When you’re going through a breakup, I think you need an eclectic mix of movies to usher you through the impending emotional roller coaster. Going through a breakup is like going through the 7 stages of grief. You want to drown in your sorrows a little bit, blame everyone, and then move the fuck on to greener pastures.
Stage 1: Shock
Movie to Watch: Adore
Why: What’s more shocking than finding out your best friend is sleeping with your son? Finding out that both of you are sleeping with each other’s sons. Um, can you say messed up? Take a step out of your own breakup aftershock and dive into someone else’s that will likely never, ever, ever happen to you. It’ll give you some relief, I promise.
Stage 2: Denial
Movie to Watch: Fatal Attraction
Why: Though released the same year I was born, Fatal Attraction still holds up as the quintessential scorned lover flick. Though Michael Douglas is done with her after the sun sets on their weekend-only tryst, Glenn Close refuses to be ignored, Dan!
Stage 3: Anger
Movie to Watch: Kill Bill Vol. 1
Why: After being left for dead at the altar, former trained assassin The Bride, begins a violent journey, slicing her way through her friends-turned-enemies, on a quest to find her now-ex Bill. Just picture your ex on the bodies of those she slaughters and vicariously vent all your negative energy.
Stage 4: Bargaining
Movie to Watch: The Brass Teapot
Why: You’ll change your ways or give up anything just to get them back. We try making deals with ourselves and with others to get what we want, even when we know it’s not good for us. And deal-making is at the heart of The Brass Teapot. A young and out-of-work couple steal a teapot from an antique store only to find out that it possesses magical pay-day-making properties. Injure yourself or someone else and collect cash. The worse the injury, the bigger the balance. They agree to stop once they bank a million dollars, but it’s hard to say no to easy money—even if it’s slowly unraveling your relationship.
Stage 5: Guilt
Movie to Watch: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Why: Take a break from feeling guilty and instead watch one of your favorite guilty pleasure movies to put you in a better mood. How about a farce like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?
Stage 6: Depression
Movie to Watch: Peter and Vandy
Why: This movie perfectly encapsulates the beginning, middle, and end of a tumultuous-though-sometimes-okay relationship. It’s told out of order, all fragmented just like how you remember and reflect back on your own relationship. Best of all, it doesn’t leave you with the sentimental daze that a lot of break up movies do. It feels so real. All the passive aggression, manipulation, and disappointment. You’ll have yourself a good cry so you can move on.
Stage 7: Acceptance and Hope
Movie to Watch: Silver Linings Playbook
Why: Now it’s time for the warm fuzzies, to feel like there’s better times and better sex on the horizon. This one is great for when you just want to finally feel okay (uh, duh, Silver Linings), like it’s possible to overcome the pain of a breakup which feels like it’ll endure forever until it just doesn’t. Just like both of the main characters, played by Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. Plus, you get to see a super-emotional, super-vulnerable Mr. Cooper bust a move on the dance floor, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
