35 best romantic movies and shows on Netflix in 2021

30. Carol

Time for some queer love (finally)! Carol stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy, and John Magaro. This movie is so beautiful, romantic, and lovely, but it also has a few truly heartbreaking moments.

It all starts when Therese, working in a Manhattan department store, spots a glamorous woman, Carol. She is looking for a doll for her daughter but when Therese suggests a train, she gets that instead.

From the first meeting, it’s clear Therese is captivated by her. Carol happens to leave a glove behind and Therese uses the store’s sale slip to send it back to her. Carol calls her to thank her for the glove and they eventually go get coffee and Carol invites Therese to her home in New Jersey.

It’s clear Carol is going through a difficult divorce from her husband. While Theresa is visiting Carol, Carol’s husband returns and is immediately suspicious. Carol has had affairs with women in the past and he thinks that what this is with Therese. Carol, upset by the argument she has with him, tells Therese to leave.

But that’s not the end of their relationship. When Therese returns to the city, Carol calls to apologize and gifts her a camera. With the stress of the divorce becoming too much, Carol and Therese take a road trip and they end up kissing and having sex for the first time.

After this, things start to fall apart, but by the end of the movie, it’s at least alluded to that they find a way to be together despite what society thinks of them.

Full disclosure: there is a scene in this that will make you the angriest you’ve ever been and it happens the night after Carol and Therese sleep with each other. It’s heart wrenching and despicable. Have a pillow nearby. You will probably throw it at the screen.

But despite the obstacles, Carol and Therese fight for themselves, for their dignity, and for who they are. Even if it’s in small gestures like meeting at a restaurant together or big ones like Carol telling the court exactly who she is, they make this movie a love story.