Reena Bromberg Gaber is a Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer,…
If you’re still reeling from the heart-crushing weight of We Live In Time, starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, we get it. But, if you’re interested in breaking your heart once more, we (again), get it.
Until the film is available for streaming, here’s a list of the five most romantically devastating movies that will make you sob as hard as you did while watching We Live In Time in theaters.

La La Land

Part of We Live In Time‘s draw is the real nature of the characters and the story, and the lack of reassurance of a happy ending. La La Land is all that, plus song and dance. The 2016 movie starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone is sure to make you laugh, cry, and feel an empty pit where your heart once was after watching.
Five Feet Apart

If you love the allure of a love story that’s doomed, Five Feet Apart might be the movie for you. The plot follows two teenagers with cystic fibrosis, who can’t get within five feet of one another due to their health issues as they fall in love and make detrimental decisions. This film is equally fulfilling and heartbreaking.
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind

Those who are only interested in perfect love stories have probably already turned away from this list, but if not… RUN away from this movie. For those who love the idea of even their exes being significant parts of their stories, this movie is a masterpiece. Starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, whose characters break up and decide to get their memories of each other erased. Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind movie is a poignant illustration of love and loss.
500 Days of Summer

For those who love complex characters and love stories— which you obviously do if you loved We Live in Time, this 2009 movie starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be the introspective journey you need. Following Tom as he meets Summer, gets dumped by her, and then tries to move on, you’ll begin to reconsider what it means to be a hopeless romantic.
Fair Warning: this movie may have you run screaming from anyone who says, “I love The Smiths.”
Bridge to Terabithia

For the final, throwback movie, Bridge to Terabithia with a young Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb will both heal your childlike wonder, and remind you that not every ending can be happy. Leslie and Jess, young kids who become best friends, create a fairytale kingdom where they spend their free time ruling as king and queen. Bonus points if you can get through the book by Katherine Paterson without ugly-crying for several hours.
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Reena Bromberg Gaber is a Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer, looking for the deep stories hidden in every day life. Based in New York City, Reena loves film, as well as engaging in current events and the culture behind sports. In May 2025, she will graduate from Columbia University with a Bachelors in sociology.




