Now, Voyager, dir. Irving Rapper: A determined, principled woman convinces her lover to make her his daughter’s governess
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë: A determined, principled governess convinces her employee to stop propositioning her by marrying him
Terms of Endearment, dir. James L. Brooks: A daughter’s illness brings her and her mother closer together
The Sixth Sense, dir. M. Night Shyamalan: A daughter’s illness negatively affects her relationship with her mother
Sons and Lovers, D.H. Lawrence: Robust, vital man with working-class roots is unable to successfully retire with his mother
Barnaby Rudge, Charles Dickens: Robust, vital man with working-class roots happily retires with his mother
The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Oppressed wealthy woman defies her doctor-husband by leaving her room
The Heiress, dir. William Wyler: Oppressed wealthy woman defies her doctor-father by never leaving her room again
Gilda, dir. Charles Vidor: Quarreling married couple rediscover their love for one another by hating someone together
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Edward Albee: Quarreling married couple hate someone together but rediscover nothing in the process
A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams: Heterosexuality comes between sisters
The Virgin Suicides, dir. Sofia Coppola: Heterosexuality brings sisters closer together
A Room With A View, E.M. Forster: A sensitive young brunette successfully transitions a vacation romance with a cute boy she met in Italy to her hometown
The Talented Mr Ripley, Patricia Highsmith: A sensitive young brunet fails to recapture the magic of a vacation romance with a cute boy he met in Italy
Strangers On A Train, Patricia Highsmith: Getting on a train ruins multiple lives
The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Chandler Warner: Getting on a train saves multiple lives
Vertigo, dir. Alfred Hitchcock: A brunette’s life deteriorates rapidly after going blonde
White Chicks, dir. Keenen Ivory Wayans: Going blonde improves brunette’s circumstances
Phantom Thread, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson: Poisonous mushrooms bring a family closer together
Babar, Jean de Brunhoff: Poisonous mushrooms cause trouble for local family
The Devil Wears Prada, dir. David Frankel: Serious young woman learns to mistrust stylish people
Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray: Stylish young woman learns to mistrust serious people
Old, dir. M. Night Shyamalan: Swimming makes you old
Cocoon, dir. Ron Howard: Swimming makes you young