5 films on Netflix to watch alone this Valentine’s Day

It’s the season of love, and for some that means flowers and chocolates and romantic declarations. For others it means avoiding the shops at all costs.

If you’re sitting in the latter, then you’re probably planning on staying home alone Wednesday night to avoid the amorous couples flaunting their togetherness.

Question love, loneliness, and life on Netflix this Valentine’s Day

There’s no shame in staying in, and to make your night even simpler I’ve compiled a list of films on Netflix South Africa you may want to check out to keep your mind off Valentine’s day. Here they are.

Unfaithful

Unfaithful is a film for those looking to face their disdain with love head-on. The 2002 film, starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane, is about a woman who cheats on her husband with an artsy younger man — with dangerous effect.

Unfaithful tears apart the ideals of marriage and will have you screaming “I told you so” at the screen multiple times. If that doesn’t sound therapeutic, I don’t know what to tell you.

The Shining

Horrors may not let you forget you’re alone, but they do a good job of putting your life into perspective.

So why Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining? For one, it has no annoying subplot where two idiots have sex and end up getting killed (though if that’s your speed, you have options).

For two, The Shining is so utterly confusing it’ll keep your mind focussed on reincarnation and off real carnations (Get it? Because people give flowers on Valentine’s Day? Thank you).

Our Souls at Night

This is a pick for the more hopeful. Starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford, Our Souls at Night is proof that it’s never too late to find love — or even just a companion.

The Netflix original follows two widowed neighbours who sleep in the same bed to alleviate their loneliness, and the film’s quiet, slow pace may just be enough to calm relationship anxieties — at least for now.

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

The first time you watch this film you may not think it’s that bad. Keep watching. Watch it like a little kid who refuses to watch anything else.

People in relationships are probably considering the prospect of kids — and while that can be magical, it can also sometimes… not be. Case in point: an obsession with media that can drive you up the wall.

At least for now, you can remind yourself of your power over the content you consume.

Ted 2

Finally, why not remind yourself how absolutely nothing matters?

Ted 2 is a film about a teddy bear who, looking to have a kid, has to prove he’s a person in a court of law. It features semen jokes, blind people jokes, and, somehow, Morgan Freeman.

This film is nihilism to its core — and sometimes that’s all you need to pull yourself out of a slump. I guess. It doesn’t really matter.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Feature image: screenshot, “My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Trailer” via Hasbro/YouTube