An old friend once told me: “The best stories have sad endings.” Or was it: “The best endings are sad endings”? Whatever it was, I hate to say I agreed with him.

We must admit, there is a side of human nature that finds these stories compelling. One of my favorite feelings is bawling my eyes out after watching a tragic ending. It might sound strange to say, but it’s true! These endings are usually carefully crafted, involving intense emotional build up between the two characters, which make it all the more artful and impactful. It always amazes me how good writing, acting, and directing can make you feel so many emotions.

These stories are heart-wrenching. It pierces your gut and may make you feel even a little frustrated. Their fates plague you. Every now and then your mind drifts off and you think back to the tragic story between the characters. That is when you know the story did a good job, because it stuck with you. It made you feel something. In turn, you were able to lower your defenses and allow yourself to feel vulnerable to the story, which is one of the best feelings of watching movies in the first place.

These characters had limited time. Limited chances. Limited means. Despite all of their efforts, through thick and thin, they could not end up together.

So without further ado, here are three tragic tales of love and romance.

The Little Mermaid

Not the Disney version. The original Hans Christian Anderson one, where the Little Mermaid sacrifices herself and dies in the end. Meanwhile, The Prince is unaware of her love and sacrifice, which may be the most tragic element of all. I love this original story and I wish it’d been adapted this way more often.

The 1976 Soviet adaptation, Rusalochka, does a wonderful job setting the scene and staying true to the original story. The actors, makeup, costumes, and subtle, haunting atmosphere, make it a fantastic adaptation to watch.

Atonement

This is a popular title seen on many “romance movie” lists on the internet. It is, indeed, heartbreaking. It didn’t make me sob a puddle or anything, rather the ending leaves a solemn taste in your mouth.

The film is so very artfully produced. The settings, cinematography, script, acting, costumes…basically everything about this movie is tremendously exquisite. Keira Knightley and James McAvoy have such fantastic chemistry here. I love it when characters say so little but express so much, and they do it so well in this movie.

Keith

It’s always been a bit difficult for me to articulate this movie into words of praise. It deserves much more than that, because that’s how much I love it. This movie taught me so much about what it meant to create an engaging, mysterious, and powerful love story. The script leaves much to the imagination and that is the beauty of it.

The movie stars Elisabeth Harnois and Jesse McCartney. On the outside it may seem like a typical story: popular girl meets nerdy dude. Little does the audience know, this movie is much, much deeper than that.

BONUS: The Theory of Everything

Sometimes, none of the characters die at the end. They just don’t end up together, no matter how hard they tried.

The Theory of Everything is such an incredible movie, blending biography, science, math, romance, commitment, and responsibility into a single story. The acting by Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking and Felicity Jones as Jane Wilde is superb. Such an intelligent film that will tug on the heartstrings of STEM and art majors alike, perhaps even reuniting them into one.

The ending is truly one of my favorite sequences ever. If you’ve watched it, you know what I’m talking about!

Honorable Mentions

These other movies may be more or less tragic. Some are quite obvious, some might not be. Some are sadder than others, some might not seem so. Though the main point of it is that the couple didn’t end up together.

• Love Story (1970) see my post here
• The Way We Were (1973) see my post here
• Titanic (1997) see my post here
• Romeo and Juliet (1968) see my post here
• Tuck Everlasting (2002) see my post here