This month

A Single Man

You diehard romantics have already seen all the classic lovey-dovey movies, from Gone With the Wind or When Harry Met Sally through to Pretty Woman and The Notebook. This Valentine’s Day, why not consider some love stories that are not quite mainstream? These films have plenty of incisive writing, all the emotion you can handle, and no cloying saccharine aftertaste. Now, that’s amore.

A SINGLE MAN (2009)

A day in the life of a gay man whose partner has died. This film is set in Los Angeles in the 1960s, so this starts off as a tale of concealed grief but blossoms slowly into a story about hope and living every day. Oscar-worthy cast includes Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Nicholas Hoult. The film is designer Tom Ford’s impressive directorial debut.

THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE (2009)

This is a coming-of-age movie for grown-up women with Robin Wright Penn as Pippa, a perfect woman married to a much older man (Alan Arkin). As their relationship is tested, we meet Pippa, in flashbacks, as a wild young woman (played by Blake Lively), and a host of other characters brought to life by Maria Bello, Julianne Moore and Keanu Reeves.

TWILIGHT (2008)

Vampires fall in love, too, you know. This film is all about the smouldering glances and general heat that result every time Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are in the same room. Twilight concerns a girl and a vampire, and is the perfect metaphor for forbidden teen passion.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE (2005)

There are five Bennet sisters, and they all need husbands. Jane Austen’s comedy of manners is brought to life as a lavish costume drama with plenty of Regency detail and a terrific cast including Keira Knightley, Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn, and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy.

THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1993)

Martin Scorsese directs Edith Wharton’s tale of love, marriage and society in 19th-century New York. Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis), a bright young lawyer, is engaged to the socially acceptable May Welland (Winona Ryder). Then he encounters May’s unusual cousin, Countess Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), and is torn between proper social appearances and passionate love.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)

The beautiful Belle bravely takes her father’s place as a prisoner in the castle of the terrifying beast, who is secretly a prince under a spell. Love tames the wild beast in all of us, it seems. The movie will be available in 3-D, although that seems to be gilding the lily. Film voiced by Robby Benson, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury et al.

MOONSTRUCK (1987)

Blue-collar love grows in Brooklyn. Cher is a widow who has decided to marry again, but not for love; her staid fiancé turns out to have a passionate brother, played by Nicolas Cage. Norman Jewison directed this love story, and it won Oscars for Cher and Olympia Dukakis.

WITNESS (1985)

A detective on the trail of a killer has to hide out in Amish country, where a forbidden romance develops with a young widow. The mix of thriller and love story helped Witness win two Oscars and net another six nominations. With Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Jan Rubes and Lukas Haas.

HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)

A marvelous tale about a rich kid of 20 who is obsessed with death, and the old woman with whom he creates a loving relationship. Classic fare with Bud Cort and the inimitable Ruth Gordon.

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961)

Elia Kazan directs Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty in a tale of social status and forbidden love – funny how often those themes come up in romance stories, isn't it? He’s a rich boy whose dad insists he go off to Yale for four years; she’s a small-town girl whose mother advises her not to have sex before marriage. Heartbreak and madness all around.