How does everyone feel about Valentine’s day? Does anyone actually care? Whether you subscribe to the cuddly holiday or not, it’s a fact that Western society is pretty obsessed with the concept of love.
But are we setting ourselves up for a fall? It’s not always as rosy as it seems – as these subversive celluloids attest.
Frances Ha
Greta Gerwig shines in this Noah Baumbach movie about a hapless late-twenty-something living and not finding love in New York. Her best mate gets hitched and she goes through a bit of an existential crisis but it’s really funny and nothing ever gets resolved – just like life!
The War Of The Roses
Romancing The Stone‘s star couple Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner – bow down – reunite for this Danny Devito-directed dark comedy about a couple going through a divorce. The dialogue and acting is next level, immortalising lines like this – “You have sunk below the deepest layer of prehistoric frog shit at the bottom of a New Jersey scum swamp” – for all time.
Husbands and Wives
Another divorcey one, fun! Life started imitating art during the making of this film as Woody Allen and his actual wife (and wife in the film) Mia Farrow split up and Allen revealed he was seeing his adopted daughter (in the film it’s his college student). It’s just really smart, funny and observational about the realities of love and ageing.
Swingers
Swingers is the ultimate break-up film. It focuses on Mike (Jon Favreau) – a newly dumped LA transplant – and his group of single, unemployed actor friends living in East Hollywood during the Swing revival. Mike goes through some revelatory single-guy experiences and this bit of dialogue pretty much sums up the power struggle between men and women.
Rob: At first you’re going to pretend to forget about her, you’ll not call her, whatever… but then eventually, you really will forget about her.
Mike: Well what if she comes back first?
Rob: Mmmm… see, that’s the thing, somehow they know not to come back until you really forget.
Mike: There’s the rub.
Rob: There’s the rub.
Frozen
Okay curveball, but Disney’s latest heavy hitter does actually subvert the fairytale romance by taking the cartoon prince off his pedestal – he turns out to be a gold digger – and putting the relationship between two sisters centre stage. Kinda revolutionary for Disney. But that ‘Let It Go’ song can still poo right off.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
Kristina Rozhkova’s scatty, confronting portrait of captivity
Gut Feeling — The Russian artist’s 2024 arrest and subsequent detention opened her eye towards the omnipresent dynamics of power and control. Her new photobook is a stark exploration of being trapped.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Washing strangers’ feet at Houghton Festival
Pedilavium — As part of artist Henry Krokatsis’s performance piece at the weekender, we sat down with over 30 others to clean the dusty digits of passersby, while reflecting on the power of collective ritual and human connection.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The anti-tourism guides revealing Lisbon’s true, radical heart
We Hate Tourism Tours — The Portuguese capital sees millions of people visit a year, against a backdrop of political turbulence and a housing crisis fuelled by short term holiday lets. Jack Burke meets the crew subverting their city’s perception, while bringing lesser seen stories and monuments to light.
Written by: Jack Burke
The art of paying attention: How Austria’s Alps reward slowing down
Lebensgefühl — With a growing movement of art and music rooted in the area’s mountains, trees and waterfalls, the region is showcasing the importance of the human relationship to nature.
Written by: Sophie Lou Wilson
Inside Parkuir: the art project queering sport, space and our bodies
Lie and play — Founded by Maria Laudes and Guiu Gimeno, it provides a framework for engaging, subverting, and celebrating the small details that make people unique – and queer.
Written by: Molly Lipson
A major Nan Goldin exhibition is coming to London
You Never Did Anything Wrong — Opening at the Hayward Gallery in November, the show will debut a new film from the artist and activist, alongside a slate of recent work.
Written by: Jack Dennison-Thompson
