shrrshrr

I had a request from a fellow movie lover to find a comprehensive list of films that deal in a fairly realistic manner with relationship issues, including the healing of poor relations and communication.

The obvious ones were simple to come up with:

Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf
Ordinary People

...that sort of thing.

I added Spanglish and The Family Man, the first of which I loved and the second I hated, but which both deal with the crisis of being in a fairly average (meaning not idyllic or horrible, but not necessarily what you'd dream of) family life and how to work through that.

I haven't seen The Ice Storm yet, but I suspect that might be a good one, too.

I think what he's looking for are films that show various examples of the struggles couples can go through, with different outcomes in the end (meaning, I don't think the films necessarily have to have happy endings). He's looking for realistic portrayals, after all.

What are some you come up with?

UnsilentMajorty

Off the top of my head...

We Don't Live Here Anymore (Laura Dern; Mark Ruffalo)

The Door in the Floor (Jeff Bridges; Kim Basinger)

The Squid and the Whale (Jeff Daniels)

Matchstick Men (Nicholas Cage; Allison Lohman)

Thirteen (Holly Hunter; Evan Rachel Wood)

Garden State (Zach Braff; Natalie Portman)

Before Sunrise/Before Sunset (Ethan Hawke; Julie Delphi)

......

All of these films deal with relationships (some dysfunctional) and/or extended family dynamics in one way or another. The first three center on the traditional nuclear family while the third and fourth one are single-parent stories and the last two are "young love" couples who are still struggling to find out who they are before they figure out how they work as a couple.

shrrshrr

Thank you! Those are excellent films, although the last two aren't completely applicable (we're talking about older couples than that, but the films were good and they're good suggestions).

If you think of any more, please feel free to let me know!

UnsilentMajorty

A really good movie in my opinon about a troubled couple is from 1991, is:

Paradise (Don Johnson; Melanie Griffith; Elijah Wood)

This film is the American remake of the French film, "Le Grande Chemin" (The Big Summer) and is about a young boy (Wood) who goes to the Florida Keys to live with his aunt and uncle (Griffith; Johnson) for the summer... But he soon discovers they are on the verge of divorcing because niether of them have forgiven the other for the death of their son who died of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

While it is a coming-of-age story in one respect... The couple dynamic between Johnson and Griffith is very convincing and not just glossed over as it is the main storyline aside from Wood just coming to spend the summer with them.

.....

Wind (Matthew Modine; Jennifer Grey)

While this is mostly about the America's Cup Race (hence the title)... The fact is the core storyline is about an estranged couple who must learn to come back together in order to help their team win back the America's Cup after they loose it in a fictional race.

It isn't as meaty as "We Don't Live Here" or "Paradise", but I am putting it on this list because it addresses what happens when career goals and ambition are at odds between members of the same couple and they must choose between the couple and attaining their dreams.

.....

Always (Richard Dreyfuss; Holly Hunter)

This is the '90s remake of "A Guy Named Joe"... But it is another interesting study in couple dynamics because it addresses the issue of how one member can be so stubburn that it costs him his life... And then he must learn not to be selfish in the after-life and let the other one go, so she can live a happy life without him. Yeah, it has a lot of fantasy/supernatural elements obviously, but the core story about the couple dealing with being selfish and needy (in one form or another) is very real and worth a look.

shrrshrr

I'm not familiar with the first film but I do like the second two you've named, and agree with your assessment (and I think these dynamics were overlooked by the general audiences).

You also reminded me of Truly, Madly, Deeply, whichi is a similar theme to Always.

Thanks, again!