Best Romance Movies 2021

Critics Consensus: A remarkable feature debut for director/co-writer Filippo Meneghetti, Two of Us tells a deceptively complex love story while presenting a rich acting showcase for its three leads.

Synopsis: Two retired women, Nina and Madeleine, have been secretly in love for decades. Everybody, including Madeleine’s family, thinks they are simply neighbors, sharing the top... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Barbara Sukowa, Martine Chevallier, Léa Drucker, Muriel Benazeraf

Directed By: Filippo Meneghetti

Critics Consensus: With a thought-provoking concept brought to humorous life by a pair of well-matched leads, I'm Your Man is an AI rom-com whose intelligence is anything but artificial.

Synopsis: In order to obtain funds for her research, Alma (Maren Eggert) is persuaded to participate in an extraordinary study. For three weeks she is required... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Dan Stevens, Maren Eggert, Sandra Hüller, Hans Löw

Directed By: Maria Schrader

Critics Consensus: A remarkable feature debut for director Heidi Ewing, I Carry You with Me finds universally resonant themes in a specific, richly detailed time and place.

Synopsis: Based on true love, this decades spanning romance begins in Mexico between an aspiring chef (Armando Espitia) and a teacher (Christian Vázquez). Their lives restart... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Armando Espitia, Christian Vazquez, Michelle Rodríguez, Ángeles Cruz

Directed By: Heidi Ewing

Critics Consensus: Licorice Pizza finds Paul Thomas Anderson shifting into a surprisingly comfortable gear -- and getting potentially star-making performances out of his fresh-faced leads.

Synopsis: LICORICE PIZZA is the story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine growing up, running around and falling in love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits

Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson

Critics Consensus: Led by moving performances from Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, Supernova is a heartbreaking look at the emotional toll that comes with accepting mortality.

Synopsis: Sam (Academy Award winner Colin Firth) and Tusker (Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci), partners of twenty years, are traveling across England in their old camper... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci, Pippa Haywood, Peter MacQueen

Directed By: Harry Macqueen

Critics Consensus: Undine draws on folklore for a dark fantasy whose murky storytelling is often offset by the enchanting romance at its core.

Synopsis: Christian Petzold (PHOENIX, TRANSIT) boldly reimagines the ancient myth of Undine in this suspenseful tale of romance and betrayal in modern day Berlin. Undine (Paula... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Paula Beer, Franz Rogowski, Maryam Zaree, Jacob Matschenz

Directed By: Christian Petzold

Critics Consensus: An enchanting debut for writer-director-star Suzanne Lindon, Spring Blossom captures first love with fittingly delicate beauty.

Synopsis: Suzanne (Suzanne Lindon) is sixteen. She is bored with people her own age. From the outside, everything appears lovely in her charmed world, but the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Suzanne Lindon, Arnaud Valois, Frédéric Pierrot, Florence Viala

Directed By: Suzanne Lindon

Critics Consensus: Tough but stirring, Little Fish uses one couple's pandemic love story to illustrate the strength of human connection in trying times.

Synopsis: Little Fish, the fourth feature film from director Chad Hartigan, is a romance set in a near-future Seattle teetering on the brink of calamity. Starring... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Olivia Cooke, Jack O'Connell, Soko, Raúl Castillo

Directed By: Chad Hartigan

Critics Consensus: While not François Ozon's best work, Summer of 85 serves as a beguiling, bittersweet ode to teen love and its lingering after-effects.

Synopsis: When Alexis capsizes off the coast of France, David comes to the rescue and opens his eyes to a new horizon of friendship, art and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Félix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin, Philippine Velge, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi

Directed By: François Ozon

Critics Consensus: Diminishing returns have set in for this trilogy, but To All the Boys: Always and Forever has just enough of the original's effervescent charm to serve as a worthy conclusion.

Synopsis: As Lara Jean Covey prepares for the end of high school and the start of adulthood, a pair of life-changing trips lead her to reimagine... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, Madeleine Arthur

Directed By: Michael Fimognari