{"id":1770329,"date":"2026-02-14T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1770329"},"modified":"2026-02-14T09:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T06:30:00","slug":"10-of-the-most-toxic-on-screen-romances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1770329","title":{"rendered":"10 of the most toxic on-screen romances"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/944\/140-0-944-629\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437355.jpeg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/film-tv\/article\/69644\/1\/wuthering-heights-valentines-day-recommendations-toxic-couples\" data-article-id=\"69644\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.9\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Toxic on-screen The Piano TEache\" class=\"img\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437355.jpeg\" width=\"1200\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">The Piano Teacher <span class=\"nowrap\">(Film Still)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-02-14T09:30:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"14 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"14\">14,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - film-tv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\">Film &amp; TV<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/lists\">Lists<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\">Film &amp; TV<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/lists\">Lists<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>10 of the most toxic <span class=\"nowrap\">on-screen romances<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>To celebrate both Valentine\u2019s Day and the release of Wuthering Heights, we look back at the characters who most need to attend a couple\u2019s <span class=\"nowrap\">therapy session<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-14T09:30:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"14 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"14\">14,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-14T09:30:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"14 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"14\">14,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/DominiqueSisley\">Dominique Sisley<\/a><\/span><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/EmilyDinsdale\">Emily Dinsdale<\/a><\/span><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/HalimaJibril\">Halima Jibril<\/a><\/span><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/TiarnaMeehan\">Tiarna<\/a><\/span><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/ThomWaite\">Thom Waite<\/a><\/span><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/isabelbekele\">Isabel Bekele<\/a><\/span><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/JamesGreig\">James Greig<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/wuthering-heights\"><em><span>Wuthering Heights <\/span><\/em><\/a><span>is one of the sweetest, most magical love stories ever told. Set on the picturesque Yorkshire Moors, it\u2019s a cosy romance about a pair of plucky young kids, Cathy and Heathcliff, who grow up to become lovers (and ghosts!), along the way navigating family pressures, nosy neighbours and some rather mischievous animals. Heathcliff loves Cathy so much that he even digs up her grave \u2013 more men like this, please! \ud83d\udc4f<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But not every on-screen romance is as wholesome as <\/span><em><span>Wuthering Heights<\/span><\/em><span> and, sadly, not all men are gallant, unproblematic kings like Heathcliff. If you\u2019re in the mood for something a little edgier this Valentine\u2019s Day, we\u2019ve got you covered. To celebrate the release of Emerald Fennell\u2019s new adaptation, below you\u2019ll find a list of cinema and television\u2019s most toxic, messed-up and outright crazzzy relationships. But be warned: unlike Bront\u00eb\u2019s heartwarming classic, some of these tales <\/span><em><span>don\u2019t<\/span><\/em><span> come with a happy ending\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>LOVES LIES BLEEDING<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"BF_J3-DmiS0\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BF_J3-DmiS0\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>It\u2019s hard for a film amped up on adrenaline and shot mostly in a grungy gym not to involve something toxic. In<\/span><em><span> Love Lies Bleeding<\/span><\/em><span>, it\u2019s the crash-course romance between Lou (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/kristen-stewart\">Kristen Stewart<\/a>), a reclusive gym manager in New Mexico, and Jackie (Katy O\u2019Brian), a driven bodybuilder passing through town at the centre of that chaos. Their relationship is fuelled by one intense rush \u2013 steroids shot into biceps, dumps of dopamine, and a whole lot of destruction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ultimately, the story ends tragically, framing their bond as a dark, queer \u201canti-love story\u201d where the thrill of a stable, comfortable relationship isn\u2019t quite enough to keep them going. Despite its obvious toxicity, it\u2019s not so horrible to see a sapphic romance that isn\u2019t all yearning and homesteading \u2013 a warning that lesbians can be just as dangerously \u201ccrazy\u201d as anyone else. <em>(T)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>SECRETARY<\/em><\/strong><em><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"Vy9EQnLYpF4\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Vy9EQnLYpF4\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><em><span>Secretary <\/span><\/em><span>is the tale of an unlikely romance that only makes sense to the two people inside it. Inspired by a short story from Mary Gaitskill\u2019s indelible collection of dark vignettes, <\/span><em><span>Bad Behaviour<\/span><\/em><span>, the film stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee, a nervous young woman who\u2019s trying to assimilate into adult life after rehab for her self-harm addiction. When she gets hired as a legal secretary to uptight Mr Grey (played with panache by James Spader), the pair begin tentatively exploring their latent submissive and dominant tendencies in increasingly extreme and imaginative ways around the office.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Is this a toxic relationship? Or is it an unconventional love story about two damaged people who, by relinquishing their struggles for normalcy, find an unusual kind of symbiotic happiness? <em>Secretary <\/em>is the perfect counterpart to some of the other titles on this list, and I think it adds an interesting dimension to a conversation about what\u2019s deemed healthy. <em>(ED)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>\u00a0GONE GIRL <\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"2-_-1nJf8Vg\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2-_-1nJf8Vg\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy (Rosamund Pike) are about as toxic as it gets in David Fincher\u2019s 2014 adaptation of Gillian Flynn\u2019s novel of the same name. Amy is the ultimate unreliable narrator, but one thing we know for sure is that Nick has cheated on her \u2013 and with a young Emily Ratajkowski no less. Amy gets her own back in spectacular style \u2013 only to change her mind when things go wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Gone Girl <\/em>offers a bleak vision of suburban married life, but I\u2019ve always found its ending oddly romantic (in large part because the score, by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor, is so transcendent). During one of their final confrontations, when Nick insists that all they ever did was resent each other, try to control each other and cause each other pain, Amy replies, \u201cThat\u2019s marriage.\u201d For all her evil scheming, I think there&#8217;s something quite sweet about her determination to put the past behind them and give their relationship another go. <em>Gone Girl<\/em> is about the impossibility of truly knowing another person (the film both opens and ends with Nick\u2019s internal monologue as he stares into Amy\u2019s eyes: \u201cWhat are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you?\u201d); that unknowability can be terrifying, but wouldn\u2019t it be boring if it weren\u2019t the case? <em>(JG)<\/em><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>PHANTOM THREAD<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"xNsiQMeSvMk\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xNsiQMeSvMk\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Reynolds Woodcock, the haute couture tailor played by Daniel Day-Lewis in <\/span><em><span>Phantom Thread<\/span><\/em><span>, would not be an easy man to live with. He is obsessive and domineering, haunted by his dead mother, and responds to a surprise dinner from Alma, his muse-turned-wife, by asking her: \u201cAre you a special agent sent here to ruin my evening and possibly my entire life?\u201d But to be fair, Alma sometimes chews very loudly, which is also quite annoying!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The problem with their toxic relationship, which is the heart of <\/span><em><span>Phantom Thread<\/span><\/em><span>, is that they really seem to <\/span><em><span>need <\/span><\/em><span>each other, despite \u2013 or because of \u2013 their irreconcilable differences. In the end, things take a literally toxic turn when (spoiler alert) Alma gives Woodcock a reprieve from his life of stifling dinners and ballgown deadlines with the help of some poisonous mushrooms. This makes it not only one of the most poisonous romances in cinema, but one of the most romantic poisonings as well. <em>(TW)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><em>THE LIVING END<\/em><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"7mvDLTMUtQQ\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7mvDLTMUtQQ\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/gregg-araki\">Gregg Araki<\/a>\u2019s 1992 New Queer Cinema classic shows that gay couples can be just as toxic as their straight counterparts (representation matters!) It\u2019s basically a classic <\/span><em><span>Bonnie and Clyde<\/span><\/em><span> story about two lovers on the lam, but with a twist. Both Jon (Craig Gilmore) and Luke (Mike Dytri) are HIV-positive \u2013 back before the invention of effective treatment, when the virus was still effectively a death sentence \u2013 which means they really have nothing to lose. Instead of meekly accepting their fate, the pair embrace liberating nihilism, unbridled fury and condomless sex, rejecting the demand that people with Aids should be perfect and passive victims.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There\u2019s nothing toxic about that, but Luke is violent and unpredictable, and the film\u2019s chaotic romanticism is undercut by a bleak final scene. <\/span><em><span>The Living End <\/span><\/em><span>is ugly and exhilarating, an antidote to the blander, more sanitised depictions of gay romance which have gained popularity in recent years. (<em>JG)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>OLD BOY<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"tAaBkFChaRg\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tAaBkFChaRg\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><em><span>Old Boy<\/span><\/em><span> is about a man, Oh Dae-su, who is kidnapped by unknown assailants, locked in a room for 15 years and released without explanation, upon which he embarks on a bloody campaign of retribution and, along the way, enters into a relationship with a beautiful young woman. But what follows is one of cinema\u2019s most disturbing twists. <\/span><span>We hesitated on whether to include <\/span><em><span>Old Boy<\/span><\/em><span> on this list \u2013 it\u2019s not exactly <\/span><em><span>500 Days of Summer<\/span><\/em><span> \u2013 but it doesn\u2019t get more toxic than this. (JG)<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><em>SEX AND THE CITY<\/em><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"F0MvKStmYsI\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F0MvKStmYsI\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Carrie and Big are my favourite heterosexual couple. I love them for all the reasons people hate them. For example: when Big was moving to Paris, Carrie thought she was moving with him and walked around NY with a Maccies in hand, in a beret, only to learn that he didn\u2019t want her to uproot her life and \u201cexpect\u201d anything from him (meaning a relationship). Big was absolutely horrible in this situation, but people use this as an example of Carrie being embarrassing because she reveals that she loves him more than he loves her. And as internet feminists tell us all the time, this is a <\/span><em><span>crime.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span>I love how much Carrie loves Big, how crazy he makes her, and how crazy she makes him. I still think about the way they first met in episode one, when he helps her pick up the items that fell out of her bag on the street, and the big dumb grin he gives her as he hands over her condoms. I am swooning just thinking about it. I do believe that love can make you crazy, and those two are the craziest chicas of them all! <\/span><em><span>(HJ)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h1><em><span>SCANDAL<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"MvpYIela7_o\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MvpYIela7_o\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>While <\/span><em><span>Bridgerton<\/span><\/em><span> may currently be the yearning community\u2019s romance of choice, real Shonda Rhimes heads know that <\/span><em><span>Scandal<\/span><\/em><span>, the seven-season soapy political drama, is the hitmaking showmaker\u2019s magnum opus. The series, set in the moral cesspool that is Washington DC, follows a girl-bossy PR crisis manager (played by Kerry Washington) who ends up in an affair with the president of the United States after working on his campaign. Needless to say, it\u2019s all very messy; what could be more toxic than mixing foreign affairs with personal ones?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Still, Olivia Pope, Washington\u2019s character, and President Fitz, played by Tony Goldwyn, are a pair that\u2019s impossible to look away from. Washington and Goldwyn\u2019s on-screen chemistry is unmatched, and their off-screen chemistry (documented by countless interviews where the co-stars sing each other\u2019s praises) only adds to the show\u2019s allure. While infidelity is \u2018bad\u2019, it\u2019s hard to deny that #Olitz is a couple worth rooting for. <em>(IB)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span><strong><em>THE GRADUATE\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"6cKafIqhEvk\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6cKafIqhEvk\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><em><span>The Graduate <\/span><\/em><span>follows Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), a spiritless 21-year-old intent on spending his post-college days languishing in his parents\u2019 swimming pool. Ben is palpably depressed \u2013 until he begins an affair with his parents\u2019 friend Mrs Robinson, which appears to inject some excitement into his life. But things get more complicated when Ben develops feelings for Mrs Robinson\u2019s daughter, Elaine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Mrs Robinson threatens to reveal the affair \u2013 but Ben beats her to it and confesses to Elaine, prompting her to end their relationship and retreat back to Berkeley. There, she begins a relationship with a medical student and is pressured into marrying him by her parents, only for Ben to burst into the ceremony, screaming \u201c<\/span><em><span>Elaine! Elaine! Elaine!\u201d.<\/span><\/em><span> She runs to him and the pair flee, flagging down a passing bus and bundling into the back, plainly exhilarated \u2013 but their giddy smiles soon melt away to more apathetic, uncertain expressions. Are the pair truly in love, or motivated by a desire to spite Mrs Robinson? Or are they just young, rash, and stupid? And Elaine \u2013 I can\u2019t help but think that there are men out there who haven\u2019t shagged your mum\u2026 but the heart wants what it wants! <em>(SS)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>THE PIANO TEACHER<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"_p3JYz3YIeY\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_p3JYz3YIeY\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>This starts kind of promisingly: a sexually repressed woman called Erika (Isabelle Huppert) is working as a highly respected piano teacher in Vienna, when she meets a handsome young student called Walter. Walter quickly becomes fascinated with Erika and attempts to seduce her. Could this be the beginning of a great love story, or a powerful sexual reawakening? Spoiler alert: no! What follows are some of the most disturbing scenes ever committed to film. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It turns out Erika, although stoic and repressed, has a whole world of sexual fantasies simmering beneath her glacial surface \u2013 and many of them are profoundly twisted and perverse. Let\u2019s just say that Walter isn\u2019t very open-minded or receptive to her proposals. Isabelle Huppert is unreal in this film, but I hope to never see it again, for as long as I live. <em>(DS)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! 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around the world.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid section-header\">\n<div class=\"section-header__link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69644\/1\/film-tv\"><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"section-header__title\">READ MORE<\/h2>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid tag-article-list\">\n<div class=\"swiper swiper-latest\">\n<div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69548\/1\/kristen-stewart-chronology-of-water-director-debut-interview\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Chronology of Water\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-1-2200-1463\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436244.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Kristen Stewart: \u2018Women often operate from a place of shame\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69573\/1\/100-nights-of-hero-charli-xcx-julia-jackmans-lo-fi-queer-fantasy\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"100 nights of hero\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/259-138-1402-933\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436548.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">100 Nights of Hero: The story behind Julia Jackman\u2019s lo-fi queer fantasy<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/69577\/1\/burberry-spring-summer-2026-campaign-twiggy-maya-wigram\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"optional-paragraph\"> Burberry<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Burberry SS26 campaign\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-2-2399-1595\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436432.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Twiggy, Maya Wigram and more front Burberry\u2019s SS26 campaign<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69567\/1\/akinola-davies-jr-on-his-atmospheric-debut-film-my-fathers-shadow-interview\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My Father&#039;s Shadow\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-79-2888-1921\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436495.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Akinola Davies Jr on his atmospheric debut, My Father\u2019s Shadow<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69556\/1\/the-2026-sundance-films-josephine-lady-extra-geography\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"EXTRA GEOGRAPHY\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/203-0-2165-1440\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436334.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">The 2026 Sundance films we can\u2019t stop thinking about<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69547\/1\/twinless-film-interview-tragicomic-drama-loneliness-grief-queer-dylan-o-brien\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Twinless5 - online\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-2-2303-1532\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/6\/1436241.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Twinless: A tragicomic drama about loneliness, grief and queer friendship<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69453\/1\/dazed-x-mubi-cinema-club-returns-with-screening-my-father-shadow-akinola-davies\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dazed x MUBI Cinema Club, My Father\u2019s Shadow\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/291-0-1624-1080\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/4\/1434641.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Dazed x MUBI Cinema Club returns with a screening of My Father\u2019s Shadow<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69464\/1\/park-chan-wook-no-other-choice-lee-byung-hun-interview-2025\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"No Other Choice_Still_&#169;CJ ENM_2\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-2-2752-1830\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/4\/1434771.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">No Other Choice: Park Chan-wook\u2019s bleak, bloody takedown of capitalism<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69412\/1\/unpacking-the-heated-rivalry-discourse-gay-sex-fetishisation-lgbtq\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"download-2026-01-09t124712-192-6960fa4e0d376\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/202-0-1818-1209\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/4\/1434311.jpeg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Getting to the bottom of the Heated Rivalry discourse<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69404\/1\/marty-supreme-cost-of-dreaming-big-ambitions-career-twenties-future\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"chalamet-copy\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/31-2-1476-982\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/4\/1434312.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Marty Supreme and the cost of \u2018dreaming big\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69362\/1\/ben-whishaw-peter-hujar-day-photography-still-resonates-ira-sachs\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Peter Hujar Day Ben Whishaw\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/371-133-2279-1516\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/3\/1433862.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Ben Whishaw on the power of Peter Hujar\u2019s photography: \u2018It feels alive\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69330\/1\/atropia-absurdest-love-story-mock-iraqi-us-military-hailey-gates\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Atropia Still\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/15-0-1605-1068\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/3\/1433655.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Atropia: An absurdist love story set in a mock Iraqi military village<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline\" data-newsletter hidden>\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/wuthering-heights\"><em><span>Wuthering Heights <\/span><\/em><\/a><span>is one of the sweetest, most magical love stories ever told. Set on the picturesque Yorkshire Moors, it\u2019s a cosy romance about a pair of plucky young kids, Cathy and Heathcliff, who grow up to become lovers (and ghosts!), along the way navigating family pressures, nosy neighbours and some rather mischievous animals. Heathcliff loves Cathy so much that he even digs up her grave \u2013 more men like this, please! \ud83d\udc4f<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But not every on-screen romance is as wholesome as <\/span><em><span>Wuthering Heights<\/span><\/em><span> and, sadly, not all men are gallant, unproblematic kings like Heathcliff. If you\u2019re in the mood for something a little edgier this Valentine\u2019s Day, we\u2019ve got you covered. To celebrate the release of Emerald Fennell\u2019s new adaptation, below you\u2019ll find a list of cinema and television\u2019s most toxic, messed-up and outright crazzzy relationships. But be warned: unlike Bront\u00eb\u2019s heartwarming classic, some of these tales <\/span><em><span>don\u2019t<\/span><\/em><span> come with a happy ending\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>LOVES LIES BLEEDING<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"BF_J3-DmiS0\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BF_J3-DmiS0\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>It\u2019s hard for a film amped up on adrenaline and shot mostly in a grungy gym not to involve something toxic. In<\/span><em><span> Love Lies Bleeding<\/span><\/em><span>, it\u2019s the crash-course romance between Lou (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/kristen-stewart\">Kristen Stewart<\/a>), a reclusive gym manager in New Mexico, and Jackie (Katy O\u2019Brian), a driven bodybuilder passing through town at the centre of that chaos. Their relationship is fuelled by one intense rush \u2013 steroids shot into biceps, dumps of dopamine, and a whole lot of destruction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ultimately, the story ends tragically, framing their bond as a dark, queer \u201canti-love story\u201d where the thrill of a stable, comfortable relationship isn\u2019t quite enough to keep them going. Despite its obvious toxicity, it\u2019s not so horrible to see a sapphic romance that isn\u2019t all yearning and homesteading \u2013 a warning that lesbians can be just as dangerously \u201ccrazy\u201d as anyone else. <em>(T)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>SECRETARY<\/em><\/strong><em><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"Vy9EQnLYpF4\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Vy9EQnLYpF4\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><em><span>Secretary <\/span><\/em><span>is the tale of an unlikely romance that only makes sense to the two people inside it. Inspired by a short story from Mary Gaitskill\u2019s indelible collection of dark vignettes, <\/span><em><span>Bad Behaviour<\/span><\/em><span>, the film stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee, a nervous young woman who\u2019s trying to assimilate into adult life after rehab for her self-harm addiction. When she gets hired as a legal secretary to uptight Mr Grey (played with panache by James Spader), the pair begin tentatively exploring their latent submissive and dominant tendencies in increasingly extreme and imaginative ways around the office.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Is this a toxic relationship? Or is it an unconventional love story about two damaged people who, by relinquishing their struggles for normalcy, find an unusual kind of symbiotic happiness? <em>Secretary <\/em>is the perfect counterpart to some of the other titles on this list, and I think it adds an interesting dimension to a conversation about what\u2019s deemed healthy. <em>(ED)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>\u00a0GONE GIRL <\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"2-_-1nJf8Vg\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2-_-1nJf8Vg\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy (Rosamund Pike) are about as toxic as it gets in David Fincher\u2019s 2014 adaptation of Gillian Flynn\u2019s novel of the same name. Amy is the ultimate unreliable narrator, but one thing we know for sure is that Nick has cheated on her \u2013 and with a young Emily Ratajkowski no less. Amy gets her own back in spectacular style \u2013 only to change her mind when things go wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Gone Girl <\/em>offers a bleak vision of suburban married life, but I\u2019ve always found its ending oddly romantic (in large part because the score, by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor, is so transcendent). During one of their final confrontations, when Nick insists that all they ever did was resent each other, try to control each other and cause each other pain, Amy replies, \u201cThat\u2019s marriage.\u201d For all her evil scheming, I think there&#8217;s something quite sweet about her determination to put the past behind them and give their relationship another go. <em>Gone Girl<\/em> is about the impossibility of truly knowing another person (the film both opens and ends with Nick\u2019s internal monologue as he stares into Amy\u2019s eyes: \u201cWhat are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you?\u201d); that unknowability can be terrifying, but wouldn\u2019t it be boring if it weren\u2019t the case? <em>(JG)<\/em><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>PHANTOM THREAD<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"xNsiQMeSvMk\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xNsiQMeSvMk\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Reynolds Woodcock, the haute couture tailor played by Daniel Day-Lewis in <\/span><em><span>Phantom Thread<\/span><\/em><span>, would not be an easy man to live with. He is obsessive and domineering, haunted by his dead mother, and responds to a surprise dinner from Alma, his muse-turned-wife, by asking her: \u201cAre you a special agent sent here to ruin my evening and possibly my entire life?\u201d But to be fair, Alma sometimes chews very loudly, which is also quite annoying!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The problem with their toxic relationship, which is the heart of <\/span><em><span>Phantom Thread<\/span><\/em><span>, is that they really seem to <\/span><em><span>need <\/span><\/em><span>each other, despite \u2013 or because of \u2013 their irreconcilable differences. In the end, things take a literally toxic turn when (spoiler alert) Alma gives Woodcock a reprieve from his life of stifling dinners and ballgown deadlines with the help of some poisonous mushrooms. This makes it not only one of the most poisonous romances in cinema, but one of the most romantic poisonings as well. <em>(TW)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><em>THE LIVING END<\/em><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"7mvDLTMUtQQ\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7mvDLTMUtQQ\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/gregg-araki\">Gregg Araki<\/a>\u2019s 1992 New Queer Cinema classic shows that gay couples can be just as toxic as their straight counterparts (representation matters!) It\u2019s basically a classic <\/span><em><span>Bonnie and Clyde<\/span><\/em><span> story about two lovers on the lam, but with a twist. Both Jon (Craig Gilmore) and Luke (Mike Dytri) are HIV-positive \u2013 back before the invention of effective treatment, when the virus was still effectively a death sentence \u2013 which means they really have nothing to lose. Instead of meekly accepting their fate, the pair embrace liberating nihilism, unbridled fury and condomless sex, rejecting the demand that people with Aids should be perfect and passive victims.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There\u2019s nothing toxic about that, but Luke is violent and unpredictable, and the film\u2019s chaotic romanticism is undercut by a bleak final scene. <\/span><em><span>The Living End <\/span><\/em><span>is ugly and exhilarating, an antidote to the blander, more sanitised depictions of gay romance which have gained popularity in recent years. (<em>JG)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>OLD BOY<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"tAaBkFChaRg\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tAaBkFChaRg\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><em><span>Old Boy<\/span><\/em><span> is about a man, Oh Dae-su, who is kidnapped by unknown assailants, locked in a room for 15 years and released without explanation, upon which he embarks on a bloody campaign of retribution and, along the way, enters into a relationship with a beautiful young woman. But what follows is one of cinema\u2019s most disturbing twists. <\/span><span>We hesitated on whether to include <\/span><em><span>Old Boy<\/span><\/em><span> on this list \u2013 it\u2019s not exactly <\/span><em><span>500 Days of Summer<\/span><\/em><span> \u2013 but it doesn\u2019t get more toxic than this. (JG)<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><em>SEX AND THE CITY<\/em><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"F0MvKStmYsI\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F0MvKStmYsI\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Carrie and Big are my favourite heterosexual couple. I love them for all the reasons people hate them. For example: when Big was moving to Paris, Carrie thought she was moving with him and walked around NY with a Maccies in hand, in a beret, only to learn that he didn\u2019t want her to uproot her life and \u201cexpect\u201d anything from him (meaning a relationship). Big was absolutely horrible in this situation, but people use this as an example of Carrie being embarrassing because she reveals that she loves him more than he loves her. And as internet feminists tell us all the time, this is a <\/span><em><span>crime.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span>I love how much Carrie loves Big, how crazy he makes her, and how crazy she makes him. I still think about the way they first met in episode one, when he helps her pick up the items that fell out of her bag on the street, and the big dumb grin he gives her as he hands over her condoms. I am swooning just thinking about it. I do believe that love can make you crazy, and those two are the craziest chicas of them all! <\/span><em><span>(HJ)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h1><em><span>SCANDAL<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"MvpYIela7_o\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MvpYIela7_o\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>While <\/span><em><span>Bridgerton<\/span><\/em><span> may currently be the yearning community\u2019s romance of choice, real Shonda Rhimes heads know that <\/span><em><span>Scandal<\/span><\/em><span>, the seven-season soapy political drama, is the hitmaking showmaker\u2019s magnum opus. The series, set in the moral cesspool that is Washington DC, follows a girl-bossy PR crisis manager (played by Kerry Washington) who ends up in an affair with the president of the United States after working on his campaign. Needless to say, it\u2019s all very messy; what could be more toxic than mixing foreign affairs with personal ones?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Still, Olivia Pope, Washington\u2019s character, and President Fitz, played by Tony Goldwyn, are a pair that\u2019s impossible to look away from. Washington and Goldwyn\u2019s on-screen chemistry is unmatched, and their off-screen chemistry (documented by countless interviews where the co-stars sing each other\u2019s praises) only adds to the show\u2019s allure. While infidelity is \u2018bad\u2019, it\u2019s hard to deny that #Olitz is a couple worth rooting for. <em>(IB)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span><strong><em>THE GRADUATE\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"6cKafIqhEvk\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6cKafIqhEvk\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><em><span>The Graduate <\/span><\/em><span>follows Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), a spiritless 21-year-old intent on spending his post-college days languishing in his parents\u2019 swimming pool. Ben is palpably depressed \u2013 until he begins an affair with his parents\u2019 friend Mrs Robinson, which appears to inject some excitement into his life. But things get more complicated when Ben develops feelings for Mrs Robinson\u2019s daughter, Elaine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Mrs Robinson threatens to reveal the affair \u2013 but Ben beats her to it and confesses to Elaine, prompting her to end their relationship and retreat back to Berkeley. There, she begins a relationship with a medical student and is pressured into marrying him by her parents, only for Ben to burst into the ceremony, screaming \u201c<\/span><em><span>Elaine! Elaine! Elaine!\u201d.<\/span><\/em><span> She runs to him and the pair flee, flagging down a passing bus and bundling into the back, plainly exhilarated \u2013 but their giddy smiles soon melt away to more apathetic, uncertain expressions. Are the pair truly in love, or motivated by a desire to spite Mrs Robinson? Or are they just young, rash, and stupid? And Elaine \u2013 I can\u2019t help but think that there are men out there who haven\u2019t shagged your mum\u2026 but the heart wants what it wants! <em>(SS)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong><em>THE PIANO TEACHER<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"_p3JYz3YIeY\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_p3JYz3YIeY\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>This starts kind of promisingly: a sexually repressed woman called Erika (Isabelle Huppert) is working as a highly respected piano teacher in Vienna, when she meets a handsome young student called Walter. Walter quickly becomes fascinated with Erika and attempts to seduce her. Could this be the beginning of a great love story, or a powerful sexual reawakening? Spoiler alert: no! What follows are some of the most disturbing scenes ever committed to film. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It turns out Erika, although stoic and repressed, has a whole world of sexual fantasies simmering beneath her glacial surface \u2013 and many of them are profoundly twisted and perverse. Let\u2019s just say that Walter isn\u2019t very open-minded or receptive to her proposals. Isabelle Huppert is unreal in this film, but I hope to never see it again, for as long as I live. <em>(DS)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69644\/1\/wuthering-heights-valentines-day-recommendations-toxic-couples&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/944\/140-0-944-629\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437355.jpeg&#8221;] The Piano Teacher (Film Still) February\u00a0 14,\u00a0 2026 Film &amp; TV \/ Lists Film &amp; TV \/ Lists 10 of the most toxic on-screen romances To celebrate both Valentine\u2019s Day and the release of Wuthering Heights, we look back at the characters who most need to attend a couple\u2019s therapy session February\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1770329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1770329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1770329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1770329\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1770329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1770329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1770329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}