The Best Romance Movies Where The Couple Doesn't End Up Together

From an emotional standpoint, romantic movies can have several different functions. On the happier end of the spectrum, they can produce feelings of joy, hope, and gratification. Then there are romances that are best described as tearjerkers, with endings that devastate more than delight. But there are also films that fall somewhere in between these two extremes, movies that feel both melancholic and joyful at the same time.

When picking a romantic film to watch, it's important to know what mood you're in — or what mood you want to be in. With this list, I've compiled a group of films that fall somewhere on the spectrum between bittersweet and tragic. A few of these films have decidedly sad endings where no one ends up happy (or even alive), while others depict a romance that changed an individual's life for the better, regardless of its outcome. What's great about romance films without so-called happy endings is that they highlight the idea of love as a transformative event and underscore the necessity of making the most of every experience.

The movies on this list aren't for romance cynics, but they are for those who like a little sadness sprinkled into their love stories. So, if you feel emotionally ready to do so, dive into this list of the greatest romance films where the main couple doesn't end up together.

If you're a fan of the 2015 film "Carol," you need to watch "Brief Encounter" right away. And even if you're not a fan of "Carol," you should still put it on your list. "Brief Encounter" is based on Noël Coward's one-act play and is directed by David Lean, a British filmmaker best known for his direction of historical epics. By contrast, "Brief Encounter" is the opposite of an epic and, in fact, takes place on a very small scale. The film follows Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson), a housewife who travels to the city each week on the train. While at the station, she meets Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard), a doctor in town on business. Their accidental meeting soon develops into something deeper, and they both realize they've wandered into something much more dangerous: true love.

As in the film "Carol," "Brief Encounter" starts and ends with the same scene. Laura and Alec are preparing to say their goodbyes when they are interrupted by a bothersome friend of Laura's. Unable to say how they truly feel, Alec puts his hand on Laura's shoulder and departs. As Laura narrates the events that led up to this final moment between them, we come to realize just how brief their relationship really was — and just how meaningful.

Laura describes falling in love with Alec in almost apocalyptic terms. "I didn't think such violent things could happen to ordinary people," she muses. "Brief Encounter" is the perfect example of doing a lot with very little — all you need are two brilliant actors and a train station, and a masterpiece is born.

While "Titanic" and "Portrait of a Lady On Fire" might not seem like they have a lot in common, director Céline Sciamma begs to differ. They are both films without quote-on-quote "happy" endings, and they both cover similar themes. Explaining why "Titanic" was on her mind while making "Portrait of a Lady On Fire," Sciamma explained that they're both about emancipation, noting that "the success of a love story is not about how long it lasts."

"Portrait of a Lady On Fire" illustrates this concept in the most stunning way imaginable. Noémie Merlant plays Marianne, an 18th-century painter who is sent to a remote island to compose a portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), a young woman who is betrothed to a man she has never met. Marianne attempts to create the portrait in secret, stealing furtive glances at Héloïse on their daily walks. When Héloïse discovers the truth, it only brings the two women closer, and as the date of Marianne's departure grows near, they find themselves at the mercy of a brief, yet powerful, love affair.

Like "Titanic," "Portrait of a Lady On Fire," is about the memory of a love story, as Marianne narrates her experience and describes how much Héloïse meant — and still means — to her. The final scene in the film is nothing short of exquisite. Marianne spots Héloïse in a theater, waiting to hear a piece of music that means so much to both of them. Marianne tells us up front that Héloïse never saw her, and we are instead left to sit with Héloïse's own recollections — of passion, of equality, of freedom.

"Casablanca" is often considered one of the greatest romance films of all time, and it's hard to argue with that. Whether it's all those quotable lines or Humphrey Bogart's wistful drawl, a classic like "Casablanca" never gets old. Bogart plays Rick Blaine, an American ex-pat who lives in Casablanca and owns a nightclub there during World War II. Rick runs into Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), his long-lost love, who arrives with her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is a Czech Resistance leader and a fugitive and has come to Casablanca to avoid arrest and gain safe passage to America.

Rick is angry with Ilsa for running off on him in Paris, but he softens up when he learns the real reason she left. Ilsa wants to stay in Casablanca with Rick while Laszlo escapes, but Rick urges her to go, saying that she'll regret it if she stays. Like many of the great melancholic love stories, "Casablanca" is more about the memory of a great love than it is about the romance itself. As Bogart's famous line goes, "We'll always have Paris." And we'll always have the heartbreaking work of art that is "Casablanca."

Romeo and Juliet are one of the first great tragic romances, so it wouldn't be right to exclude them from this list. There have been several adaptations of Shakespeare's famous play, but I'm going to start with the one that is the most joyful, despite the tragic fate of our young heroes. Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film is a technicolor whirlwind set in the fictional Verona Beach. The film takes place in contemporary times (or at least the 1990s), and the seeming contradiction between Shakespeare's antiquated dialogue and the film's modern setting only makes it more enchanting.

An energetic Leonardo DiCaprio plays Romeo, while the doe-eyed Clare Danes plays Juliet, locked in a gilded cage of her family's making. The set pieces in the film are amazing, and every character performs Shakespeare's words as if they were meant to be spoken in this setting. In this iteration of the play, Montague is a drag queen, with Harold Perrineau nearly stealing the show with his brilliant performance of the famous sidekick.

What makes the film such a successful adaptation is how evocatively it depicts the passion of young love. There's a long distance to travel from falling in love with someone to dying by suicide because of that person less than a week later, but the performances of all involved make those heightened stakes feel somehow believable. It's the perfect combination of agony and ecstasy, tied together in a psychedelic bow.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

"Broadcast News" is the only film on this list that could conceivably be considered a rom-com, and I have no problem making the claim that it's the greatest rom-com ever made. Holly Hunter plays Jane, a fast-talking (and fast-moving) news producer in Washington D.C. Jane's best friend is Aaron (Albert Brooks), a talented reporter who doesn't do well in front of the camera. The newsroom is faced with the arrival of a newcomer, Tom (William Hurt), an anchorman who has coasted by on his good looks and charm.

Despite the fact that Tom represents everything Jane thinks is wrong with news media, Jane begins to fall for him almost against her will. This creates problems between her and Aaron, who similarly dislikes Tom, but also harbors secret feelings for Jane. Jane is also extremely ambitious and dedicated to her career, and finds it difficult to balance her changing relationships with these men.

I don't want to spoil the ending too much here, but considering the premise of this article, you can probably guess that Jane doesn't end up with either of them. The final nail in the coffin for Jane and Tom is one of the most brilliantly constructed narrative revelations ever put to screen, and it solidifies who these characters are and have always been at their core — and why they will never work together. The film's epilogue ending is either deeply cynical or totally optimistic — it all depends on your perspective.

If you're a fan of "La La Land" (or even if you're not), you've got to check out the films of Jacque Demy, the filmmaker whose body of work clearly inspired Damien Chazelle's 2016 musical. Like "La La Land," Demy's 1964 film "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" is a musical romance shot in stunning technicolor. And, of course, the two leads do not end up together.

The film is set in the titular city of Cherbourg and follows Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve), a young woman who works in an umbrella shop with her mother. Geneviève falls in love with Guy (Nino Castelnuovo), a mechanic who is drafted to go fight in the Algerian War. While Guy is away, Geneviève learns that she is pregnant with Guy's baby, and is worried about her future prospects. At the urging of her mother, (Anne Vernon), Geneviève decides to marry Roland (Marc Michel), a wealthy jeweler who can provide for her and her child.

Geneviève and Guy's connection did not come at the right time, and they are both forced to go on with their lives without the other person in it. The story is told mostly through song, with the lyric-heavy music exploring the predicaments each character finds themselves in. Stunning to look at and pleasing to listen to, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" is a masterpiece of melancholy romance.