From classic rom coms that will make you feel like you’ve done 100 crunches at the gym to soppy love stories that will have you reaching for a jumbo pack of tissues, we’ve got a flick for every vibe—all you need to do is prepare bulk snacks.
Here are all of the best romantic movies to watch on Netflix.
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Okay, if you've read Lady Chatterley's Lover you'll know very well it's like a 1920s 50 Shades Of Grey. When it first came out, this book wrecked absolute chaos on account of very, very explicit sex descriptions and its then use of four-letter words that at the time, were illegal to print. Naturally, this should put this romance movie right at the top of your watchlist. Marrying Sir Clifford Chatterley, Connie’s life of wealth and privilege seems all set as she takes the title of Lady Chatterley. Yet this idealistic union gradually becomes an incarceration when Clifford returns from the First World War with injuries that have left him unable to walk. When she meets and falls for Oliver Mellors, the gamekeeper on the Chatterley family estate, their secret trysts lead her to a sensual, sexual awakening. Watch it from December 2.
Heart Shot
As one of three films to come out of Netflix’s Emerging Filmmaker Initiative, Heart Shot is a 20-minute queer drama meets action film. Directed (and co-written) by Marielle Woods, who you know from the likes of Cobra Kai and Westword, this movie follows Sam and Nikkie. The two are in love but evidently come from very different worlds. Sam is about to head off to college while Nikkie, well, let’s just say Nikkie is more focussed on getting through a toxic upbringing.
Airplane Mode
Disclaimer, with more cheese than a Sunday hung-day toastie, Airplane Mode has all the ingredients of the ultimate romance movie—most importantly, the sea-change trope from city to farm life. It’s here where lust blooms and Ana, our young social media influencer with an unbreakable addiction to her phone, finds the love of her life.
Malcolm & Marie
Sam Levinson teams up with Zendaya and John David Washington for an achingly romantic drama in which a filmmaker (Washington) and his girlfriend (Zendaya) return home following a celebratory movie premiere as he awaits what’s sure to be imminent critical and financial success. The evening suddenly takes a turn as revelations about their relationships begin to surface, testing the strength of their love. Working with cinematographer Marcell Rev, Levinson creates a film of rare originality; an ode to the great Hollywood romances as well as a heartfelt expression of faith in the medium's future.
The Last Letter From Your Lover
A pair of interwoven stories set in the present and past, The Last Letter From Your Lover follows Ellie Haworth (Felicity Jones), an ambitious journalist who discovers a trove of secret love letters from 1965 and becomes determined to solve the mystery of the forbidden affair at their center. As she uncovers the story behind Jennifer Stirling (Shailene Woodley), the wife of a wealthy industrialist, and Anthony O’Hare the financial journalist assigned to cover him, a love story of Ellie’s own begins to unfold with the assistance of an earnest and endearing archivist who helps her track down more letters.
Safe Haven
It’s a big call but Safe Haven has to be one of our favourite Nicholas Sparks’ books to movie adaptation. It follows Katie (Julianne Hough) who flees her abusive cop husband and starts afresh, with a new identity, in the postcard perfect town of Southport in North Carolina. Whilst there she begins to open her heart to widowed local store owner Alex (Josh Duhamel). But as she opens her heart more and more, Katie’s dark past starts to resurface, threatening to tear her and Alex apart.
Five Feet Apart
Five Feet Apart is so much more than just a romantic teen drama, it will lowkey rip your heart out—you've been warned. The flick follows Stella (Haley Lu Richardson), who at 17 spends most of her life in hospital receiving treatment for cystic fibrosis. Instead of hanging with friends and going to school, her life is regimented with medication, routines and plenty of boundaries. But all of that is put to the test when Will (Cole Sprouse), a handsome, charming teen arrives at the same hospital seeking treatment for the same disease—which means they must stay five feet apart at all times. As their friendship grows into something deeper, they’re tempted to break all the rules… but at what cost?
Brooklyn
If you're a sucker for a romantic drama then put this beauty to the top of your list. Based on the novel of the same name, Brooklyn tells the story of Eilis Lacey (played by the incredible Saoirse Ronan) a young Irish woman who in the 1950s emigrates to Brooklyn, New York in search of a new life. At first homesick for her home town of Enniscorthy, she soon finds work at a local department store, begins night school and falls in love with a cheeky Italian plumber called Tony. But when tragedy strikes back home, Eilis returns and is torn between her new life in New York and her family in Ireland.
Irreplaceable You
Irreplaceable You is the heartwarming, romantic story of Abbie and Sam, best friends since childhood who are engaged to be married, and whose tranquil New York lives come crashing down when Abbie receives an unexpected diagnosis. Faced with the prospect of an uncertain timeline, Abbie begins a touching and often humorous search for a new love to take care of Sam. Along the way, Abbie makes unlikely friendships with Myron (Christopher Walken), Kate (Kate McKinnon) and Mitch (Steve Coogan) whose one thing in common is that they focus on living, while they are dying. Yep, it's a total tear-jerker.
Top End Wedding
This Aussie flick follows diligent lawyer Lauren (Miranda Tapsell) who after her fiancée Ned proposes to her, decides to plan their wedding in just 10 days—to ensure she can make it back to Melbourne in time for a big case she’s working on. But when the duo arrives in Lauren’s hometown of Darwin to wed, they find her mum (Ursula Yovich) has ditched her dad and is nowhere to be found. What follows is a moving journey of self-discovery as Lauren retraces her mum’s footsteps from the top end to the Tiwi Islands. The scenery in this flick alone makes it a must-watch but it’s the storyline and heart-warming characters that make it a real winner.
The Notebook
Ok we straight up wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if this flick wasn’t on this list. If you’re one of the few people in the world that hasn’t cried a river over this epic flim, let us enlighten you. Adapted from Nicholas Spark’s book of the same name, The Notebook tells the story of poor, young lumbermill worker Noah and heiress Allie, who fall in love during one summer in small town America in the 1940s.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
This Netflix OG is one of the most binged movies ever and for good reason—Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky are total relationship goals. The plot is a recipe for high school romance gold—when her secret love letters somehow get mailed to each of her five crushes, Lara Jean finds her quiet high school existence turned upside. If you want to know what happens in part II of their love affair, check out the sequel, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, here.
The Kissing Booth
Elle Evans mundane high school experience takes a turn when she volunteers to run the kissing booth at the school carnival… and ends up locking lips with her best mate’s incredibly hot big brother (Jacob Elordi). The duo begin a secret love affair but of course, nothing can stay hidden forever. Even better? You can continue the love story with The Kissing Booth 2.
Not done binging? Check out these feel good flicks.
Image Credit: Netflix