There’s been a steady shift in the kinds of things we’re consuming in recent years. Gone are the days of entirely feel-good rom coms, and in their place, we’ve developed a cultural obsession with yearning. It started with The Summer I Turned Pretty, when wee’d count down the days until each new episode dropped, just to spend another infuriating, intoxicating hour watching Conrad and Belly silently ache for each other across a crowded room, or beach, or car, or kitchen counter.
Then came People We Meet On Vacation, with Poppy and Alex keeping us on the edge of our seats for a full two hours until they finally put us out of our will-they-won’t-they misery. And more recently, Wuthering Heights proved ill-fated romance is not exclusive to the present day — in fact, Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie make the 1800s seem like extremely fertile ground for a heavy dose of yearning.
That feeling — yearning — is what makes these shows and films so addictive. And I know I’m not alone in being hooked on them. You don’t have to look far to find others equally swept up in Jenny Han’s masterful blend of golden-hour lighting, hydrangeas, peaches, and longing glances that never quite turn into anything, or Emerald Fennell’s rain-soaked moors. It’s yearning at its most aesthetic — and its most painful.
If you, like us, are addicted to the pain of it all, here are a few other films that understand the art of unspoken love. Our favourite on-screen moments that are full of yearning for your viewing pleasure, below.
Wuthering Heights (2026)
Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that Emerald Fennell knows how to bring a bit of yearning to the screen. There’s something sickeningly satisfying about Heathcliff watching miserably as Cathy fawns over Edgar, or Cathy wallowing in her own pity for years in Heathcliff’s absence. Throw in Charli XCX’s soundtrack, and you’ve got yourself a yearning-filled hit.
People We Meet On Vacation (2026)
If you’ve ever wished a friend was a little more than just a friend, this should be your next watch. Poppy and Alex are obvious soulmates from the get-go, but they’re both to stubborn – or scared – to tell the other how they feel. You’ll want to scream at the screen as you watch them yearn for each other, but it’s worth it, we promise.
Little Women (2019)
I’d like to exist in universe where Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet ended up together, but alas, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women chose violence instead. Jo March and Laurie’s almost-romance is one of the great heartbreaks of modern cinema — two soulmates pulled apart not by lack of love, but by timing and ambition. It’s also filled with non-romantic yearning, too, for freedom and creative fulfilment. It makes me cry every time.
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Many have tried, but no enemies-to-lovers arc has ever topped Lizzie Bennet and Mr Darcy’s. This version (which stars Mathew Macfadyen and Kiera Knightly) simmers with restrained desire — longing glances, hand acting (a personal favourite), and rain-soaked declarations. A must-watch for any yearner.
Challengers (2024)
Zendaya in tennis whites. Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist sitting shoulder to shoulder on a hotel bed. What more could a girl ask for? Challengers is a masterclass in jealousy, obsession, and competitive eroticism disguised as sport. No one in this love triangle is innocent — the lines are messy, selfish, and deliciously blurred.
Atonement (2007)
Some films are made to break you. Atonement is one of them. Robbie and Cecilia’s romance never really gets the chance to begin, because one lie gets in the way. When they’re unfairly forced apart, we’re left asking: what if they’d had more time? What if someone hadn’t watched from the stairs?
The Notebook (2004)
Before Conrad and Belly, there was Noah and Allie — the original blueprint for messy, all-consuming, yearning-filled summer love. The Notebook is unashamedly dramatic, charting a romance interrupted by class divides, war, and time itself. And like The Summer I Turned Pretty, it leans into the heat and heartbreak of one long southern summer.
Call Me by Your Name (2017)
Set over a summer in northern Italy, Call Me by Your Name follows 17-year-old Elio as he falls for Oliver, a visiting American scholar staying with his family. What begins as quiet tension soon blooms into a deeply intimate romance, filled with long swims, late-night conversations, and all the uncertainty of first love. There’s also a peach scene to rival Belly’s in TSITP…
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
In this 90s take on The Taming of the Shrew, Kat Stratford is a teenager completely uninterested in dating — until the mysterious Patrick Verona is paid to win her over. What follows is the kind of teen romance current-day films would kill to recreate, as well as one of the most memorable (and heartbreaking) monologues of all time.
Past Lives (2023)
What if the love of your life wasn’t your partner — but someone from a parallel path you never took? Leave it to Celine Song to ask the seriously uncomfortable questions. In Past Lives, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung reconnect as adults, years after Nora’s family emigrated from South Korea to the US. As they walk through New York they unpack decades of what-ifs, meditating on the ideas of fate and timing.
Before Sunrise (1995)
Two strangers meet on a train, and decide to spend a night walking through Vienna, talking about everything — and trying not to fall in love. But of course they do. This film is a masterclass in romantic yearning and emotional restraint. Jesse and Céline’s connection is instant, but time is always ticking, and the magic lies in knowing the moment can’t last… and maybe that’s what makes it so good?
Brooklyn (2015)
Eilis leaves her small Irish town for a new life in 1950s New York, and finds herself caught between two worlds and two loves. The pull of home is always in the background, as she tries to figure out where she truly belongs — and who holds her heart.
