Looking For Movies Based On Classic Romance Novels? Watch These Adaptations Next
Loved Wuthering Heights? Check out these other adaptations to satiate your yearning
Thanks to Wuthering Heights, there's been a barrage of conversations around brooding literary love stories and a serious void of longing in modern-day romance. Classic romance adaptations are back into the cultural spotlight, so if you're wondering what to watch next, here's a list of film recommendations to keep your yearn for yearning alive :
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Director: Baz Luhrmann (2013)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire
Adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 adaptation is not subtle in any sense, and that is exactly the point. The core of the book is a strained, tragic recollection of a past romance, and Luhrmann translates that internal melancholy into a spectacle of visual drama. The extravagance, the fast cuts, the modern soundtrack layered over the jazzy 1920s excess mirrors Gatsby’s overspilling emotions in a symbolic way. The main love story isn’t the one between Gatsby and Daisy, but the doomed romanticisation of the past and an idealistic dream that love can rewrite mistakes. This exploration of obsession over a memory is intense but fragile, and a perfect afternoon watch if you may!
Rebecca
Directed: Alfred Hitchcock (1940)
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, and Judith Anderson
Directed: Ben Wheatley (2020)
Starring: Lily James, Armie Hammer, and Kristin Scott Thomas
Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel Rebecca is known to be one of the most haunting romantic thrillers, a story where love and jealousy are tightly intertwined, whilst overshadowed by a never-ending memory. Although it has enough adaptations, if you want a good retelling, Hitchcock’s version is your best bet. But if you crave a modern, laid-back storytelling that is visually on the more appealing side, the 2020 version does the job well enough. Both tell the same story, a young naïve bride entering the world of marriage unaware of its haunting past. Hitchcock builds tension through shadows and silence, focusing on the novel’s gothic presence and Manderley’s dark corridors (Manderley being the big, sprawling mansion and an even bigger suffocation). But the 2020 film seems to focus more on the warmth of Maxim and the young bride’s romance, as well as the beautiful Riviera. What makes Rebecca such a strong romance adaptation is that it understands love as a complicated concept. It is not about sweeping passion, but about trust and its growth through fear and insecurities.
A Room With A View
Director: James Ivory ( 1985 )
Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands, Daniel Day-Lewis
At its heart, A Room with a View, a 1908 novel by E.M. Forster, is a romance about intellectual and sensual awakening.
James Ivory’s adaptation beautifully captures the protagonist Lucy’s emotional struggle. One of the defining films of the Merchant-Ivory era, it is emotionally restrained and yet deeply romantic in a way. The Italian landscapes mirror Lucy’s growing freedom very subtly, while the scenes in the structured drawing rooms of England make us feel her repression without ever being overdramatic about it. What makes this such a strong romance adaptation is its slow and quite visual storytelling, staying true to Forster’s themes of self-discovery and emotional courage.
Persuasion
Director: Roger Michell ( 1995 )
Starring: Amanda Root, Ciarán Hinds
Director: Carrie Cracknell ( 2022 )
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis
Persuasion is often called Jane Austen’s most mature romance, talking not about first love, but about second chances and love that survives regret. It centres on status, pride, pain, and mostly longing or yearning, something that is seemingly invisible in today’s romance. The 1995 adaptation is widely regarded as the most faithful and emotionally resonant version. It leans into the realism with natural lighting, muted costumes, and understated performances. This version understands and plays with the silence and suppression of emotions, only breaking open when the famous letter of hope and agony is read (no spoilers, watch the movie for this ever-romantic gesture). The 2022 adaptation takes a very different approach. The tone shifts from agonising longing to a lighter and more contemporary take. Dakota Johnson’s Anne frequently breaks the fourth wall with ironic commentary, making her feel more visibly frustrated, rather than the quietly resigned fate in the books.
Anna Karenina
Director: Joe Wright ( 2012 )
Starring: Keira Knightley, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jude Law
Joe Wright’s adaptation transforms Leo Tolstoy’s 1878 monumental novel into a heightened romantic spectacle. Set largely within the confines of a theatrical stage, the film blurs performance and reality.
A rather focused take on the heroine’s emotional descent from attraction to love to obsession, romance here is both freedom and destruction. A grand performance that ultimately leaves its heroine alone on the stage, judged and undone by the very society she dared to defy.
Sense And Sensibility
Director: Ang Lee ( 1995 )
Starring: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman
Directed by Ang Lee, this adaptation of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen has earned lasting cult admiration among period-drama lovers and rightly so. The emotional intelligence, the strong female perspectives, combined with the beautiful English countryside visuals, make the film loved even today.
The film moves between moments of sweeping emotion, showing both the sisters’ love stories. A dramatic rescue in the countryside or a solitary walk in the rain after heartbreak, punctuated with some quiet, intimate exchanges, leaving the audience with a feeling of unspoken longing. It manages to present romance as both intense and gentle, making its emotional payoff deeply satisfying without needing a spectacle.
Romeo + Juliet
Director: Baz Luhrmann ( 1996 )
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes
Romeo + Juliet marked the first major collaboration between Baz Luhrmann and Leonardo DiCaprio, years before they would reunite again for The Great Gatsby. An obvious classic precedent of tragic romance, Luhrmann’s version transforms Romeo and Juliet into a modern, visually explosive love story while keeping Shakespeare’s original words intact. Set in a neon-lit, violence-filled Verona Beach, the film contrasts chaos with intimacy, making the romance feel more fragile and urgent. A fast-paced film that tries to convey the urgency of youth and first love, it is intense and tragic. The film embraces the idea that their love is beautiful precisely because it is fleeting. It burns brightly but quickly, making the heartbreak feel inevitable from the very beginning.
