Date night movies

Jesse and Céline get off a train in Vienna and spend the hours before morning talking. The small discoveries of a first connection supply the movement: a question, an opinion, a pause that means something different to each person. Pick this when a conversation sounds more inviting than a busy plot. It leaves plenty to discuss about what we reveal to a stranger, and what we hope they will notice.

Keep in mind: Sexual discussion, strong language and drinking. The first film in the Before trilogy; no earlier viewing is needed.

Harry and Sally keep crossing paths as their ideas about friendship and attraction change. Their arguments make a useful date-night rhythm: you can enjoy the quick exchanges while privately deciding whose side you are on. Choose it when you want romantic comedy with time for people to be stubborn, mistaken and funny. The changing seasons and familiar meeting places make the long courtship feel easy to settle into.

Keep in mind: Frank sexual discussion, strong language and relationship breakups.

Loretta has agreed to marry one man when a meeting with his brother unsettles her practical plans. Around her, a Brooklyn family has its own arguments about love and loyalty. The attraction here is the scale of the feeling: a kitchen conversation can become as dramatic as an evening at the opera. Choose it together when you want a romance willing to be funny, messy and emphatic.

Keep in mind: Infidelity, bereavement references and family conflict. FlickRot lists 102 minutes; Criterion lists its edition at 104 minutes.

A grandfather reads a story of separated lovers, dangerous rivals and improbable allies. The storytelling frame gives the adventure permission to be both sincere and playful: it believes in the romance while finding jokes in the telling. This is a useful shared pick when one person wants a love story and the other wants a quest. The supporting characters give you as much to enjoy as the central couple.

Keep in mind: Sword fights, threats, torture and frightening creatures. FlickRot lists 99 minutes; Criterion lists its edition at 98 minutes.

Yas and Dom meet while both are recovering from breakups, then let a day in South London take unexpected turns. Their growing rapport has a playful energy, with the city supplying distractions and opportunities to take a small risk. Choose this when you want a compact evening with forward motion. It shares Before Sunrise’s interest in strangers connecting, but moves with a more mischievous comic rhythm.

Keep in mind: Strong language, sexual references, infidelity and discussion of recent breakups.

Kumail and Emily’s relationship becomes entangled with family expectations, then a medical crisis brings him into contact with her parents. Comedy survives alongside the worry, especially when people who barely know each other have to keep showing up. Save this for a night when you both want more than a light flirtation. Its questions about honesty and commitment give the romance weight without removing the awkward humor.

Keep in mind: Serious illness and hospitalization, family conflict, strong language and sexual references.