After seeing just a few crappy Rom/Coms when I was younger, I quickly learned to appreciate movies that honestly depict tumultuous romantic relationships. It may be weird, but I like to see couples argue realistically and hate being patted on the head with neat and tidy endings.

Here are some of my favorite films depicting waning romantic relationships:

2 Days in Paris
Blue Valentine
Eternal Sunshine
High Fidelity
The Last Kiss (guilty pleasure)
Revolutionary Road
Scenes from a Marriage
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
etc.

Any recommendations? What are some other favorites?

I thought the subplot of Emma Thompson's character in Love, Actually felt like the most realistic and really sad - she outacted everyone in the cast for her bedroom breakdown scene.

All The Real Girls

Angel and Theresa in THE WILD BUNCH:

Angel: She was my woman.
Lyle: She sure ain't your woman now, boy. Look at her lickin' all inside that Heneral's ear.

Since this seems to be more about movies in general than DVDs I'm moving to the Movie Forum...

Away We Go
To quote Jason Bailey's review,
Their dialogue is full of the shorthand and easy interactions of a long-time couple; this is the kind of relationship where a meandering "Still..." is a perfectly acceptable end of a conversation.

Another Year.

Fantastic movie.

Last American Virgin

50/50
500 Days of Summer

The follow-up to her character/storyline in the film as most realistic is that of Laura Linney's.

I don't know if I would classify it specifically as "romantic," but I'd throw in my recommendation for Once.

... and, the last two minutes of The Last American Virgin wins this thread.

off the top of my head...

500 Days of Summers
Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
The Last Kiss
Revolutionary Road
Blue Valentine

Those felt real. I especially liked (500) Days of Summer's take on infatuation. And it was pretty true as well. People at times do infatuate themselves and romanticize a relationship. Was very honest on that note.

Chasing Amy

closer

The more I thought about

A Woman Under the Influence

Before Sunset. Not exactly a "couple", but realistic arguing.

Always...But not forever, Henry Jaglom film. some pretty realistic dialogue between people who once loved each other and are in the process of getting divorced.

Wow. Are all "real" relationship movies so downbeat? "Real" relationships must really suck.

5 Centimeters Per Second

Every single person experiences more "failed" relationships than successful, but the overwhelming majority of relationships in movies portray the happy fairy tale ending.

/thread

500 days of summer

I love this movie. This is a perfect example.

Yeah, that part was a little out there. But overall, the dialogue about relationships is pretty strong.

The Time Travelers Wife

What about some of Woody Allen's films, like Husbands and Wives?