20 Realistic Movie Portrayals of Men Going Through Breakups
“Woman goes on a journey of self-discovery following a breakup” is practically a whole genre of movie. Legally Blonde, Under the Tuscan Sun, Kill Bill — women be eating/praying/loving. Most of the time, the dude is fine — he’s at the strip club before the woman’s first tear even hits the ground. In real life, of course, men are just as devastated by the destruction of a relationship as women are. It would just be a lot less fun to see a movie where a woman slashes the tires of a mopey lump who’s worn the same hoodie for 20 days straight.
As Redditor ImaginaryAI recently pointed out, breakups are “almost like a withdrawal from a drug,” but most movies are “very, very unrealistic” in their depictions of dumped men. And so, they asked r/Movies, “What are good movies that go through the emotions and feelings of isolation, grief and dread after a breakup from a long relationship?” Reddit recommended cinematic retreats into other countries, into art and occasionally into science-fiction dystopias.
500 Days of Summer
The Wedding Singer
The Break-Up
Marriage Story
High Fidelity
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Swingers
The Five-Year Engagement
Don Jon
Blue Valentine
Manchester by the Sea
Mallrats
Everything Must Go
Cashback
London
Modern Romance
Blue Jay
Closer
Shaun of the Dead
