20 Romantic Movies With Tragic Endings

Summary

• Not every romance has a happily-ever-after for the main characters
• Some tragic romances end in death, like Titanic.
• Other tragic romances see characters pushed apart by circumstances, like Five Feet Apart.

Love stories have been a part of movie history since the first motion pictures, and while it is always nice to see the loving couple live happily ever after, sometimes romance movies with sad endings can be even more effective. Movies in which romance still ends in tragedy provide an emotional catharsis for the audience and help to remind the viewers of the love that goes on. The movie is about the journey, not necessarily the endpoint.

Since Romeo and Juliet and all its adaptations, this has been a common storytelling device and there are a number of movies that use it brilliantly. In some cases, the two characters are driven apart by society and unable to follow their hearts. Other movies present a difficult choice for these couples to make. And there are also those love stories where fate intervenes in a heartbreaking way. Whatever the case, these romance movies with sad endings strike an emotional chord with audiences in a whole other way.

20 A Star Is Born

(2018)

Although A Star is Born‘s songs might steal the show, there is no denying that this particular love story has a sad ending that packs an emotional punch. The remake stars Bradley Cooper as country singer Jackson Maine who discovers aspiring singer Ally (Lady Gaga). Along with giving her an opportunity to share her music with the world, the two fall in love with each other.

The movie is also about Jackson battling his alcoholism and the way it gradually destroys his life.

However, the movie is also about Jackson battling his alcoholism and the way it gradually destroys his life. After his antics embarrass Ally publicly, Jackson attempts to get sober, only for Ally’s callous manager to tell him that he is holding Ally back as long as he is around. Feeling that he and his addictions have become too much of a burden for the woman he loves, Jackson decides to take his own life. Ally’s song after his passing makes for a heartbreaking conclusion.

19 Me Before You

(2016)

Louisa “Lou” Clark (Emilia Clarke) has not been having the best luck in work or love, but she retains her optimism. She takes a job for the wealthy Will Traynor (Sam Claflin) as a “carer,” and her life begins to change. Will, once a successful businessman, is now a tetraplegic after being in an accident. It’s his mother who chooses to hire Lou, believing that Will, who has suffered from depression since the accident, will benefit from Lou’s outlook on life.

The movie has a rom-com set up as the two clash, but fall for one another. While Lou does help Will see some things in a better light, he also helps her to see things more realistically. Lou grows due to her experiences, and Will sticks to the decisions he made before he even met Lou – he doesn’t plan to live out a long life as a tetraplegic, but instead has only allowed his parents six months for him to live.

The tragedy comes from Lou having to say goodbye to Will, honoring his wishes, just as she’s fallen for him. The movie, however, does end on a bittersweet note. Will makes sure that Lou is taken care of following his death, leaving her an inheritance to be able to follow her own heart wherever it takes her.

18 My Girl

(1991)

Set during the summer of 1972, those who didn’t grow up in the 1990s might dismiss this movie as yet another coming-of-age story. While the movie does see Vada start to grow up as she experiences first love, it’s also a story of first heartbreak.

Vada (Anna Chlumsky) is a young girl obsessed with death due to her mother dying when she was a baby and her father running a funeral home. Every slightly perceived illness sees her running to the doctor to get it checked out with her friend Thomas J (Macaulay Culkin). As she and Thomas J. grow closer over the summer, it becomes clearer that there could be more than friendly feelings there, despite Vada’s crush on her old teacher.

Vada, however, is confronted with mortality again when Thomas J. dies after being repeatedly stung by bees searching for her mood ring in the woods. His death forces Vada to examine her own grief, and for her father to admit that Vada has been suffering under the weight of all the death around her all along.

17 Five Feet Apart

(2019)

Patients with cystic fibrosis are encouraged to stay at least six feet apart from one another since different types of bacterial infections they could pass to one another could cause their deaths. That is the cloud hanging over the romance in this young adult romantic drama. The threat of tragedy is always there, making the potential romance bittersweet.

The movie follows Stella (Haley Lu Richardson) and Will (Cole Sprouse) who have their treatments at the same facility. While Stella is on the list for a lung transplant and strictly adheres to her medical guidelines to make sure she doesn’t miss out on it, Will has accepted the likelihood of his tragic fate without a transplant. As they get to know one another, they decide to “take back” one foot that separates them. Stella even takes to carrying a pool stick that is exactly five feet long to make sure that’s how far apart they are.

An accident means that the two don’t just touch, but Will performs CPR on Stella. He becomes terrified that interacting with him could cost her the life she so desperately wants. Though he loves her, Will decides he has to walk away from their burgeoning relationship to make sure she gets to live her life. It’s not usually the tragic ending the audience would think of for a love story, but it shows the depth of Will’s love for Stella.

16 If I Stay

(2014)

Inspired by the novel by Gayle Forman, If I Stay sees teenage Mia (Chloe Moretz) having an out-of-body experience when her family is in a deadly car crash. The movie flashes between Mia’s present in a hospital and the past romance she experienced leading up to the crash. Most of the conflict in Mia’s life so far has surrounded whether she will continue dating a boy in a band on the rise or pursue her own dream of studying at Julliard, and the crash puts that conflict in perspective for her.

As Mia is in surgery, and then, unconscious in a hospital room, she flashes back to everything that has led her to this point, and slowly learns about the tragic fates of each of her family members, one by one. Her grandparents speak to her body, letting her know they would understand if she “let’s go” to be with the rest of her family instead of deciding to stay in this life.

The tragedy for Mia isn’t a bad breakup or losing her boyfriend, but that no matter which decision she makes, her life or death is then marred by tragic circumstances. In life, she’s lost her mother, father, and brother, but has the chance to follow her dream. In death, a whole family is gone and her potential is never realized. It’s not until the final moments of the film that Mia makes her decision.

15 Never Let Me Go

(2010)

Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same name, Never Let Me Go features a science-fiction concept that’s been featured in even a Michael Bay action-thriller, but it’s handled in a very minimalist way. Instead of focusing on the technology or sci-fi aspects of the story, the movie mostly focuses on the drama generated by the lead performances from Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, and Carey Mulligan.

The movie revolves around a group of young clones who were created specifically for organ donation to prolong the lives of other people. It isn’t the kind of environment where love can thrive and its appearance ultimately spells nothing but heartbreak, with the hopeful characters discovering that the world around them not only doesn’t care about their love but doesn’t even consider them to be human.

14 Seven Pounds

(2007)

A little-seen Will Smith movie, Seven Pounds is an interesting take on a similar subject matter to Never Let Me Go. The movie revolves around a good samaritan motivated by a mysterious and all-consuming sense of guilt that the audience doesn’t initially completely understand.

When he begins to fall in love with one of the people that he’s helping, the audience can’t help but hope that some kind of redemption or forgiveness is on the horizon. However, the ending of the movie reveals that the main character’s endgame has to be to end their own life to become an organ donor to the people that he has been interacting with throughout the story. While not a critically well-received movie, Seven Pounds cultivated a strong following over the years for its memorably tragic ending.

13 Amour

(2012)

Most on-screen love stories, even those with sad endings, focus on young love, or at least, on a time in someone’s life when love all feels new. That’s not the case here. Michael Haneke’s unflinching drama about love in very old age is a frank and convincing portrait of a romance that has been undimmed by time but cannot survive forever against the changes that it brings.

With his wife’s health seriously deteriorating after complications from a stroke, Jean-Louis Trintignant’s loving husband smothers her in their bed as an act of mercy. The act clearly breaks him emotionally and he’s seen behaving delusionally in his final scene. The honesty of the performances and writing make Amour a very real experience for the audience and its subject matter – facing losing someone a person loves dearly – is something that most people inevitably have to face in some way or another in their lives.

12 The English Patient

(1996)

This sweeping World War II romance movie adapted from Michael Ondaatje’s novel of the same name swept the Oscars with nine wins, including Best Picture and Best Director for writer and director Anthony Minghella.

The movie begins with a severely burned man recounting the story of how he came to be so, the ending revealing that he was involved in an intense affair with a married woman, leading to her husband attempting to kill all three of them in a murder-suicide. He fails, leaving the protagonist and his lover alive, though she is gravely injured. He leaves her to get help, but the circumstances of the war around him result in him not making it back in time.

The tragedy is certainly beautiful and satisfying, but it’s one of the most heartbreaking endings in movie history.

11 The Bridges Of Madison County

(1995)

Many famously sad movie endings are in some way emotionally uplifting, but few are as effectively bittersweet as the ending of The Bridges of Madison County. The classic sad romance centers on a brief love affair between a traveling photographer and a secluded rural housewife who meet and fall in love while the photographer is on assignment.

The decision of Meryl Streep’s unfulfilled war bride to stay with her husband and raise their children rather than leave with the man that she loves is a revelation to her children. Those children only uncover the story years after she made the decision – and after her death as a framing device. It’s emotionally cathartic for them to still be taught about love and life by their mother from beyond the grave, but it’s heartbreaking for the audience.

10 Moulin Rouge

(2001)

Moulin Rogue
is filled with pop songs, a true jukebox musical, taking inspiration from Bollywood style music and dance while telling the heartfelt story of love between Satine and Christian.

This Baz Luhrmann musical starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor was one of a kind when it was released in 2001. Moulin Rogue is filled with pop songs, a true jukebox musical, taking inspiration from Bollywood style music and dance while telling the heartfelt story of love between Satine and Christian. Christian, a poor artist, falls in love with Satine, a courtesan, who is desired by a much wealthier man. While that provides much of the conflict, that’s not where the tragedy comes in.

For a film that is so much about glamor and glitter, Moulin Rouge has a tragic conclusion, with Satine dying in the end from tuberculosis. It’s unexpected and heartbreaking to watch her and Christian express their love for one another and then meet with such a harsh reality. Satine’s death is foreshadowed in the movie’s opening, but the spectacle surrounding the love story makes the audience forget until the tragedy takes place.

9 Message In A Bottle

(1999)

Nicholas Sparks has perfected the art of telling a love story that ends in tragedy. Before a strong of his novels were adapted for the screen, Message in a Bottle left a big impression on audiences who didn’t know what to expect if they hadn’t read the book. The Nicholas Sparks classic is deeply moving and ends with a shocking tragedy, instead of a happy forever after. The story is as much about the relationship between Garret (Kevin Costner) and Theresa (Robin Wright) as it is about Garret and his late wife.

Following her death, Garret would write letters to his late wife as he failed to come to terms with the loss for a very long time. When he finally let himself move on, he decided to bid his dead wife goodbye, sending her one last letter. Only this time, on the eve of getting together officially with Theresa, he was unable to make it back in time and drowned tragically during a storm in the sea.

8 A Walk To Remember

(2002)

A classic Nicholas Sparks romance, this film was an adaptation of his novel of the same name. Jamie (Mandy Moore) and Landon (Shane West) are both in high school, and she ends up assigned to work with him during tutoring sessions. Although he dismisses the idea of ever being in love with her at first, the two soon fall desperately in love. However, as is typical of a Sparks novel, the lovers get thrown a major curveball, as Jamie informs Landon that she is a leukemia patient.

In a film that has a tone of aching melancholia throughout, Jamie and Landon get married in a hurry and the two get to spend a little bit of time together before Jamie passes away. The film remains a sweet high school romance that ends in heartwrenching tragedy.

7 One Day

(2011)

Two characters meet and there’s an instant connection, but they don’t get together right away. Instead, their story is told over several years, spotlighting the same day every year as the story unfolds. A romance that appears light, for the most part, takes a shocking turn when Emma (Anne Hathaway) is killed tragically in a road accident, hit by a rogue truck. The incident happens right after she finally hooks up with Dexter (Jim Sturgess) after years of each of them going their own way, although the chemistry between them is obvious from the start.

The shocking ending leaves one questioning the sheer randomness of life and death. Emma’s death naturally leaves Dexter devastated. And it makes one wonder if fate would have played the same cruel game had they got together before. One Day’s story might be tragic, but it’s also beloved. It’s been adapted for a Netflix series as well.

6 The Notebook

(2004)

Nicholas Sparks’ novels are known for being tear-jerking, and The Notebook is no exception. The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams makes the movie a beloved romance. The Notebook has cemented its place as one of the most popular romance movies of the 21st century so far. The already iconic story focuses on Noah and Ally having one beautiful summer together before class and social status pull them apart.

They finally unite after several years, but in one shocking discovery, the audience realizes that the older Ally is now suffering from Alzheimer’s and cannot even recognize the man she loved so deeply. In the very last scene, the elderly couple is seen lying side by side, dead. Although the ending implies a certain sense of hope, there is something emotionally wrought about the two dying together.

5 Titanic

(1997)

The film that catapulted Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet to superstardom, Titanic made quite the sensation and became one of the biggest blockbusters in film history. The love story of Rose and Jack is one for the ages, but given the true story behind Titanic, it is perhaps not surprising that this doesn’t conclude with a happy ending.

The film ends with a heartbreaking tragedy when not only does the so-called unsinkable ship go down with almost all the menfolk, but the young couple is brutally torn apart when Jack dies from the freezing cold of the North Atlantic waters, leaving Rose heartbroken and alone. Though Jack and Rose don’t get their happy ending, the audience does get to enjoy seeing that Rose still lived a full and happy life after experiencing that huge loss.

4 Brokeback Mountain

(2005)

One of the most moving romantic dramas ever, Brokeback Mountain tells the tale of two men in the 1960s whose feelings for each other are ignited during one passionate, stolen summer. Both Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) go on to marry women (Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway) and have their own families, although they continue to meet clandestinely from time to time, never publicly coming out with their true sexuality, from fear of being killed or ostracized.

Ledger and Gyllenhaal delivered power-packed performances in this Ang Lee classic. Underrated, but just as important for their story are the performances of Williams and Hathaway as the women who love them. The movie ends with a gnawing heartache as the couple fails to get together and finally, Jack dies, leaving Ennis alone with their secret.

3 The Fault In Our Stars

(2014)

The Fault In Our Stars gets an underlining sense of tragedy starting at the beginning when young Hazel (Shailene Woodly) tells the audience frankly about her life as a terminal cancer patient. There’s a melancholy that underscores Hazel’s life as she lives it, but doesn’t truly connect with anyone. She then meets the cheerful Gus (Ansel Elgort) who is now in remission and with whom she experiences love and the kind of attachment that she had given up on.

The full extent of the tragedy unravels when Gus relapses and succumbs to his sickness before the two had barely spent enough time together.

However, the full extent of the tragedy unravels when Gus relapses and succumbs to his sickness before the two had barely spent enough time together. They both got to experience the exhilaration of first love, but only briefly, making the story truly bittersweet. Based on John Green’s popular young adult novel, the film became an instant hit, especially among younger audiences.

2 Atonement

(2007)

Joe Wright’s intense romantic period drama is based on the unfulfilled love of Robbie (James McAvoy) and Cecelia (Keira Knightley) who fail to ever unite because of a lie told by Cecelia’s younger sister (Saoirse Ronan). Robbie then goes off to war and dies from sickness, while Cecelia is killed in a bombing incident. The audience might have expected one of the potential couple to survive, but their story is doubly tragic.

The hard-hitting nature of the ending of Atonement is made even worse by the false hope it initially gives. For some time, the viewer is led to believe that maybe Briony’s lie had not destroyed everything, but then the older Briony (Vanessa Redgrave) reveals the tragedy that really befell the lovers, leaving the audience with a desperate heartache for that love unfulfilled.

1 Love Story

(1970)

Eric Segal’s epic love story that ends in a devastating tragedy is timeless. Oliver (Ryan O’Neal) and Jenny (Ally McGraw) are from very different social backgrounds, which initially seems like it might provide some conflict, but that doesn’t prevent them from falling in love. But their relationship is doomed from the beginning when Jenny is diagnosed with cancer.

In a story that has been told and retold many times ever since, with their particular tragedy becoming a common trope in romantic dramas. Jenny and Oliver’s tragic love story makes even those with the coldest hearts reach out for hankies. The film itself was not as popular as the novel on which it was based, but the story itself has gone on to become a classic for those romance fans who don’t mind a good cry with their love stories.