Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Love, Brooklyn:
Splitsville
Splitsville is the better of Dakota Johnson’s two 2025 relationship comedies, a looser, livelier counterpoint to Celine Song’s Materialists. Directed by and co-starring Michael Angelo Covino with frequent collaborator Kyle Marvin, it plays like a pinball machine of modern romance, funny more often than not, rarely profound, yet consistently watchable. Covino and Marvin build a brisk farce around two couples whose ideas about fidelity collide, and the result is breezy and entertaining in the moment, and a little thin after.
Preparation for the Next Life
Bing Liu’s Preparation for the Next Life is a patient, unvarnished drama about two people trying to build a life together with nothing to fall back on. After the nonfiction clarity of Minding the Gap, Liu shifts to narrative without losing the documentary instincts that made his debut so piercing. You feel that in the way the camera lingers on kitchens in Chinatown, cramped rooms, and the small rituals of work and survival. The story is familiar, yet the texture is specific.
We Live in Time
A movie like We Live in Time really shouldn’t work. The overly sentimental cancer drama is a well-trodden path, with its fair share of genuinely touching entries but even more bogged down by predictability and melodrama. We Live in Time doesn’t completely avoid these familiar pitfalls, as it leans into some of the same cheesy tropes that often plague this subgenre.
Materialists
Materialists feels like a transitional work. It shows Celine Song experimenting with scale, ensemble dynamics, and new narrative textures—but it lacks the intimacy and precision that defined her first film. It’s a movie with moments that flirt with those same highs in small doses, but one that ultimately falls short. Still, it leaves me hopeful: the emotional territory Song wants to chart is rare in contemporary cinema, and while Materialists stumbles, it’s a sign that she’s aiming high. Her best films are likely still ahead.
Love Lies Bleeding
There’s really nothing like Love Lies Bleeding. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the blanket notion that they don’t make movies like they used to anymore – but I will say, Hollywood hasn’t consistently made films as erotic and thrilling like this since the 1980s and 90s. Rose Glass directs the dynamic duo of Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart.
Fly Me to the Moon
Rumor has it that Apple is stepping away from theatrical releases for their original movies, and the lukewarm reception of Greg Berlanti‘s Fly Me to the Moon may be a big reason why. Starring Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson, this romantic comedy set against the backdrop of the U.S.-Soviet space race seemed poised for success. It had all the ingredients for a financial hit: big stars, a pastiche-heavy style, and the kind of premise that could benefit from strong word-of-mouth. Yet, it never gained traction.
All of Us Strangers
Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers emerges as one of the most quietly devastating and emotionally resonant films of 2023. From its opening scene, where Adam (Andrew Scott) and Harry (Paul Mescal) meet in the empty expanse of their apartment complex, the film invites viewers into a world filled with space, vibrant colors, and thoughtful design. Andrew Haigh, known for his work on films like Weekend and 45 Years, crafts a poignant narrative that explores the complexities of love, loss, and the haunting specter of the past. What transpires certainly stands as one of his best works yet as a director.
One Fine Morning
One Fine Morning showcases Mia Hansen-Løve’s masterful ability to capture the bittersweet complexities of life in both the good and the bad. Léa Seydoux and Pascal Greggory star.
Past Lives
Celine Song‘s Past Lives is a revelation, despite a growing skepticism that romance movies are dead in the current streaming era. Every bit of emotion and rekindling romance is only strengthened by a nuanced approach to script and perfect casting. A real highlight of 2023.
You Hurt My Feelings
You Hurt My Feelings is a movie tearing apart the artistic complex. A film that questions whether professionals can have their lives figured out in the twenties or thirties. It’s honest and personal, as if Nicole Holofcener is using Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a stand in for directors and creatives everywhere.
READ MORE: Love, Brooklyn (2025)
