In the age of technology with text messaging or dating apps, it’s easy to forget the beauty of love that unfolds slowly with just a glance or a hand-written letter that seemed to arrive after eternity. Before fast-food love, there were timeless period dramas that captured the raw, delicate emotions of love and yearning, with unforgettable characters and iconic lines that make your heart ache. Let’s go back in time and revisit 3 films that are still relevant today. 

Pride and Prejudice (2005). Directed by: Joe Wright. Starring: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen. 

“I love you. Most ardently. Please do me the honor of accepting my hand.”

Happy 20th anniversary to Pride and Prejudice! The director breaks away from limitations and gives the characters more solidarity using the environment and changes in light and shadow to echo the character’s mood and use close-ups of the face to capture Jane Austen’s tale of the headstrong Elizabeth Bennet and the enigmatic Mr. Darcy. This film is about the slow, transformative process of understanding and overcoming pride and prejudice. The chemistry between Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) in those moments of tension that speak volumes more than words ever could. To those of you who have seen the film, you will know the most iconic scene is Mr. Darcy’s hand flex scene (if you know you know ;])

The Age of Innocence (1993). Directed by: Martin Scorsese.  Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder

“You gave me my first glimpse of a real life. Then you asked me to go on with the false one. No one can endure that.“

Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence is a slow, aching exploration of forbidden love and societal expectations in 1870s New York. Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) plays a man torn between his dutiful fiancée, May (Winona Ryder), and his passionate attraction to the independent Countess Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer). This film dives deep into the tension of a love that must remain unspoken. The restraint of the upper class makes it difficult for them to break free. The most powerful emotions are the ones we can never express out loud. Some say The Age of Innocence is Scorsese’s most violent film. 

Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Directed by: Kenneth Branagh. Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington

“I do love nothing in the world so well as you. Is that not strange?“

Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is a masterpiece about love and misunderstanding. Beatrice (Emma Thompson) and Benedick (Kenneth Branagh) engage in a battle of wits that slowly transforms into a deeper, more genuine love, played out amongst banter, laughter, and unexpected moments of vulnerability. Meanwhile, the more traditional love story between Hero (Kate Beckinsale) and Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard) offers a contrast of loyalty and betrayal.

These 3 period dramas remind us of a time when emotions were felt deeply. The costumes, the settings, the heartache all combine to create a timeless experience that invites us to fall in love with love again. Let these films transport you to a time when love was felt, not texted. 

Photo credits: IMDB