Indie films have, for decades, been expected to provide entertainment too daring for the mainstream, often doing so by pushing the boundaries of violence, existentialism, and grief. Still, there have been a bevy of indie films which have dared to tread into a topic more reminiscent of studio films: romance. There is a certain freedom afforded by making smaller, script driven films — but doing so using one of film's oldest plot devices can prove perilous without providing a unique angle on the traditional love story.
Since the 1990s, the decade that elevated indie films to a potentially higher-reaching critical reception than their studio counterparts, filmmakers have seldom dared to lean back towards romantic stories, as they require a unique approach to the topic of romance. That has proven most successful when these films do away with the traditional tropes of studio filmmaking, often by exploring love that sprouts from unexpected places. In the indie realm, the more unexpected the relationships explored in these movies, the more successfully they translate to acclaim.
The following are 10 romantic indie films that were anything but cheesy.
10 Lars and the Real Girl
Lars and the Real Girl could have been a prototypically light-hearted romantic comedy — save for the fact that Lars (Ryan Gosling) was working through the logistics of falling in love with an extremely creepy silicone sex doll. Yikes! Somehow, he still made for a sympathetic character, as his family slowly begins to accept that his romantic counterpart is...well...pretty much inanimate. The film did well to expose the fact that, in the darkest corners of Middle America there exist folks who don't necessarily share the same appetites as educated indie film audiences — and that we should accept people for who they are (as long as their not too creepy).
9 The Big Sick
The Big Sick was an unexpectedly moving film about forging a romantic relationship through the prism of illness, as Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani) and Emily (Zoe Kazan) negotiate cultural traditions, racial disparity, and differing professions — all while Emily becomes afflicted with a life-threatening illness. Despite being a comedy, the film jerks plenty of tears, as the stand-up comic Kumail forges a love affair with a woman who suddenly suffers from cancer — just as they are discovering their love for one another.
The film tugs at heart strings in that — just as the unlikelihood of their relationship must be tossed aside to explore their emotions — the spectre of mortality also becomes merely a romantic obstacle to overcome — even if Kumail is often found adrift on his way to that discovery. The result is a heartwarming comedy that leaves behind a slightly more sensitive audience than it found.
8 Carol
Has there ever been another film that examined the complexities of lesbian lifestyles in pre-Stonewall America better than Carol? There may have been a few — but no more than could be counted on one hand. At greater issue at the time of the film's release, was whether this highly sexualized movie was cast in a truly representative manner.
Still, given how under-represented feminine same-sex relationships have been in film versus their masculine counterparts, Carol was a breakthrough of sorts — if only in terms of inclusivity. It required the sensitivity of a director like Todd Haynes, who illuminates the film's emotions under a mistletoe — and to the backdrop of an Upper Manhattan socialite setting. Still, this wasn't a film about awareness, as much as a very contained love story, in the classical sense — making all of Haynes' small touches that much more resonant.
7 Call Me by Your Name
It's easy to forget what a landmark indie film Call Me by Your Name was upon its release in 2017, given the subsequent revelations about star Armie Hammer, and Timothée Chalamet's ascendance into the leading man and Pop Culture phenomenon that has overshadowed his indie roots.
Still, the film was a poetic rumination on same-sex relationships in 1980s Europe, that now may be deemed inappropriate given the age disparity of the main characters, and the re-framing of public opinion of Hammer in recent years. The film was just as much a coming-of-age drama as a romance, with performances that stirred many a film festival audience before it became a decidedly guilt-ridden experience to watch.
6 Her
Another non-traditional romance, this time between a man named Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) and his AI virtual assistant Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), Her redefined the boundaries of love stories.
At the outset, the audience is made to cringe at Theodore's seemingly-impossible ambitions for a relationship with his electronic devices, before director Spike Jonze sways us into considering that this may, in fact, be his soulmate. All of our natural objections are personified by the film's peripheral cast, who at times seem more invested in Theodore's happiness than their own. The result is film that projects the endless possibilities of affinity into the future.
5 Before Sunrise
Richard Linklater firmly established himself as an experimenter in the '90s, first with Slacker, then Dazed and Confused, then the first installment of his Before series. Before Sunrise is arguably the most influential moment of this director's prolific decade of output, profiling a love affair between Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), a couple whose relationship is marked by philosophical quandaries even in this honeymoon period.
With the Before series, Linklater extended character arcs over a trilogy, a feat he later achieved with a single film — Boyhood. Boyhood may have been more revolutionary, conceptually speaking, but Before Sunrise is regarded as Linklater's most poetic film, and rightfully so, as it presented a stark rumination on the nature of relationships at their outset —before rounding out that idea with the follow-up films of this unforgettable trio of films.
4 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Michel Gondry had carved out a niche for himself with his visionary '90s music videos, creating such an impression that he had Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet clamoring to work with him on his second feature, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film is, first and foremost, a hallucinogenic, surrealist artwork — and secondly, a tender love story. It was a statement film for Carrey, who proved he could be a dramatic actor while still adding touches of hilarity to this role. It remains Gondry's most successful feature, thanks largely to Carrey's unprecented performance, as a lovelorn idealist who's haunted by the memories of a relationship gone sour.
3 Juno
Screen scribe Diablo Cody utilized her unique voice to create a film festival sensation in Juno, the story of an unplanned teen pregnancy and the consequential aftermath. Elliot Page gives a stirring performance, which remains his most sensitive, as Juno MacGuff, a post-adolescent whose superior intelligence does nothing to assuage the built-in dynamic of impending parenthood with a young man who is equally unprepared for the inevitability of being a father.
The lovably-twee soundtrack provided by The Moldy Peaches underlines the innocence of all parties involved in this suddenly all-too-real situation, as Juno and Paulie (Michael Cera) are forced to negotiate their friendship with a life-altering near future. The result is a romantic film that has little to do with romance.
2 Lost in Translation
Few films have captured the ephemeral nature of romance better than Lost in Translation, as the film tracks a never-consumated relationship forged between Bob (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) — as the two find existential grief, and a love that can't be realized, within the malaise of a Japanese hotel. Bob is something of a celebrity, and can't seem to unglue himself from professional obligations in Tokyo, while Charlotte finds herself alone after tagging along on a work trip with her photographer husband.
Sofia Coppola's film was very personal — at times lampooning her relationship with fellow director Spike Jonze — while simultaneously cultivating her singular voice as a filmmaker. Along the way she managed to make frenemies with actor Cameron Diaz, another victim of this visceral approach to filmmaking.
1 Moonlight
Barry Jenkins' modern tale of youthful love, Moonlight slowly unfolded a romance gained, lost, then regained again over the course of main character Chiron's adolescence and early adulthood. The film called attention to the struggles that young gay men must circumvent in an uber-macho South Florida community, a place that leaves very little room for the "other". As Chiron ages, he's first played by the lanky and awkward Ashton Sanders, before smash-cutting into the muscle-bound presence of actor Trevante Rhodes in the proverbial present day.
Both actors give incredible performances to illuminate this tension and transformation, but the film's greatest scenes come courtesy of Chiron's father figure Juan, played to Oscar-winning effect by Mahershela Ali. The film utilizes great economy, with not a word-too-many of dialogue — as it would have interfered with Jenkins' stirringly-symbolic visual imagery.
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