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All heart images: Pixabay
Unconventional romances
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, a selection of Exeposé Screen Writers recommend their favourite offbeat love stories
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OANNA Hogg’s semi-autobiographical 2019 drama follows film student Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) as she attempts to make a The Souvenir film and falls in love with an older man, Anthony (Tom Burke), who works at the Foreign Office. However, this is far from your average indie girl meets boy narrative – Anthony is a heroin addict, and this has a myriad of effects on their relationship. Julie has to deal with the emotional and physical impacts of Anthony’s addiction, and the film doesn’t shy away from depicting the harsh reality of this, as well as the more tender, joyful elements of the relationship. In the end, The Souvenir can be said to be a love story dedicated to loving yourself enough to let go, even if doing so is deeply painful. Tilda Swinton and Richard Ayoade both have brilliant smaller roles in the film, and will reprise them in the film’s upcoming sequel, with Charlie Heaton and Harris Dickinson joining the cast. Caitlin Barr
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Image: Her, Untitled Rick Howard Company LLC, IMDb
PIKE Jonze’s Her never fails to astound me. It produces a genuine, loving and human relationship onscreen deHer spite the fact that one of the lovers is not human at all, but AI. The direction that Jonze chooses to take Her is perpetually breath-taking, showing the audience a constantly changing world of bright hues of colour. Yet despite this palette of bright reds and deep yellows, Her depicts an incredibly lonely world, where much like our protagonist, Theodore, we are left empty and alone if not pleased by the aesthetic. The connection between Joaquin Phoenix’s Theodore and Scarlett Johansson’s Samantha gives us a new lease of life, this connection to something deeper that I think we can all in some ways relate to. This newfound love is best displayed through the glorious music by Arcade Fire, showing us the passion that the two have for each other as well as Samantha’s changing nature, ultimately making the final scenes brutally acceptable. Archie Lockyer
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AL Ashby’s 1971 cult black-comedy-slash-heartfeltromance follows possibly the strangest love affair Harold and Maude onscreen. Rich and riddled with angst and existentialism, death-obsessed teenager Harold spends his free time hanging around cemeteries, driving a hearse and contemplating creative ways to commit suicide. When attending a stranger’s funeral, Harold meets 79-year-old Maude, a Nazi concentration camp survivor and all-around ray of sunshine. Confronted with his polar opposite, and everything he claims to despise, Harold’s perspective on life and love shifts dramatically. What begins as an offbeat friendship transforms into an offbeat romance as their disregard for social convention upsets those around them. Cat Stevens’ melodic, poetic and bittersweet accompanying soundtrack creates and intoxicating atmosphere of love and loss. With dark humour and witty dialogue, Harold and Maude is the very definition of an unconventional love story. Francesca Sylph, Screen Editor
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HE Dreamers is possibly the most French film ever made. It concerns the extremely unconThe dreamers ventional relationship between American exchange student Matthew (Michael Pitt), who meets up with fellow cinephiles and siblings Théo and Isabelle (Louis Garrel and Eva Green in her first onscreen role) at a protest against the firing of a famous film preservationist. As the trio grow closer and closer, their relationship soon turns erotic as Matthew discovers the ex-conjoined twins live a life of hedonism and sexual liberty, and the film very quickly turns into an insightful analysis of the relationship between the three characters and their growing attractions to one another. What makes The Dreamers great is the deep characterisation of the three leads, and the conflicts that develop between them as Matthew ruptures the twins’ incestual paradise. About as unconventional a romance movie you can get, The Dreamers is a truly brilliant and raw film, maybe just don’t watch it with a Valentine’s date. William Thornton
Love on the split screen
Jacob Sturgess suggests a new kind of romantic pastime this Valentine’s Day
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ITH the country trapped inside perpetually, new activities are always sought for and boredom is easy to come by. But until you are repeatedly stabbed with a diamond sword by your significant other, you will not have felt true pain. Gaming wouldn’t be the first romantic pastime that comes to mind this Valentine’s Day. What with gamers being so apparently “violent”, one might find it hard to associate it with relationships. But things can kick off with something as simple as a “what are you playing?” comment or an online scribbl. io date, and it’s easy to be hooked with mul-
tiplayers being so abundant. Sharing the experience over the screen can brighten the whole adventure.
BUT UNTIL YOU ARE STABBED BY YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER, YOU HAVE NOT FELT TRUE PAIN After baking one too many pumpkin pies and enchanting all your gear, Minecraft can get old (despite still not slaying the Ender Dragon). The current obsession is Supercell hit Brawl Stars. It is a mobile arcade game that
is particularly enjoyable as a pair due to its two-player battle royale mode in which you work together to be the last team standing. The minute-long matches are so fast-paced that you cannot get sick of playing, and with every narrow loss you find yourself saying the magic words: “okay, this one is the last game.” When the Wii is available, I despair when I am blue-shelled on the Mario Kart race track, and she despairs when I yeet Luigi off a giant mushroom and into the Super Mario Bros. void. However, it is hard to maintain date night in the lounge when your nosey housemates want a piece of you on Rocket League
or Board Game Island. But this is no loss, when it comes to Jackbox party games and you’re all crashed on the sofa trying to offend each other. Anything but Among Us, to be honest, especially if she’s peeking over your shoulder and constantly killing you first (not holding a grudge). So, gaming doesn’t always have to be massively competitive and can provide a wholesome timewaster to while away the not-doing-your-dissertation hours. If the restaurant doors are still closed on the 14th, why not try something new – grab your laptop and punch a tree.
Screen EDITORS’ PICKS: valentine’s day edition Francesca Sylph Screen Editor
olivia garrett Screen Editor
Lars and the Real Girl (2007) Ryan Gosling stars as the painfully shy but kind-hearted Lars who develops a romantic, yet sweetly innocent, relationship with the doll he orders online. On the advice of his doctor, Lars’ family and surrounding community go along with his delusion. What follows is a deeply touching and tender film about Lars learning to love. Image: Lars and the Real Girl, IMDb
About Time (2013) Among the likes of Four Weddings and Love Actually, About Time is Richard Curtis’ fourth edition to the rom-com scene. A classic combo of love and an awkward stringy lead, except this time there’s a twist. Criminally underrated with a vibrant soundtrack and a heart-breaking message, this is not one to miss.
Olivia Gomez
jim norman
Online Screen Editor
Online Screen Editor
When Harry Met Sally (1989) There is a very strong argument to be made that When Harry Met Sally is the greatest rom-com of all time. It’s a slow burner to be sure, but watching the titular couple fluctuate between being together and apart is enough to leave anyone rooting for their romance.
Image: When Harry Met Sally, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc, IMDb
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004) My pick for a Valentine’s Day movie is Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind by director Charlie Kaufman. This film has a quirky and dramatic plot that proves that love will conquer all – even strong attempts to erase it from one’s memory.
Image: Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, IMDb