15. Babel (2006)
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu,Babelis simultaneously about distance and proximity, love and resentment.
One of the film’s storylines centers on Susan (played by Cate Blanchett) and Richard (played by Brad Pitt), an embittered married couple who are holidaying in Morocco.
Though the film doesn’t spend the entirety of its runtime with them, it easily could. Between their stares, you can sense an entire history that could easily open up right before you.
As the final film in Iñárritu’s aptly named Death Trilogy,Babelexhibits a unique understanding of the connection married couples share and the actual fragility of human connections.
Related:The Best Movies About Loneliness and Being Alone
14. Carol (2015)
Directed by Todd Haynes,Carolexamines the difficulties experienced by those who are hiding in their marriages.
In 1950s New York, Carol Aird (played by Cate Blanchett) begins to become bolder about her homosexuality and starts dating the local shop-girl Therese Belivet (played by Rooney Mara).
However, this results in bigger and more extreme complications in her marriage with her husband Harge (played by Kyle Chandler).
Related:The Best Romance Drama Movies of All Time, Ranked
13. Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Perhaps the most disturbing film about marriage on our list,Nocturnal Animalsis a story that turns the secrets in marriage into the subject of a horror-thriller.
When a less-than-happily married woman (played by Amy Adams) receives a novel dedicated to her written by her ex-husband (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), she realizes she must face the truth of what occurred in their marriage.
Directed by Tom Ford and with stunning performances by both Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal,Nocturnal Animalsis riveting.
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12. The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder,The Marriage of Maria Braunisn’t exactly a happy one. But then again, Fassbinder was never exactly known for making happy movies.
The story looks at Maria Braun (played by Hanna Schygulla), who marries Hermann (played by Klaus Löwitsch) right before he’s shipped off for war. When the war concludes, it’s understood by all that Hermann unfortunately died in battle.
So, the bereaved Maria starts a romantic entanglement with an American named Bill (played by George Byrd). But when Hermann returns, alive and shocked, tragedy soon follows…
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11. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick in what would be his final film,Eyes Wide Shutis an underrated masterpiece.
The marriage between Bill (played by Tom Cruise) and Alice (played by Nicole Kidman) seems perfect. But after Alice makes a startling admission about her fantasies, Bill grows more paranoid, suspicious, and lost in the streets of New York.
Eyes Wide Shutis a film that probes at the mysterious quality of marriage: being with someone your whole life without evertrulyknowing them the entire time.
Related:The Best Movies About Cults and Creepy Religious Groups
10. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
Directed by John Cassavetes,A Woman Under the Influenceis representative of the turn of history.
Mabel Longhetti (played by Gena Rowlands) is an LA housewife and mother with a drinking habit. After exhibiting strange behavior, it leads to marital strife with her husband Nick (played by Peter Falk).
A Woman Under the Influencewent on to receive Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Director, and it was also one of the first 50 films preserved in the US National Film Registry.
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9. American Beauty (1999)
Directed by Sam Mendes,American Beautyis a tragicomedy like few others have ever been able to pull off.
The story centers on Lester Burnham (played by Kevin Spacey) and his midlife crisis. Stuck in a marriage with a woman he loathes and who loathes him back, he realizes that he has little passion for life.
He decides that he needs to find his raison d’être. Meanwhile, his wife is off doing the same with the help of another man…
Providing whimsical and philosophical insights into life, love, and marriage,American Beautydeservedly went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Related:The Best Midlife Crisis Movies, Ranked
8. A Swedish Love Story (1970)
A Swedish Love Storyis set in Sweden and follows the love stories of several characters over the course of a long summer, with the primary storyline tracking two teenagers infatuated with each other.
However, what happens behind the scenes with their parents and the progress of their marriage offers a grim depiction of what such romance turns into: the dwindling embers of passion.
Directed by Roy Andersson,A Swedish Love Storyis an underappreciated gem with a subtle but honest depiction of marriage.
Related:The Best Movies About Crushes and First Loves, Ranked
7. Revolutionary Road (2008)
Another great movie on this list directed by Sam Mendes,Revolutionary Roadis an absolute tragedy of marriage.
Set in 1950s Connecticut, April (played by Kate Winslet) and Frank (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) have the biggest plans ahead of them: they’re going to move to Paris and live in luxury.
However, an unexpected pregnancy causes their idyllic life to crumble before them, and they’re left to pick up the pieces.
InRevolutionary Road, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet reunited afterTitanicto give performances that solidified their statuses as some of Hollywood’s greatest living thespians.
Related:The Best British Movie Actresses of All Time, Ranked
6. Marriage Story (2019)
Directed by Noah Baumbach,Marriage Storybecame an international sensation in part for the stunning performances given by both Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson.
At the start, we see our married duo in marriage counseling. However, it doesn’t take long for us to discover that the pair of them are close to taking drastic action against each other.
A stirring and poignant drama about the complexities of marriage,Marriage Storyis one of Noah Baumbach’s best films and one of the best depictions of the struggles of marriage.
Related:The Best Movies About Divorce and Breakups, Ranked
5. Blue Valentine (2010)
Directed by Derek Cianfrance,Blue Valentinedoesn’t depict a positive image of what married life is like.
The film centers on Cindy (played by Michelle Williams) and Dean (played by Ryan Gosling), chronicling the course of their relationship over many years.
The plot doesn’t necessarily have a direction. Instead, we just witness the development of these two individuals as they increasingly struggle to justify their union together.
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams give tour-de-force performances that makeBlue Valentinea must-watch for anyone who’s been in a difficult relationship.
Related:The Best Romance Drama Movies of All Time, Ranked
4. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)
Directed by Stanley Kramer,Guess Who’s Coming to Dinnerisn’t just a film about marriage—it’s a strikingly political film that challenged an entire generation with interracial marriage.
When Joey (played by Katharine Houghton) takes her new boyfriend John (played by Sidney Poitier) home to meet her parents, he suspects there will be issues. Why? Because John is black.
At dinner, when they announce that they’re engaged to be married, things become even more tense.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinneris one of the greatest chamber drama films for how it encapsulates the importance of marriage and being with the person you love, even against all odds.
Related:What’s a Chamber Film? The Best Chamber Dramas, Ranked
3. Amour (2012)
Directed by Michael Haneke,Amouris a devastatingly tough movie—not because it’s about the dissolution of marriage, but because it’s about a marriage that’s tested by the looming presence of death.
Octogenarians Georges (played by Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (played by Emmanuelle Riva) enjoy their day-to-day life together until everything changes when Anne suddenly suffers a stroke.
Amourfollows their attempts to cope with their new situation, and the result is a phenomenal film about marriage, old age, and true love. This tear-jerker will genuinely stay with you forever.
Related:The Greatest Love Stories in Cinema History That’ll Make You Cry
2. Before Midnight (2013)
Directed by Richard Linklater,Before Midnightrepresents the crowning achievement of his cinematic career in The Before Trilogy.
WithBefore Midnight, we return to the relationship between Jesse (played by Ethan Hawke) and Celine (played by Julie Delpy), and we get to see how their lives have developed now that they’re a fully-fledged couple.
While they’re on holiday in Greece, they spend the final night of their stay talking about how they would do things differently if they could do it all over again.
Starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in the roles that made them famous,Before Midnightis the ultimate culmination of a most fantastic story about love, romance, and marriage.
Related:The Best Slice-of-Life Movies Where Nothing Really Happens
1. Scenes From a Marriage (1974)
Ingmar Bergman is widely regarded as one of the best filmmakers to ever do it. His deeply personal and emotionally rich works have been studied and praised all around the world.
Because of this, it should come as no surprise that he crafted a masterpiece film about his own experiences with marriage.
Scenes From a Marriageis exactly what it says on the tin: a series of vignettes that are loosely strung together to showcase the peaks and valleys of a life-long commitment with another person.
Released as both a three-hour film and a six-hour miniseries,Scenes From a Marriageexplores the strain, the ease, the frustrations, the joys, the failures, and the triumphs of marriage.
For this reason, this epic narrative ranks as our top pick for the all-time best film about marriage ever made.
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