, there is one that carries the principal factor: the main couple has to work. Their chemistry has to be undeniable – even if the characters deny it themselves (better yet for fans of the ‘Enemies to Lovers’ trope). It can even be said that while the script can be overall a bit dull or unoriginal if the main duo has chemistry, it will often work. Granted, if that is the case, it won’t be a great romance movie, but it will be an ‘ok’ one.
This is so important that if one of the characters reasonably could be with another character in the movie, then the duo doesn’t work as well as it has to: in the audience’s mind, these two being together is the only possible outcome. They have to have a unique dynamic that is interesting to watch and makes the audience eager to see what they will do next. This goes without saying for every story: movie, television show, book, etc.
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While watchingTitanic, was there anyone else that Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) could end up with? They are well-rounded characters that fall in love going against all odds. There is no other pair like them in the movie: their chemistry is noticeable even when they are in different corners of a room, only looking at each other. They are a powerful couple that illustrates how crucial these elements are, while also being compelling to watch individually.
It Should Innovate
There are an unbelievable amount of romance movies to watch today. This is great for lovers of the genre, but it does come with a price, because with so many romance movies come inevitable clichés. There needs to have elements of innovation and creativity to connect with the audience on a deeper level and avoid clichés to be truly great.
It’s not always a bad idea to utilize a beloved cliché; they work, and that’s why people use them over and over again. The important part is how the movie innovates them and can show a different way for the duo to get together without shamelessly copying another story. Clichés are something that, likelier than not, created a weak narrative. Especially because people usually know the ending to these types of stories:they stay together (most of the time). Therefore the journey to happily ever after has to be the thing that grabs the audience’s attention. A badly done cliche feels like the creators weren’t really that interested in the project and went for what millions did beforehand – rather than think of a new solution to the problem.
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An instance is how the story is told. An example of being innovative that was effective was how the narrative progresses (not completely linear) inThe Notebook. When the audience finds out that the old man who is telling his love story is actually Noah (Ryan Gosling) to his wife, Allie (Rachel McAdams), who we root for being together the whole movie. Allie has Alzheimer’s and Noah tells her their love story so that she won’t forget - it’sa certified tearjerker. This story is filled with clichés: they don’t like each other in the beginning, ulterior forces prevent them from being together, etc. However, it was still able to surprise the viewer and create a powerful ending.
The Setback
In most movies, there is a moment of setback: where everything feels like it’s falling apart or hope is over. This has to do with movie structure and can be found in most productions from all genres. In romance, this translates to when the lovers fight and ultimately separate. Because this is a common element, it has to be extremely well constructed in the story, or it appears to be there just because of structure and not the natural course these characters would take. These are where most romance movies fall flat and tend to create an unrealistic story.
A great example that works really well isHow to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Andie (Kate Hudson) and Benjamin (Matthew McConaughey) had a fate from the start: they would have to tell each other about the reason why they acted the way they did while dating. What they didn’t know is that the other one also had ulterior motives to be in this particular relationship. It was obvious what the setback would be, but these characters were so fun to watch and had such great chemistry that it was impossible not to root for them to be together. It also has a deeply impactful timing that feels unavoidable when it happens.
Makinga great romance movieis not easy. There are various examples of well-executed stories that continue to make viewers emotional even after many years, and some not so much. Is a matter of deeply understanding the genre and what it takes to make it interesting and unique.
