Romance on screen can be shiny, overly dramatic, or conveniently resolved by the end. But every now and then, a film or television series dares to depict what relationships are really like—messy, awkward, loving, painful, and very human. The following films and television series are notable for being more truthful about love, family, friendship, and partnership than fantasy. They aren’t afraid of the uncomfortable, and that’s what makes them so realistic.
15. His Three Daughters
His Three Daughters explores the emotional turmoil that arises when the family is brought together by a crisis. Katie, Christina, and Rachel reunite in their father’s apartment as he is nearing the end of his life.
Each sister brings her own set of emotional armor: Katie holds on to control, Christina to order, and Rachel to a sense of not quite belonging. The sisters’ interactions are tense, awkward, and often left unresolved, which is a very true-to-life portrayal of families. The movie lingers on moments that are quietly familiar, like the look in a person’s eyes, the pause before speaking, the unspoken thought.
It is the honesty of the film that lends it emotional depth. Healing is messy, and not all wounds are easily or neatly healed. His Three Daughters demonstrates that the love of family is complicated, imperfect, and sometimes revealed in the midst of conflict.
14. Nobody Wants This
Nobody Wants This refreshes the romantic comedy by grounding it firmly in reality. Kristen Bell plays Joanne, who finds herself in a relationship with Noah, a rabbi whose faith and family introduce real-world complications into their romance.
Rather than relying on grand gestures, the series focuses on communication, compromise, and self-awareness. Joanne and Noah don’t magically solve their problems; they talk, stumble, and reassess what they’re willing to give up or hold onto. The show acknowledges how cultural differences can strain even the most genuine connections. Its charm lies in its realism. Love here isn’t effortless or idealized; it’s work, negotiation, and growth, and that honesty makes the story resonate.
13. Couples Therapy
Couples Therapy strips away the theatrics of reality television and replaces them with raw emotional truth. Following real couples in sessions with Dr. Orna Guralnik, the series offers a rare glimpse into what relationship repair actually looks like.
Season three broadens the scope by including a polycule, but the heart of the show remains unchanged: unresolved resentment, emotional wounds, and the slow, sometimes frustrating process of learning how to communicate. There are no miracle breakthroughs, just incremental progress and painful realizations. What makes the series so compelling is its refusal to simplify. Love here is work, vulnerability is uncomfortable, and healing happens one conversation at a time.
12. Past Lives
Past Lives is a quiet meditation on love, timing, and the lives we don’t end up living. Nora and Hae Sung reconnect years after their childhood friendship was cut short, and what unfolds is filled with longing and emotional restraint rather than melodrama.
The film treats all relationships with care, including Nora’s marriage to Arthur, which is portrayed with tenderness and mutual respect. There are no villains, just people trying to understand their feelings without betraying their commitments. Rather than offering closure, Past Lives embraces ambiguity. It understands that some connections exist to shape us, not to last forever.
11. Beef
On the surface, Beef is about a road rage incident spiraling out of control. Beneath that chaos, however, is a deeply uncomfortable exploration of marriage, resentment, and emotional repression.
Amy and George’s relationship is strained, messy, and brutally honest. The show allows its characters to be selfish, cruel, and painfully human, showing how unspoken pain can rot relationships from the inside out. Beef doesn’t offer redemption through perfection; it suggests healing comes from accountability, self-awareness, and the willingness to confront uncomfortable truths.
10. The Bear
While The Bear is set in the pressure cooker of a restaurant kitchen, its emotional core lies in relationships between coworkers, siblings, and oneself. Carmen’s attempt to run his late brother’s restaurant forces him to confront grief, control issues, and inherited trauma.
The series excels at portraying how dysfunction is passed down and how difficult it is to unlearn harmful patterns. Trust is fragile, communication is messy, and progress is rarely linear. At its heart, The Bear is about rebuilding, not just a business, but connections fractured by loss and pride.
9. Shrinking
Shrinking centers on grief and the reckless choices that often follow it. Jimmy, a therapist mourning his wife, blurs professional boundaries while trying, and often failing, to reconnect with his daughter and friends.
The show embraces emotional messiness. Relationships fracture, heal, and fracture again, reflecting how grief doesn’t move in straight lines. Even the therapists are flawed, lost, and in need of support themselves. By blending humor with vulnerability, Shrinking presents healing as imperfect but possible.
8. Somebody Somewhere
Somebody Somewhere quietly celebrates friendship as a form of love just as powerful as romance. Sam finds emotional refuge in her bond with Joel, a friendship built on acceptance rather than expectation.
Their connection thrives on honesty, humor, and shared loneliness. The series challenges the idea that romantic relationships are the ultimate emotional goal, showing instead how platonic love can be deeply sustaining. It’s a gentle reminder that sometimes the most meaningful relationships are the ones that simply allow us to be ourselves.
7. Marriage Story
Marriage Story pulls no punches in its portrayal of divorce. Charlie and Nicole’s separation is painful, not because of cruelty, but because of unresolved hurt and miscommunication. The film captures the exhausting logistics of co-parenting alongside the emotional devastation of letting go.
Both characters are deeply flawed, yet sympathetic, making the breakdown of their marriage feel tragically believable. Rather than assigning blame, Marriage Story explores how love can evolve, even when it no longer looks the way it once did.
6. Blue Valentine
Blue Valentine traces a relationship from its hopeful beginnings to its heartbreaking end. By intercutting moments of early romance with scenes of emotional erosion, the film reveals how love can fade without a single defining moment.
Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling bring raw vulnerability to their roles, making every argument and quiet disappointment feel earned. The film refuses to soften its message or offer comfort. It’s an unflinching portrait of what happens when love alone isn’t enough.
5. Like Crazy
Like Crazy examines long-distance love with brutal honesty. Separated by immigration laws, Anna and Jacob struggle to maintain intimacy across continents. The film shows how distance creates temptation, resentment, and emotional drift.
Love persists, but it changes, often in painful ways neither partner anticipates. Its power lies in its uncertainty. Like Crazy understands that sometimes relationships don’t fail dramatically; they simply wear down.
4. (500) Days of Summer
(500) Days of Summer dismantles the romantic fantasy by showing how expectations can sabotage love. Told out of order, the film mirrors how we replay relationships in our minds, highlighting the good while ignoring warning signs.
Tom’s idealized view of Summer ultimately blinds him to who she really is. The film gently but firmly critiques the idea that love should follow a predetermined script. It’s a story about learning, growing, and accepting reality even when it hurts.
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Despite its sci-fi premise, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of the most emotionally grounded love stories ever made. Joel and Clementine attempt to erase each other from their memories, only to rediscover why they mattered in the first place.
The film captures the chaos, tenderness, and regret embedded in relationships. It suggests that pain is inseparable from love, and perhaps worth enduring. Its message lingers: even flawed connections leave lasting imprints.
2. The Before Trilogy
The Before trilogy follows Jesse and Céline across nearly two decades, chronicling how love evolves over time. Each installment reflects a different stage of infatuation, reconnection, and long-term partnership.
The dialogue feels spontaneous and intimate, grounded in everyday concerns rather than cinematic fantasy. The films understand that love is shaped by choices, compromises, and persistence. Few stories capture romantic realism as completely as this trilogy.
1. Call Me By Your Name
Call Me By Your Name is a tender exploration of first love and emotional awakening. Elio’s relationship with Oliver unfolds slowly, charged with longing, discovery, and inevitable heartbreak.
What elevates the film is its emotional universality. Though rooted in a specific time and place, it captures feelings that nearly everyone recognizes: the intensity of loving deeply for the first time and the pain of letting go. It’s a love story that shapes us forever, even when it doesn’t last.
These films and series resonate because they don’t promise perfection. Instead, they reflect love as it’s actually lived, complicated, fragile, transformative, and deeply human. Whether romantic, familial, or platonic, these stories remind us that connection is rarely easy, but always worth exploring.