“Why did she cheat on her husband?” Well, there is no one answer to that. Infidelity as a theme is emerging vicariously all over Hollywood, be it in music or shows. While it has been a taboo topic for ages, the movie industry is trying to showcase the two-faced tone of infidelity. Hollywood is like the land of Oz without the wizard. Here making a dime is more important than adhering to social norms.
Therefore, we see a rise in movies with cheating as a theme more than ever. Adultery, more commonly known as cheating or infidelity, is usually very impermissible. However, statistically speaking, wife-cheating stories arise from loneliness and lack of love rather than malice. Mostly they are searching for happiness or love in places outside the confines of their married life.
However, everything in Hollywood has a catch. They do not promote adultery by any means, they just showcase how adultery plays an unwitting role in people’s lives, and then they go on to explore the topic from infinite angles. They put the flavor of adultery to bring out the most tragic romances. They pull out all the emotions, mix them with epic storylines and then serve them to the audience to judge whether it is right or wrong to cheat from that particular character’s vantage point. Mostly movies made on such topics serve as a reminder of why not to take relationships for granted or how to avoid cheating altogether.
Naturally, some movies are more well-known, like Unfaithful (2002) or Casablanca (1942), but some movies are yet to be discovered.
Top 35 Wife Cheating Movies: A List
1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
The famous director of Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen, is widely known for the creative streak in his works. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) is another of his artistic works where we see many known faces like Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Penélope Cruz, etc. The story goes something like this: two best friends go on a trip to Spain, aka Vicky (played by Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (played by Scarlett Johansson), and are charmed by the same artist. Things begin to spice up when the artist’s ex-wife enters the picture.
While it is easy to categorize the story of this movie as immoral, it is more effective to view it as a film that explores love from an unconventional viewpoint. While Vicky represents run-of-the-mill love, Cristina represents the fluidity of love. However, the sardonicism of the plot lies in the fact that though these two women are vastly different in their choices, they end up sleeping with the same guy. So, that being said, it is generally for the audience to decide whether you can call this film filled with adultery or a film exploring pragmatic love vs. glamorous love.
- Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson
- Director: Woody Allen
- IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
- Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video.
Also see: 20 Top Dramas and Movies of Scarlett Johansson
2. Ryan’s Daughter (1970)
Ryan’s Daughter by indubitable David Lean is a movie that is set in the early 1900s. The movie was released at a time when Hollywood was just starting to play with new themes like adultery. As such, the story of this film starts in a village in Ireland, where a British soldier is posted. A married young woman (Sarah Miles) falls in love with the newly stationed soldier (Christopher Jones).
The director is known for his so-called “epic style,” and he brings that epic style to this movie too. The protagonist Rosy Ryan is the picture-perfect example of an ordinary girl who does not have much an experience either in passion or in love. She is married to Charles Shaughnessy (played by Robert Mitchum).
While primarily the movie’s theme revolves around the theme of infidelity, it is much more than that in reality. It shows how substance abuse can be detrimental, what happens when two different worlds run into each other, and finally, how distance in a marriage can lead to questionable choices
- Cast: Sarah Miles, Robert Mitchum, Christopher Jones, Trevor Howard, Evin Crowley, John Mills
- Director: David Lean
- IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
- Where to Watch: Google Play Movies, Amazon Prime Video, Apple Tv,
3. Madame Bovary (2014)
If you are a classic reader, then you must have heard about Gustave Flaubert and his famous 1856 novel Madame Bovary. This 2014 movie is adapted from the very same novel. The movie stars Mia Wasikowska as Emma, who is tired of her monotonous marriage with Charles Bovary (played by Henry Llyod-Hughes), a countryside doctor.
She is agitated about her life in a small town and desires to experience more in life. This apprehensive nature of Emma Bovary makes her cross the boundaries of social norms and search for passion and love outside her marriage. She meets a bewitching Leon Dupuis (played by Ezra Miller), who ignites more excitement in her life than her husband.
Flaubert’s novel back in 1856 did not cease to stir a thunderstorm of public decency, and even through the ages, the book’s plotline is still considered a herald against conventional societal norms. The female protagonist is a huge diversion from the traditional women and could be considered a fallacious wife but a very passionate human being. The film does plenty of justice to the novel’s original thoughts and processes. Barthes drew out Flaubert’s tale in a magnificent setting.
- Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Ezra Miller, Rhys Ifans, Paul Giamatti, Logan Marshall-Green, Laura Carmichael. Henry Llyod-Hughes
- Director: Sophie Barthes
- IMDB Rating: 5.7/10
- Where To Watch: Google Play Movies, Vudu
Also see: Who Is Ezra Miller? A Look Into The Life Of The Flash!
4. Queen of Hearts (2019)
This movie, set in Denmark, not only plays with the theme of cheating, but it also has a theme of incest. Queen of Hearts tells the tale of a married lawyer (played by Trine Dyrholm) who decides to play with fire when she enters into an affair with her young stepson. Her incestual relationship threatens to destroy her life and her family altogether.
The protagonist is conflicted and naturally is under great moral stress. However, she is unable to douse her feelings or her passion for her stepson. The storyline mostly casts a light on how infidelity can come knocking at your door in the weirdest of circumstances.
- Cast: Trine Dyrholm, Gustav Lindh, Magnus Krepper, Marie Daarlsgard, Elias Budde Christensen, Carla Phillip Roder
- Director: May el-Toukhy
- IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
- Where to Watch: Vudu, Google Play Movies
5. Casablanca (1942)
You are not a Hollywood person if you have never heard of the masterpiece Casablanca. Legendary Casablanca was first aired in New York City in 1942, and since then, it has become one of the most celebrated and classic Hollywood movies. The movie is set during World War II when two old lovers reunite in Casablanca.
The protagonist, a club owner in Casablanca, runs into his former sweetheart, who is now married. However, her husband is a fugitive who is on the run from the Germans. The protagonist decides to help his former lover and her husband to escape safely. The female protagonist, Ilsa Lund (played by Ingrid Bergman), finds herself in a position where she cannot resist rekindling her feelings of passion and love for her former lover, Rick Blaine (played by Humphrey Bogart).
The movie is one of history’s most famous ones and also was made at a time when World War II was in full swing. The relations between the States and Nazi Germany were escalating, and this was a period of overall tension. At a time like that, a movie like Casablanca was a welcome distraction from the heaviness of the War and towards a tale of forbidden love, passion, and intrigue.
- Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Lebeau
- Director: Michael Curtiz
- IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Also see: 35 Best Movies To Watch On Amazon Prime In 2023
6. The Aftermath (2019)
The Aftermath presents a more lustful narrative of love and passion set in the aftermath of World War II. The story starts after the victory of the Allied nations against the Axis nations when a married couple (played by Jackson Clarke and Keira Knightley) is sent to live in Hamburg. The couple goes on to live in a mansion owned by a wealthy widower (played by Alexander Skarsgard) who lives there with his only daughter. However, with a twist of fate, the wife starts to develop a new kind of attraction towards the wealthy widower despite her being married.
The movie is set in a time when the world was just taking baby steps towards healing from a devastating war. Therefore, the story has a lot of drama and complexity in it. However, the altruistic nature of this movie cannot be denied, even if one does not enjoy dramatic storylines.
- Cast: Keira Knightley, Alexander Skarsgard, Jackson Clarke, Flora Thiemann, Kate Phillips, Jack Laskey
- Director: James Kent
- IMDB Rating: 6.3/10
- Where to Watch: Apple Tv, Vudu, Prime Video
Also see: Keira Knightley’s 10 Best Movies (According To IMDb)
7. Unfaithful (2002)
One can judge a lot from one’s name, and the same goes for this movie. The title is half of the movie plot here. Unfaithful has to be one of the best salacious movies of its time. The plot is very generic – a young married woman, Connie Summer (played by Diane Lane), engages in an extramarital affair with a charismatic and handsome stranger, Paul Martel (played by Olivier Martinez). However, soon her husband, Ed Summer (played by Richard Gere), gets wind of something going amiss in his marriage and grows more doubtful.
Filled with eroticism, this movie portrays the importance of open communication in a marriage and how quickly a marriage can take a turn towards adultery if a couple lets things go out of hand. This intriguing film is with unbridled passion, love, and deception.
- Cast: Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Olivier Martinez, Michelle Monaghan, Chad Lowe, Kate Burton
- Director: Adrian Lyne
- IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
- Where to Watch: Apple Tv, Prime Video, Vudu
8. Lady Chatterley’s Lover (2022)
In this adaptation of DH Lawrence’s novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover, we see a well-known face – Netlfix Crown’s young princess Diana.
The plotline circles the life of an English married couple post-World War I. Initially, Lady Chatterley (played by Emma Corrin) and her husband, Clifford Chatterley (played by Matthew Duckett), started as a loving married couple. The couple’s marriage, however, gradually dwindles into Lady Chatterley’s disenchantment with her husband after he comes home injured from the Great War.
She goes on to seek companionship, love, and passion elsewhere. Her path crosses with the gamekeeper of her estate, Oliver Mellors (played by Jack O’Connell), and the pair become quite taken by each other. Their affair heralds a sexual awakening for Lady Chatterley, and she begins to desire more independence as a result. Lady Chatterley’s Lover, as a movie adaptation, tries to walk the line of the actual book to a respectable extent.
- Cast: Emma Corrin, Jack O’Connell, Ella Hunt, Joely Richardson, Matthew Duckett, Faye Marsay
- Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
- IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix
Also see: The 50 Best Drama Movies to Watch on Netflix
9. Sex, Lies, Videotapes (1989)
This movie takes the concept of infidelity and explores it from an artistic point of view. Eroticism takes center stage and weaves a tale of high passion and forbidden desires in Sex, Lies, and Videotapes.
A married woman, Ann Mullany (played by Andie MacDowell), is quite repressed by her husband, John Mullany (played by Peter Gallagher), and tries to seek alleviation outside her marriage with a stranger, Graham Dalton (played by James Spader). However, her husband was no saint either. John Mullany was actively engaged in an affair with Ann Mullany’s sister.
Their equation starts to tangle like a web once Graham Dalton, a guy whose kinks include getting pleasure by videotaping women talking about their sexual lives, enters the picture. The story then spirals into a saga of deception where every character hides the truth behind a slim shroud. The movie’s deep-rooted artistic approach is still talked about today.
- Cast: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Laura San Giacomo, Peter Gallagher
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
10. The Deep Blue Sea (2011)
Another post-war movie, The Deep Blue Sea, is an adaptation of a 1952 play by Terrence Rattigan. It tells a tale of an English wife, Hester Collyer (played by Rachel Weisz), and her affair with an ex-pilot of NRA, Freddie Page (played by Tom Hiddleston). Her life is upended by the affair as she tackles the road of passionate love against societal norms.
The movie turns out to be a very touching drama, where the love triangle leaves the audience with a sense of “half hope, half agony.” The female protagonist is no ordinary or conventional woman. She is headstrong and desperately wants to experience more in life than the life of a High Court lawyer’s wife can offer her. Hence, she leaves her husband and starts a journey of following her own heart. However, following one’s heart is not free from complexities.
- Cast: Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, Ann Mitchell, Simon Russell Beale, Harry Hadden-Paton, Karl Johnson
- Director: Terence Davies
- IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Also see: Facts About Tom Hiddleston You Didn’t Know
11. Last Night (2010)
In a narrative of adultery and loss of conjugal faith, Last Night strikes a balance between reality and deception. More importantly, this movie is a tale of love gone stale. A husband, Micheal Reed (played by Sam Worthington), goes for a trip, while his wife, Joanna Reed (played by Keira Knightley), starts reigniting old feelings for her old lover.
It is said that to make a relationship long-lasting, one has to maintain its excitement and intrigue. But what happens when a couple loses that intrigue? Micheal and Joanna Reed, as a married couple, started to grow apart after Micheal went on a one-night business trip. In his absence, Joanna Reed starts to feel a sort of old pull toward her ex-lover. Infidelity becomes a third person in their marriage, and soon deception enters the picture. Even her husband engages in temptation with another woman named Laura.
- Cast: Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes, Guillaume Canet, Stephanie Romanov, Daniel Eric Gold
- Director: Massy Tadjedin
- IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix
Also see: Interesting Facts About Keira Knightley You Didn’t Know
12. I am Love (2009)
They say love can hit you like a trainwreck, and this sentence stands true without any exceptions. This movie is about how love and passion hit a married woman when she was least expecting it.
In the movie I am Love, by Luca Guadagnino, Emma Recchi (played by Tilda Swinton) gets married into the rich Reccchi family. However, her life is filled with seclusion. At dinner, while her husband discusses possible business ventures, Emma’s gaze snags on the chef of the restaurant, Antonio Biscaglia (played by Edoardo Gabbriellini).
The pair then engage in an extramarital affair, while her husband is hellbent on gaining control over the family business. Emma’s affair sparks off a series of events that could ultimately lead to the family’s unravelment of power and wealth.
- Cast: Tilda Swinton, Alba Rohrwacher, Edoardo Gabbriellni, Jimmi Carlos Zuniga Macias
- Director: Luca Guadagnino
- IMDB Rating: 7/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix
13. Anna Karenina (2012)
Anna Karenina needs no major introduction. If you are a reader, you know Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel has been adapted many times over the years. The story revolves around a bourgeoise married woman Anna Karenina, who falls in love with Count Vronsky while she is visiting one of her relatives.
The pair then embark on a journey of forbidden romance, passion, and desire that threaten the very fabric of Anna’s aristocratic position. Tolstoy’s 800-page-long Anna Karenina has to be one of the best classical fiction ever written on infidelity with its gorgeous setting in Imperial Russia.
In this 2012 adaptation of Anna Karenina, Keira Knightley plays the beautiful Anna, and Aaron Thompson plays the role of the charismatic Count Vronsky. Their love is fiery, consuming, and so intense that it shines brighter than starlight. The movie showcases the numerous sides or facets of romance and weaves a tale of such emotional duress that it leaves the audience enthralled. The movie might have mixed responses, but one cannot deny how glamorous Wright’s version of Anna Karenina is.
- Cast: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Matthew Macfadyen, Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Cara Delevingne
- Director: Joe Wright
- IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix
Also, see: Keira Knightley’s 10 Best Movies (According To IMDb)
14. Swing Shift (1984)
This adaptation of Swing Shift was released in the first half of the 1980s and since then has been receiving both good and negative reviews.
The story is of a married woman set during World War II when she tries to get a job in an aviation plant while her husband is out at the battlefront. Kay Walsh (played by Goldie Hawn) finds love in the new place where she started working, despite having a husband and a family.
The protagonist, a homemaker, learns to live without her husband when he goes off to fight in the war as a naval officer. Her character is very complex, and in the beginning, Kay is polite and poised, but as the story goes on, she meets with a feminist version of herself and grows more resilient and open to experiencing something new and outside the confines of her old life.
However, one can see that she is scared of change and retreats to her old self whenever something goes amiss. The movie’s negative response is more towards the director, Demme, than toward the plot or the star-studded cast.
- Cast: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Christine Lahti, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Fred Ward
- Director: Jonathan Demme
- IMDB Rating: 5.9/10
- Where to Watch: Vudu, Google Play Movies
15. Waitress (2007)
The Waitress makes the list with a fresh twist to the infidelity saga. This movie is primarily a romantic comedy, aka romcom, so it is a nice treat to the audience but with an important message. The story revolves around a pregnant wife who is extremely unhappy in her marriage.
Jenna Hunterson (played by Kerri Russell) is an extraordinary baker whose pies are her best works. She naturally works as a waitress at a diner that is mostly known for serving pies. However, she is in a disparaging marriage, where her husband, Earl Hunterson (played by Jeremy Sisto), is pretty abusive.
She wants to find happiness and peace in her life and decides she will escape her disastrous marriage. Unexpectedly, she becomes pregnant, and her idea of leaving the marriage behind is put to death. Instead, she tries to find the peace she longed for through baking. However, love finds her in the form of the crabby owner of her diner. Jenna holds onto this love as her desperate desire to be happy. The movie is a clear portrayal of how food and love are sometimes synonymous with each other.
- Cast: Keri Russell, Jeremy Sisto, Nathan Fillion, Andy Griffith, Adrienne Shelly, Cheryl Hines
- Director: Adrienne Shelly
- IMDB Rating: 7/10
- Where to Watch: Hulu
Also see: 100 Best Shows To Watch On Hulu The All-Time Best
16. Brief Encounter (1945)
One cannot control who they fall in love with, or so the saying goes. Brief Encounter can be classified as one of the most famous romantic movies of all time. The story is unique and does not falter to kindle the deep sentiments of love and endearment.
A married woman, Laura Jesson (played by Celia Johnson), comes across a very magnetic doctor, Alec Harvey (played by Trevor Howard). She is instantly taken by him and finds herself longing to meet him at every chance she gets.
As a married woman, her life is not that happening, and she starts to pull away from her family life even more as she realizes she is falling in love with this doctor. However, falling in love with someone else while being married isn’t exactly a walk on rose petals. Even then, these two lovebirds risk all they have just to find peace in one another. With stakes so high and love so intense, this movie is perfect, even in its immorality.
- Cast: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Joyce Carey, Cyril Raymond, Margaret Barton, Stanley Holloway
- Director: David Lean
- IMDB Rating: 8/10
- Where to Watch: HBO Max
Also see: Top Movies On HBO Max in 2022 That You Should Know About
17. A Walk on the Moon (1999)
1969 – What a year! If you have your historical facts correct, then you would recall that 1969 was the year human beings first chartered the moon. Neil Armstrong made history by first walking on the moon and made the year a very busy one for every television company. A Walk on the Moon is a movie set in during that era.
Our protagonist, Pearl Kantrowitz (played by Diane Lane), is married to a repairman who works for a television company, Marty Kantrowitz (played by Liev Schreiber). It was a tumultuous time for being in such a job because everyone wanted to witness the historical event of walking on the moon, and so more and more people were installing TV sets in their homes.
As a repairman, Marty was always booked and busy, which did not exactly thrill his wife. Pearl was exasperated with her husband’s absence and started to look for happiness in her way: she fell in love. A salesman for blouses, Walker Jerome (played by Viggo Mortensen), charmed Pearl, and the pair fell desperately in love with each other.
- Cast: Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber, Anna Paquin, Tovah Feldshuh, Victoria Barkoff
- Director: Tony Goldwyn
- IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
- Where to Watch: Google Play Movies, Vudu
18. Deep Water (2022)
Deep Water is a psychological thriller with a very star-studded cast. The story is about a married couple, where the husband has no qualms about her wife having several affairs. He encourages that even. However, when the wife’s lovers mysteriously disappear or are found dead, things get worse.
The movie is an adaptation of a novel by Patricia Highsmith and stars Ana De Armas as Melinda Van Allen and Ben Affleck as Vic Van Allen. The marriage of these two is on a rocky road, where the only thing that ties them together to prolong their marriage is their daughter.
Naturally, to delay the inevitable, aka a divorce, Vic lets her wife cheat. Vic informs Melinda’s new lover that he might be involved in Melinda’s lover going missing, which is a big beef. Later on, he claims he was just making a joke, though it is for the audience to find out what is a joke and what is reality. Thrilling and suspenseful, with lots of steam, the movie is perfect for a binge-watch night.
- Cast: Ana de Armas, Ben Affleck, Jacob Elordi, Finn Wittrock, Rachel Blanchard, Brendan Miller, Kristen Connolly
- Director: Adrian Lyne
- IMDB Rating: 5.4/10
- Where to Watch: Hulu
Also see: Top 10 Best Ana De Armas Films That You Must Watch
19. Little Children (2006)
What binds two souls? Certainly, not marriages that have gone sour. Little Children is a movie about how unhappy marriages lead to disastrous outcomes and a death of morality.
Two married couples have a bond that is going dull with each passing day. Sara Pierce (played by Kate Winslet) and her husband are not happy with each other, no matter how much they try. On the other hand, there is Brad Adamson (played by Patrick Wilson), who is also struggling to keep his marriage afloat. However, both of them have children whom they love dearly.
Their paths entwine, and love fashions between them. Their affair becomes an escape for them both since Sara’s husband has a porn addiction, and Brad’s wife is estranged from him. Love for each other sustains them both for a while. However, with time their extramarital affair causes upheavals and wreaks havoc on their lives too. With an extraordinary screenplay and a very moving storyline, this movie is a treat for anyone who likes to enjoy a picturesque saga of love and drama.
- Cast: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, Noah Emmerich, Tom Perrotta
- Director: Todd Field
- IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
- Where to Watch: Vudu, Google Play Movies
20. Ammonite (2020)
The 19th century was a very influential era when several historical assignments were undertaken. Ammonite is set in the 1840s, where a fossil hunter named Mary Anning (played by Kate Winslet), is finding it difficult to prove herself in a field that is mostly overpowered by men. Even though she is quite a commendable fossil hunter, she often faces neglect from others.
Roderick Murchison (played by James McArdle), a paleontologist, once visits Mary in her town by the sea, and he is married to a woman named Charlotte Murchison (played by Saoirse Ronan), who is ill. Roderick asks Mary to look after his ailing wife as he thinks being near the sea might be a welcome change for her wife.
These two women, Mary and Charlotte, started to develop deep-rooted feelings for each other, which went beyond the social customs of that time. They start understanding each other, helping each other, and above all, caring for each other. Truth be told, Marry Anning is a real figure in history. She was a fossil hunter in the 1800s who made some notable discoveries in her time. However, the authenticity of her being homosexual was put to debate time and again.
- Cast: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, James McArdle, Fiona Shaw, Gemma Jones, Alec Secareanu, Claire Rushbrook
- Director: Francis Lee
- IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Also see: Saoirse Ronan’s 10 Best Movies According To Rotten Tomatoes
21. Ash Wednesday (1973)
Movies starring Elizabeth Taylor hardly ever require introductions of pomp and show. A phenomenal actress like her brings a unique taste to each o their movies. Ash Wednesday is no different.
Barbara Sawyer (played by Elizabeth Taylor) has been married for almost three decades but has an irrational fear that she is losing her husband. Her mind strays to the idea that her husband, Mark Sawyer (played by Henry Fonda), is getting fed up with her since her glamorous youthful beauty is honed down to the artlessness of midlife. As people say, desperate times call for desperate measures: Barbara goes to a clinic to surgically alter her appearance through plastic surgery.
However, things hardly go as one plan, so while she goes through plastic surgery just to restore her husband’s interest in her, she starts to fall for someone else. Erich (played by Helmut Berger) has a tantalizing and charming effect, and Barbara falls for it easily. As they begin to flirt with one another, a relationship develops.
- Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Henry Fonda, Helmut Berger, Carlo Puri, Keith Baxter, Margaret Blye, Maurice Teynac
- Director: Larry Peerce
- IMDB Rating: 5.1/10
- Where to Watch: not available for streaming online yet
22. The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Love is such an elemental force that it goes beyond rationality and the binds of human constraints. It is pure and all-consuming, no matter the duration. Such is the idea behind The Bridges of Madison County.
The movie is adapted from a novel by Robert James Waller. It is a story about how love doesn’t always need a happy ending to be strong or valid. Our protagonist, Francesca Johnson (played by Meryl Streep), is leading a very ordinary married life.
It is monotonous. She meets Robert Kincaid, a new resident in her town, and she acquits him with the town’s surroundings. The pair naturally falls deeply in love with each other. However, Fate is a cruel thing indeed. Even though they madly love each other, they have to part ways forever for good.
The movie is heartwrenching and so deep that even though Francesca and Robert did not end up together, their love was over-the-top influential.
- Cast: Meryl Streep, Clint Eastwood, Christopher Kroon, Annie Corley, Victor Slezak, Richard Lage
- Director: Clint Eastwood
- IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
Also see: Best Meryl Streep Movies To Watch (Ranked From Best To Worst)
23. Troy (2004)
In school, Greek History had to be everyone’s favorite. The Greeks had no end to their epic sagas and even grander love stories. The city of Troy and its fall has been retold by many over the generations, including Homer. In his Iliad, Homer tells the tale of the Trojan War, and this movie, Troy, starring Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector, Diane Kruger as Helen of Troy, and Orlando Bloom as Paris, is an adaptation of that itself.
However, does anyone remember why the Trojan War was fought in reality? Amid all that heroism and bloodshed, the war was fought for many reasons, but the catalyst was the love story of Helen of Troy. She was considered a woman of great beauty and even greater virtue.
Paris was a prince of Troy who fell in love with the wife of Menelaus, Helen. Thus the pair decide to be together, and Helen leaves Menelaus’s palace with Paris. This creates an instant rivalry between Mycenean Greeks and the city of Troy. Thus, the famous battle ensues, and after a prolonged siege, the city falls to the Greeks.
In this movie adaptation of 2004, the star-studded cast of Troy delivers some of the best performances and makes this movie a must-watch for anyone who loves historical drama, intense love, and great battle scenes.
- Cast: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Diane Kruger, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Rose Byrne, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Christie
- Director: Wolfgang Petersen
- IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
24. Her Infidelity (2015)
Movies like these sound just out of a Wattpad story, don’t they? Well, thrillers have a way of making storylines seem like that, and Her Infidelity is no different.
The movie, as the name suggests, begins with the act of infidelity committed by a married woman, Lily Helms (played by Rachel Hunter), who was feeling a little overlooked by her husband. She goes on and sleeps with a teacher in her kid’s school named Grayson Kendall (played by Clayton James).
She had no idea that the man she was sleeping with had significant mental health problems. That is to say, and he was a sociopath. So when Lily realizes she cannot repeat their one-night stand ever again, Grayson has a hard time getting that fact and starts doing what every sociopath would do: stalking her. While one may feel the plot lacks originality, it certainly has its moments too. It is for the audience to decide how they will perceive this thriller.
- Cast: Rachel Hunter, Miranda Frigon, Clayton James, Lane Edwards, Carter Ryan, Loretta Walsh
- Director: Christie Will Wolf
- IMDB Rating: 3.5/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
25. Leaving (2009)
When people cheat, the first thing that pops into our minds is. “How very French of you?” Well, no one can tell for sure if the concept of French adultery is true or not, but this French movie does have some infidelity in it.
Leaving, starring Kristen Scott Thomas and Sergi López, is a love story that blooms on the borders of infidelity. A wealthy wife seems to have it all. In her two decades of marriage, she has a lovely home that she shares with her husband and children.
However, is Suzzane (played by Kristen Scott Thomas) happy? She longs to go back to her life as a physiotherapist after giving 20 years of her life to her marriage. However, things seldom go as they are planned, and she finds herself falling in love with the guy who is building her office for her. Her love for this builder leads to the unraveling of her life.
- Cast: Kristen Scott Thomas, Yvan Attal, Sergi López, Bernard Blancan
- Director: Catherine Corsini
- IMDB Rating: 6.3/10
- Where to Watch: TUBI TV
26. The Great Gatsby (2013)
Book-to-movie adaptation will always be the best genre. The Great Gatsby is one of the most famous classic novels ever written by author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story is set during the roaring 20s, post-World War I era.
What do we remember the most about the Roaring 20s before the recession struck? The Wall Street, for starters, flapper dresses, and finally, the so-called ‘American Dream,’ where people came to the American shores in search of a new life from all over the world. Well, Fitzgerald shaped his story around that itself.
Nick Carraway (played by Tobey Maguire) is drawn to America after the horrors of World War I and is influenced by the glamourous lifestyle of Jay Gatsby (played by Leonardo Di Caprio). This is one side of the story, and the other is the relationship between Jay Gatsby and a married woman named Daisy Buchanan. Daisy is unhappily married to Tom Buchanan, who himself has a mistress.
The great love between the lavish millionaire Gatsby and Daisy thus takes center stage, but there is more than one web of tangled relations in this story. However, the tragic end of Gatsby and Daisy’s love story draws several emotions out of the audience.
- Cast: Leonardo Di Caprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher
- Director: Baz Luhrmann
- IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Also see: 28 Best Movies Of Leonardo DiCaprio That You Cannot Miss
27. The Post Man Always Rings Twice (1946)
When Taylor Swift said, “It’s obvious that wanting me dead has really brought you two together,” I think she was talking in retrospect about this crime-noir movie of 1946: The Post Man Always Rings Twice.
For all crime fiction lovers, this movie puts the perfect mix of love, drama, plotting, and manipulation into one. Cora Smith (played by Lana Turner) is married to a man who is twice her age, Nick Smith (played by Cecil Kellaway). He owns a diner and has hired a new staff: Frank Chambers (played by John Garfield). Frank is young and attractive, and it doesn’t take much for him to catch Cora’s attention.
Consequently, the pair falls in love with each other. However, the problem is Cora is still married. The pair comes up with a solution: kill Nick and gain his wealth for themselves. They go on to commit this felony, but the local chief gets wind of it, though he has no way of proving it. The plot is gripping throughout and has a captivating effect.
- Cast: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Audrey Totter, Alan Reed, Jeff York
- Director: Tay Garnett
- IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
- Where to Watch: Google Play Movies
28. A Royal Affair (2012)
The Enlightenment would pave the way for a revolution that would transfer France’s political power from the hands of the monarchy to the Republic. However, the roots of such ideals started in Denmark. Maybe some of the roots can be understood here in A Royal Affair.
It is the 18th century, and Queen Caroline Mathilde (played by Alicia Vikander), soon-to-be wife of King Christian VII (played by Mikkel Følsgaard), travels to Denmark, where she meets a doctor named Johann Freidrich Struensee (played by Mads Mikkelsen). He is assigned the task of being her court physician. However, bits and pieces of information were left outside when Caroline was asked to marry Christian VII: the king is clinically insane. However, Caroline had suspected as much.
When she arrived in Denmark, she learned that whatever she suspected was true. Soon she starts to spend more time with physician Johann and starts to fall in love with him. Their love and the political life of Danish rule are soon intertwined so intricately that the pair ends up starting a new revolution.
The revolution sweeps the ground of the bourgeoise clan of Denmark and builds up the crescendo of the revolution in France in later years. A Royal Affair is a movie filled with historical drama and intrigue with a mix of all-consuming love.
- Cast: Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Følsgaard, Trine Dyrholm, Cyron Melville, David Dencik, William Jøhnk Nielsen
- Director: Nikolaj Arcel
- IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
29. Disobedience (2017)
It is perhaps no secret that even after so much progression, few communities still view homosexuality as a sin. Disobedience is a movie about two women who love each other despite being shunned and condemned by an orthodox society.
The movie stars Rachel Weisz as Ronit Krushka and Rachel McAdams as Esti Kuperman. They are from an orthodox community, where Ronit, as a child, was outcasted by the community because of her liking toward women. Ronit used to have feelings for Esti, her childhood friend.
Years later, Ronit comes back from New York to the same place after her father’s demise, from where she was sent away. After coming back, she decides to visit and reunite with her old friend. However, Esti is now married. Despite that, these two women start falling for each other again. They start to push the boundaries of faith that cage their secluded community and explore themselves.
The movie is bold, moving, and enriched with conflicting emotions. The main takeaway from this movie, however, is how blind faith could constrict the human mind. Love knows no bounds, no gender, no religion. It simply exists.
- Cast: Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, Aaron Issac, Moshe Caplan, Eliot Alderman
- Director: Sebastián Lelio
- IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
- Where to Watch: Apple Tv, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play Movies,
30. The Boy Next Door (2015)
One thing that is growing in prominence over the years is erotic thrillers. The Boy Next Door is one such movie. The pinch of steamy romance is mixed with a vat of suspense.
Claire Peterson (played by Jennifer Lopez), the wife of Garrett Peterson (John Corbett), had recently decided to be separated from her husband for a while. In her neighborhood, a seductive 19-year-old, Noah Sandborn (played by Ryan Guzman), just moved in, and the pair start to have a juicy affair. Later on, Claire realizes how inappropriate that is and decides to quit it. However, this boy does not take no for an answer and starts stalking and pressuring Claire. The movie is mostly steamy than anything.
- Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman, John Corbett, Lexi Atkins, Ian Nelson, Kristin Chenoweth
- Director: Rob Cohen
- IMDB Rating: 4.7/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Also, see Jennifer Lopez At Met Gala 2023: Jenifer Looked Ravishing
31. Take this Waltz (2011)
Love is a tricky business. Sometimes what you might consider love could very easily be a compromise. Take This Waltz is a beautiful movie that revolves around love and the feeling of being torn between two worlds.
A writer, Margot (played by Michelle Williams), has a loving family and an adorable husband, Lou Rubin (played by Seth Rogen). They’ve been married for years, and there is love between them. Or so she thought. One time while returning home via flight, Margot meets Daniel (played by Luke Kirby) and feels a pull towards him.
He is charming and attractive, and soon Margot starts to fall for this new man. However, Margot does not want to hurt her husband, Lou. They have been married for years, and it has to mean something. Neither is she able to resist her connection to Daniel. She is on a rope here. Torn by the two, she has to decide what love she is ready to give up.
The story has drama, satire, and love in perfect ratio. One cannot know which decision is right and which is wrong before making it, but it seems the only way ahead is sometimes through. So Margot takes a life-changing decision after all.
- Cast: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby, Sarah Silverman, Jennifer Podemski, Aaron Abrams
- Director: Sarah Polley
- IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
- Where to Watch: Netflix, HBO Max
32. Dial M for Murder (1954)
Another crime noir on this list is Dial M for Murder. Legendary Alfred Hitchcock’s movies still inspire a large fandom, and this 1954 movie is no different.
Dial M for Murder stars Grace Kelly as a housewife named Margot Wendice, who had once cheated on her husband with a writer named Mark Halliday (played by Robert Cummings). However, back then, it did not create any consequences. A year later, her husband, a former tennis player, Tony Wendice (played by Ray Milland), gets wind of her infidelity and hatches a plan to murder her wife.
He assumes that because of the affair, his wife would leave him stranded and could not bear the idea. He asks one of his former acquaintances to help him commit the crime, but as with anything with life, the murder plan did not go as he wanted. Margot ends up murdering her murderer.
Tony was a man who knew how to play situations in his favor, even the situations that did not go as it was planned. He decided to fabricate his wife for the murder. Thus, this movie becomes, in its twists and complexities, one of the best crime noir films.
- Cast: Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, John Williams, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, Patrick Allen
- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
- IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
33. Lady Macbeth (2016)
Believe it or not, this movie is another book adaptation. A novella was written by Nikolai Leskov, titled Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District, back in the late 1800s that was adapted by William Oldroyd in 2016.
The story of Lady Macbeth follows Katherine Lester (played by Florence Pugh), who has been married to Alexander Lester (played by Paul Hilton). The man is an industrialist, so naturally, he is always busy, and Katherine has to spend all of her days by herself, alone. Over time she is getting restless and feeling a little left out.
While wandering her estate, she comes across Sebastian (played by Cosmo Jarvis), who works on her estate. Sebastian was charming and lit a bundle of desire within Katherine. Soon these two engage in a tantalizing affair, which escalates into a tale of dark romance. Lies and deceit characterize her life after meeting Sebastian. The story is set in the late Victorian era and has a thrall of its own.
- Cast: Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Naimi Ackie, Paul Hilton, Golda Rosheuvel, Anton Palmer
- Director: William Oldroyd
- IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
34. Faithless (2000)
Faithless is a story of an American actress and her sudden attraction to one of her directors. An actress named Marianne (played by Lena Andre) is having a miraculous run as an American movie star. Not only is she doing well in her career, but she is also having a pretty happy married life with Markus (played by Thomas Hanzon).
They also have a lovely daughter. Everything seems picture-perfect for this Hollywood pair until Marianne’s path crosses with a director named David (played by Krister Henriksson). This director has a flamboyant nature and a nonchalant attitude toward love. To make matters more interesting, David is close to her family. The pair engage in an affair soon after. Their affair gets downright messy.
- Cast: Lena Endre, Erland Josephson, Krister Henriksson, Marie Richardson, Thomas Hanzon, Stina Ekbald
- Director: Liv Ullmann
- IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
- Where to Watch: Yidio
35. Tulip Fever (2017)
Another book-to-movie adaptation is Tulip Fever. The original novel was written by Deborah Moggach. It is set during the Tulip Wars that happened in 17th-century Amsterdam.
The 17th century was an important era for trade and commerce throughout all of Western Europe. Amsterdam was an emerging commercial power, and the author uses that setting to weave his tale of drama, deceit, and romance.
A married aristocratic woman Sophia Sandvoort (played by Alicia Vikander), longs for happiness in her monotonous life since she was married off without her consent. Her husband has commissioned an artist (played by Dane DeHaan to paint a picture of her wife. Soon enough, Sophia falls in love with the artist, and they plan to escape.
However, while her husband was a rich merchant, her lover was just an artist. So they hatch a plan of investing in the Tulip market. The movie has more twists than O’Henry’s novels. The female protagonist loves to fake her death and uses it more than once in the movie. However, this period drama has its fair share of betrayals mixed with some tantalizing scenes.
- Cast: Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan, Judi Dench, Christopher Waltz, Holliday Grainger, Jack O’Connell, Cara Delevingne, Matthew Morrison
- Director: Justin Chadwick
- IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Also read: 51 Musical Movies Like Burlesque To Check Out in 2023
