10 Movies that tells us about marital struggles

The depiction of marital struggles and breakups in movies and shows often captures the raw and realistic appearance of broken or on-the-verge-of-breaking relationships.

Whether through the portrayal of dealing with a divorce or trying to save the marriage, some movies showcase the heartbreaking and emotional process of going through these difficulties authentically and trying to resolve marital struggles.

In this article, we have listed 10 such movies that try to portray marital struggles realistically.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.

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10) Kramer vs. Kramer

Kramer vs. Kramer portrayed how brutal divorce can be on a family. In the film, Ted and Joanna’s separation affects their son, Billy, and later the custody battle turns into a ruthless character assassination of both the parents affecting them too.

Ted, even after losing his job and taking care of Billy alone, loses the battle, but Joanna then backs out and lets Billy leave with his father as she doesn't want him to be away from his home. The film showed the aftermath of how a breaking up of a strained marriage affects a family as a whole.

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9) Blue Valentine

The last moments of Dean and Cindy’s marriage are portrayed in Blue Valentine. It is shown that Cindy is exhausted from taking care of her daughter, Frankie, and managing her job as a nurse. On the other hand, her husband, Dean spends his days smoking and drinking, and sometimes painting houses for work.

Gradually, their behavior toward each other changes as the arguments become more intense, resulting in Cindy losing her job. She decides to divorce Dean, even after he pleads with her for the sake of their daughter, as she can't deal with marital struggles anymore. However, Cindy doesn’t change her decision as she don't want her daughter to live with parents who dislike each other.

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8) Nocturnal Animals

Directed by Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals follows the story of Susan Morrow (Amy Adams), who reminisces about her ex-husband after receiving a draft of his new novel.

As she is having marital struggles with her current husband, who is having an extramarital affair, Susan remembers her previous relationship and later marrying Edward and the difficulties they had in that marriage due to his career.

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7) Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road is a tragic tale of marital struggles between Frand and April Wheeler. Although they appear a happy couple in their suburban neighborhood, they both are facing challenges in their personal and professional life as Frank hates his boring sales job and April is unsatisfied with her mediocre acting career.

They both try to solve their issues by moving to Paris, but they drop the plan after April’s pregnancy and Frank’s promotion. The couple fails to resolve their issues, and April dies after she attempts an abortion at home by herself.

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6) The Story of Us

In the 1999 film, Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer play Ben and Katie Jordan, struggling in their marriage of 15 years. Through back-and-forth flashbacks, it is revealed how they met and also the numerous arguments and fights they have had in their more than a decade-long marriage.

In the present, they have replaced their arguments with silence as they stop talking to each other and just living together for their children. Reliving good and bad flashbacks, they try to sort things between them but fail multiple times. The film depicts marital struggles using flashbacks from the couple’s past, which has both good and bad memories, which later help them to stay together.

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5) Spencer

Spencer depicts the mental and marital struggles that Princess Diana was suffering from. The film showcases the Royal family celebrating Christmas in 1991 in Sandringham House. It portrays how Diana and Charles’s marriage was struggling due to his affair with Camilla Bowles.

As Diana struggles to go through the celebrations due to her mental health, people around her advise her to endure it. However, in the end, she decides to not be burdened by these responsibilities and be free.

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4) Dodsworth

Dodsworth depicts the failure of Sam's (Walter Huston) and Fran’s (Ruth Chatterton) marriage. After retiring, they both set sail to travel to Europe where Fran finds faults in Sam and their marriage and falls for another man. She begins enjoying her life in Europe while Sam goes back home. He later returns to confront Fran about her affair with Iselin.

They get back together after Sam forgives her, but this time, it does not work as they notice that they have grown apart from each other as they deal with marital struggles such as infidelity. Fran again finds someone else, and Sam also falls for Edith, a divorcee they had met before, and asks her to marry him.

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3) The Marrying Kind

This 1952 comedy-drama follows Chet (Aldo Ray) and Florence (Judy Holliday) Keefer, who visit a divorce judge and recount their strained marriage.

While recalling, it is revealed that problems in their marriage began after they lost their son in a drowning accident. Later, when Florence’s boss leaves a huge amount of money for her, Chet begins doubting her, and they get into an intense fight. However, in the end, they try to resolve their marital struggles and stay together.

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2) Marriage Story

Marriage Story follows Charlie Barber (Adam Driver), and Nicole’s (Scarlett Johansson), separation and how they handle it while taking care of their son, Henry. The film showcases their separation as Nicole gets a television role and wants to relocate to West Hollywood.

After contemplating, Nicole decides to divorce Charlie as she feels neglected in the marriage and also thinks he might have cheated on her. Their initial court hearings turn brutal due to their lawyers, but they eventually get over their marital struggles and begin respecting each other’s wishes. They get divorced but still manage to be amicable with one another for their son.

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1) Journey to Italy

This masterpiece by Roberto Rossellini follows the story of a couple whose marriage is on the verge of ending as they travel to Italy to sell a family-owned villa.

As Alex (George Sanders) and Katherine (Ingrid Bergman) reach Italy, the long-buried marital struggles—including the jealousy and misunderstanding between them, come to the fore. This prompts them to spend their time in Italy in different places, away from each other, as one goes to Capri and the other stays in Naples.

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