The best anti-rom coms on Netflix to get you through Valentine's Day
From bright sci-fi comedy The One I Love to Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska in Crimson Peak, check out the movies that cut through the schmaltz this Valentine's Day
Romantic comedies are a dark creation. For every La La Land there's a hundred Leap Years, Failures to Launch and, well, Valentine's Days.
Even the best of them are tempered with so much corny dialogue that they're only bearable if you're wrapped up in a relationship of your very own. So, thankfully Netflix is stacked with alternatives.
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There's a fine selection of films that do away with romantic comedy tropes, and some that will completely re-affirm your decision to spend Valentine's Day alone.
Check out our list of the 10 best anti-rom coms on Netflix UK below.
The One I Love
A whip-smart sci-fi comedy that turns rom com tropes on their head. Facing the end of their marriage, Sophie (The Handmaid's Tale's Elisabeth Moss) and Ethan (Mark Duplass) head to a secluded estate for a weekend on the advice of their therapist. From here, things take a bizarre and brilliant supernatural turn. Watch on Netflix
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Crimson Peak
Guillermo del Toro's gothic romance turned horror story, starring Mia Wasikowska and Tom Hiddleston, is a thing of great beauty. Don't be frightened... Watch on Netflix
Closer
A modern take on Mozart's tragic opera Cosi Fan Tutti, starring Natalie Portman, Clive Owen, Jude Law and Julia Roberts as lovers entangled in a grim, messy knot. Watch on Netflix
Shame
This one may have you yearning for the comfort of a stable relationship. Michael Fassbender stars as a sex addict on a downward spiral in Steve McQueen's unflinching drama. Watch on Netflix
Gerald's Game
Sex games take a dark turn in this chiller from horror god Stephen King. Watch on Netflix
Blue Jay
Sarah Paulson and Mark Duplass have remarkable chemistry in this sad, black and white indie flick about a high school sweethearts who meet later in life and get wrapped up in how things might have been. Watch on Netflix
The Invitation
Will and his girlfriend Kira attend an awkward dinner party at his ex-wife's house. Things begin dark - the revelation that the couple had split in the aftermath of the death of their young son - and get darker as it appears that the hosts have sinister intentions... Watch on Netflix
The Other Boleyn Girl
Nothing says romance like having all your exes beheaded, right? Natalie Portman's Anne Boleyn discovers that Henry VIII (Eric Bana) is not quite the catch she once thought he was. Watch on Netflix
Anomalisa
Take this one on with a pinch of salt. Charlie Kaufman's bizarre, stop-motion animation about a lonely businessman is really, really not likely to ignite your romantic spark. *Warning*: features graphic puppet-on-puppet action Watch on Netflix
