The 15 Best Movies About Divorce You Should Watch Next

As delicate a topic as divorce used to be in our society, it's become more and more discussed and acceptable over the years. It's not that shocking to hear about marriages ending anymore — whether it's our own or someone else's — and we have learned to treat them accordingly as a difficult part of life rather than something shameful. As the conversation around divorce has changed personally and culturally, so too has its representation changed in the media, as filmmakers have taken different approaches in dissecting the subject and sharing their specific views about it on-screen. 

While Hollywood has a complicated history with showing divorce on-screen — the censorship of the Hays Code Era from the '30s to the '60s meant it was barely shown for decades (via Film School Cred) — the movies that do center around the subject fill a welcome and necessary role of helping viewers who have gone through the painful experience of separating.

In the post Hays Code years, acclaimed features like "Kramer vs. Kramer" paved the way for the sub-genre by offering vastly different approaches to a theme that had been rendered mostly in rom-com form or not at all. Whether it's a dead-serious, incisive, and emotional drama that digs to the core of unsuccessful marriages or a light-hearted, funny, and satirical comedy that provides a release for divorcees, good films about divorce easily find their target audience in today's social climate.

Here, we gathered some of the best ones that cover the topic from various and intriguing angles.

Robert Benton's Oscar-winning drama "Kramer vs. Kramer" was definitely ahead of its time in 1979. In an age when divorce was considered a shameful embarrassment, Benton had the courage to address it and, more importantly, show how it affected a young child caught in the middle. 

Ted (Dustin Hoffman) is an advertising executive in New York, who's obsessed with his job and neglects his duties as a parent and a husband. Fed up with his absence and the unequal share of household duties, Ted's wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) leaves him and their son Billy (Justin Henry). Ted has to learn how to cope with the situation as a single parent — which largely affects his work performance — and become the kind of father he's never been before. But just as Ted and Billy get used to being together, Joanna returns and demands a divorce and custody over his son. That's when things turn ugly in the courtroom and at home, as the two get locked in a battle of a devastating divorce.

It's hard to find a more iconic movie about separation and custody than "Kramer vs. Kramer." Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep both deliver impeccable performances (each won an Academy Award for their respective roles) and the script also smartly portrays all sides with equal importance. It's no coincidence it won numerous awards and is regarded as a classic that painstakingly deals with social issues such as mother and father's rights, feminism, and being a single parent. 

Nicole Holofcener's sweet dramedy, "Enough Said," features one of the last roles of James Gandolfini before his untimely death in 2013. If you're a Gandolfini fan, this indie is a must-watch, as the actor takes on a role that's the opposite of Tony Soprano: He's a heart-warming, middle-aged man, who's looking to date again after his separation.

Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Albert (Gandolfini) are two single divorcees, who are introduced to each other at a party by mutual friends. Albert asks her out and although Eva initially doesn't feel attracted to him, she says yes to a date. Things start getting complicated when massage therapist Eva realizes that her new client Marianne (Catherine Keener) happens to be Albert's ex-wife. As Eva and Marianne quickly become friends, Marianne unloads about every bad characteristic of her former husband. It's a double-edged sword for Eva, who relishes the insight, but is also now falling for Albert and struggling to see him through her own eyes. 

"Enough Said" is a lovely, quirky, and smart dramedy in which Gandolfini shows off his softer side. The chemistry between him and Louis-Dreyfus is undeniable, as they both find companionship in an unexpected place and moment. The movie portrays the aftermath of a divorce with great accuracy, as we get to see Albert from his perspective and from his ex-wife's, and the way that Eva is caught between the two, which is as funny as it is emotional.

If there's a film that shamelessly targets ex-wives as its primary audience, it's Hugh Wilson's 1996 comedy, "The First Wives Club." It'd be hard to find a woman who went through a divorce during the '90s and hasn't heard about the film or perhaps watched it on repeat. 

Elise (Goldie Hawn), Brenda (Bette Midler), and Annie (Diane Keaton) are three divorcees and college friends, who reconnect at the funeral of one of their old friends. As the three friends catch up, they realize that while their lives have all gone in different directions, they do share one important thing: Their ex-husbands all left them for younger women. So, they decide to form the First Wives Club and take revenge on their exes.

With an ensemble cast that features Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton, it was basically a guarantee the movie will appeal to a certain audience and blow up the box office — which it did. Of course, it's crucial that the script — based on Olivia Goldsmith's international bestseller of the same name — has a light-hearted approach to a very real subject of feeling erased and discarded at the end of a relationship. 

While critics weren't awed by the movie after its release, "The First Wives Club" has developed a cult status over the years and was even adapted to a TV series of the same name in 2019 starring Jill Scott, Michelle Buteau, and Ryan Michelle Bathe.

In his fourth feature film, "The Squid and the Whale," Noah Baumbach gets semi-autobiographical by drawing inspiration from his parents' divorce (via The AV Club). Set in 1986 Brooklyn, the film follows the Berkman family, as they go through a nasty divorce. Bernard (Jeff Daniels) and Joan (Laura Linney) are both writers, but while the former's career is in its dying stage, the latter's has just begun rising. Their kids, Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and Frank (Owen Kline), are heavily affected by the separation and begin acting out in various ways. As the tension rises between Bernard and Joan, their sons start to take sides, and that's when the consequences and repercussions of the separation become really ugly.

"The Squid and the Whale" is a deeply personal film, which you can feel throughout, as Baumbach employs a mix of humor and drama to cover up or reveal the characters' inner, emotional wounds. Part of what makes this a particularly incisive and profound movie about divorce is that it focuses on the kids' perspective and how they cope with their folks' separation.

After its release, "The Squid and the Whale" quickly became a critically acclaimed comedy-drama that was bombarded with awards, including an Oscar for best original screenplay.

The concept of "The Parent Trap" is a well-known formula in pop culture by now and Nancy Meyers' 1998 remake played a major role in that. Based on the 1961 movie of the same name and Erich Kastner's novel "Lisa and Lottie," "The Parent Trap" tells the story of two twin sisters, Hallie and Annie (both played by Lindsay Lohan), who were separated at birth. They find each other by chance 12 years later at summer camp and the two decide to switch places and attempt to get their divorced parents to fall in love with each other again.

Thanks to Meyers' modernization of the story and a well-selected cast including Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson, and Elaine Hendrix, "The Parent Trap" didn't only become a box office triumph — making over $92 million worldwide — but it was praised by critics too. "The Parent Trap" may be skewed more towards younger audiences, but its great performances and happy ending make it an uplifting delight for those seeking something lighter on the subject of divorce.

Lee Toland Krieger's 2012 rom-com "Celeste and Jesse Forever" examines the dissolution of marriage from a more realistic point of view. While the movie has its moments of fun, its dramatic bits cut deep and hit home in a profoundly emotional way. You don't necessarily expect that from a film that features comedy actors like Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg. But that's one of the reasons why it works so powerfully, since they're both able to mine their acting skills to show an impressive range.

Celeste (Jones) and Jesse (Samberg) got married young and have decided to divorce after six years together. However, they refuse to go their separate ways, as they consider their friendship too valuable to give up. So, even though they're getting separated, they agree to stay best friends, which turns out to be a rather unhealthy decision. Even their friends are alarmed by it, and they urge the couple to move on and get on with their lives without each other. Eventually, they do and begin dating other people, and that's when they realize they haven't fully recovered from their divorce.

"Celeste and Jesse Forever" is painful to watch because it poignantly captures how two people who used to love each other more than anything can grow apart. It's difficult to see someone that once was the center point of your life becoming a whole new person and moving on without you. The movie depicts that change with great precision and serves as a heart-wrenching yet potent film about separation.

Spike Jonze's 2013 sci-fi romance "Her" provides a unique and fresh angle on the subject of relationships, divorce, love, loneliness, and technology. Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) is on the verge of divorcing his childhood love, Catherine (Rooney Mara). He's depressed, lonely, and isolated. He buys an AI operating system that comes with a virtual assistant, which he names Samantha (Scarlett Johansson). He and Samantha start bonding with each other and soon, Theodore falls in love — with the computer. Then we get to see (or rather hear) the ups and downs of their unusual relationship and how it affects Theodore on a human level.

Using a futuristic approach to dissect human emotions and their complicated, fragile nature is something that only a few filmmakers can pull off and Jonze is one of them. "Her" has not only blown the critics' minds but even managed to become a modest box office success. Despite its out-there and specific subject matter of a man falling in love with an AI, the film explores universal themes of loss, love, and connection in a way that will resonate with anyone who has experienced divorce or a painful separation. "Her" has won numerous awards, including an Oscar for best original screenplay.