15 Movies about breakups that will help you through yours

1. The Way We Were

This 1973 romance hits the highs and lows of a relationship on the head. Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford star as an unlikely couple who fall in love, then out of it. While sentimental at its heart, this movie doesn't shy away from the messiness of breakups.

2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

While its primarily in the comedy genre, Forgetting Sarah Marshall has a decent message at its heart. It's hard not to relate to Jason Segel's character as he mopes around post-breakup and tries to win back the heart of his ex, but begins to come around to the idea that they might not have been right for each other all along.

3. Celeste and Jesse Forever

Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg play a couple on the brink of divorce, but instead of getting into big fights they act like nothing has changed, behaving like they're the best of friends. While things don't stay this comfortable for them both for long, it delves into how difficult it is to let go even after you've made the decision to split.

4. Swingers

Following the end of a six-year relationship, Mike is trying to get over his ex, so turns to his womanizing friend Trent for help. What he discovers is that while single life has its fair share of pleasures, there are some toxic behaviours that it's best to stay far away from.

5. The Big Sick

The Big Sick is a breath of fresh air in the rom-com scene, as we look into the lives of a couple whose problems aren't often explored in movies. The movie was written by the real life couple, which definitely brings realism to the sweet and the sour moments in their relationship.

6. 500 Days of Summer

The opening narration stresses that "this isn't a love story", and that's definitely true. What follows is an entertaining and relatable story of a man who falls head over heels for an idealised version of someone who might not feel as strongly as he does.

7. Blue Valentine

By no means a happy movie, Blue Valentine instead details how a couple can go from a youthful sweet pairing to parents struggling to make things work. You might need to bring a whole box of tissues to this one, but this confrontational romance is worth it.

8. The Break-Up

This rom-com goes against the grain by not giving in and having its two leads get back together, but instead offering a realistic look at the hostilities between two people at the end of a relationship.

9. When Harry Met Sally

When long-term friends start to elevate their relationship to a new level, they start to wonder whether it's a good idea or not. As time progresses, things don't come easy - and it takes a huge split for them to get a greater understanding of what they mean to each other.

10. High Fidelity

John Cusack plays a record shop owner who tells the story of his many breakups, with an excellent soundtrack to boot. While it is ultimately a romance, he gets into his past mistakes and regrets in other relationships in a way that anyone who has suffered the same will relate to.

11. The Incredible Jessica James

After going through a rough breakup, Jessica starts with a rebound date, but ends up finding out there's more to him than meets the eye. On top of this, she manages to find her own self-worth along the way.

12. Me Without You

This isn't about a romantic relationship, but instead the breakups that can occur between two best friends. As their intense and often suffocating relationship shows, the end of friendships like this can be as volatile as the romantic kind.

13. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

You might think more about the video-game-influenced action or the high-octane comedy when you think of Scott Pilgrim, but the truth is that both Scott and the girl of his dreams are both dealing with their own traumatic breakups, and are fighting to move on from the people that defined their lives beforehand.

14. Kill Bill

Okay, bear with me here. You might not have been left for dead by your ex, and you probably didn't take on a deadly assassination squad with a samurai sword, but you likely felt betrayed and angry at some point too. So why not indulge in an over-the-top two-part revenge movie for some much needed catharsis?

15. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

If this list was only one entry long, this would be taking that spot. Using an out-there sci-fi premise, this complicated movie gets right to the heart of how we remember relationships. Joel finds out that his ex-girlfriend has undergone a procedure to remove all her memories of him and decides to do the same himself. It's pretty trippy, but at its heart its about how relationships affect us, and how to take the good with the bad.