The Movie You Should Watch Next, Based On Your Favorite Taylor Swift Era

Whenever I introduce myself to someone, the fact that I’m a Swiftie is usually one of the first things out of my mouth. Is anyone surprised? My love for Taylor Swift is practically a personality trait—in fact, I can’t believe it’s taken me almost two years to write about her. It’s difficult to put into words what I love most about being a Taylor fan, but if I had to choose one thing, it would be her storytelling.

Whether she’s singing about a fictional teenage love triangle or dancing in a storm in her best dress, I can so clearly see the scenes she’s created that it’s almost like I’m watching a movie. That’s why when the news broke that she’s developing her first feature film, it felt like the perfect next step in her career. After all, the All Too Well short film is a masterpiece—what magic will she create with a full-length movie? While we await her feature directorial debut, I put together my own watchlist of movies that remind me of each of Taylor’s albums. Some are solely based on vibes, while others share thematic similarities. Read on to find out what flicks you should watch, based on your favorite Taylor Swift era.

Taylor Swift (Debut)

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret

Based on the book of the same name, this classic coming-of-age story is the perfect movie to kick off this list. 11-year-old Margaret Simon has just moved to a new state and is navigating making friends, going through puberty, and discerning her relationship with religion. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret captures so many girlhood milestones with surprising accuracy, from your first period to your first kiss. Much like Taylor’s debut album, this movie is all about figuring out who you are and who you want to be. It’s innocent, nostalgic, and sure to leave you with the same warm, fuzzy feeling you get when listening to Taylor’s earliest hits.

Fearless

Letters to Juliet

Some may say it’s too on-the-nose to pick Letters to Juliet as a representation of Fearless, but I don’t care–it fits too well. While on a pre-honeymoon vacation in Verona, Sophie discovers an old letter written to Juliet asking for love advice and decides to write back. But what she doesn’t expect is to end up on a cross-country trip with the original writer…and her very attractive grandson. This rom-com is sweet and whimsical, just like Fearless. If you ever need a reason to believe in love again, this is the movie for you.

Speak Now

Stardust

I’ve always thought of Speak Now as a fairytale in music form, and Stardust is the film equivalent. In order to win his beloved’s hand in marriage, Tristan Thorn must enter the magical world of Stormhold to collect a fallen star. But to his surprise, the star is actually a woman named Yvaine, and he must protect her from forces in Stormhold that want to steal her magic for themselves. This movie has it all: fantasy, witches, pirates, princes, magic, adventure, romance, you name it. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be enchanted from the first watch (see what I did there?).

Red

About Time

Red is the ultimate fall album, and even though there isn’t much that’s outwardly autumnal in this movie, it still matches the vibes so well. On his 21st birthday, Tim learns that all the men in his family can travel back in time. At first, he uses his newfound ability to improve his life and find a girlfriend, but not even time travel can protect him from life’s most complex problems. As Taylor herself puts it, life is happy and free and confusing and lonely at the same time. Add time travel, and that statement becomes even truer. About Time is as much about love as it is about loss, just like Red.

1989

How To Be Single

“Welcome to New York” plays in the first five minutes of How To Be Single, but that’s not the only thing that makes this movie a great match for 1989. After college, Alice breaks up with her boyfriend so she can learn what it’s like to be alone. Her story unfolds alongside three other women in the city, each approaching their singlehood differently. One’s on more dating apps than she can count, one has mastered the casual hookup, and the other is married to her career. 1989’s tracklist may largely be about relationships, but Taylor’s superstar friend group was front and center during this era. In the same vein, How To Be Single teaches us that while we can still learn a lot about what we want or don’t want in a partner by being single, finding fulfillment in other places is where the real magic happens.

Reputation

Save the Last Dance

As Reputation’s biggest fan, I’ve always thought of it as an underrated album (at least, pre-Eras Tour)—and Save the Last Dance is easily one of the more underrated romance movies I’ve seen, too. Sara wants to be a ballerina, but her mother’s death cuts that dream short. Instead, she moves to Chicago’s south side with her father and starts a new school, where she’s one of the few white students. Through a budding romance with her classmate Derek, Sara finds her way back to dance, though not in the way she expects. What makes Reputation so iconic is that underneath its tough exterior, it’s a deeply romantic album. In fact, I’d argue it’s the most romantic in Taylor’s catalog. Save the Last Dance is a love story, but more specifically, it’s about opening your heart again after it’s been broken, and learning not to sacrifice what you want because of what other people think.

Lover

Someone Great

One of my favorite bits of Taylor trivia is that “Clean,” a 1989 track, inspired the making of this movie, which then inspired Taylor to write “Death By A Thousand Cuts” for Lover. Someone Great follows Jenny on the first day following the end of her nine-year relationship, which is also one of her last days living in New York. As one last hurrah, she and her friends run around the city looking for tickets to an exclusive music festival. Vulnerability is a huge part of any relationship, whether at the very beginning or the very end, an idea that Lover and Someone Great both explore. But love comes in many forms, and losing something you once had doesn’t take away from the love you gave it.

Folklore

La La Land

The opening lyrics of Folklore sum up La La Land to a T: “you know the greatest loves of all time are over now.” Aspiring actress Mia and jazz pianist Sebastian have the complete opposite of a meet-cute, but their chemistry is still undeniable. As they both pursue their biggest dreams, their relationship will be put to the test. Several songs from Folklore touch on a lot of the same questions that La La Land poses, like how our ambitions can affect our relationships and whether a love that doesn’t last is any less real.

evermore

All of Us Strangers

Adam is a lonely screenwriter whose life is forever changed when he visits his childhood home for the first time in years. Upon his arrival, he’s shocked to find his parents, who died decades earlier, inside and appearing just as they did when he last saw them. Between revisiting the life he could’ve had and striking up a romance with a neighbor, he eventually has to leave the past behind. Many of us likely felt isolated when evermore was released, and the quiet melancholy of Adam’s life mirrors that feeling. All of Us Strangers’ depiction of grief makes it a good match for evermore, which also tackles loss in a few different ways. Both works are an intimate look at how that grief affects us and how we move forward.

Midnights

Past Lives

What makes Past Lives so similar to Midnights is their self-reflection. I’m a sucker for a sub-genre I like to call the “what might’ve been” movie: one that documents a great but flawed love story, that may not have a happy ending but still leaves you satisfied. Past Lives is one such movie, and that’s also what makes it a great match for Midnights. Nora and her childhood sweetheart, Hae Sung, have been in and out of each other’s lives since Nora left South Korea as a child. Now living in New York, she must grapple with the life she left behind when Hae Sung comes to visit her for a week.

The Tortured Poets Department

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Charlie has a hard time making friends, and being a freshman in high school is hard enough. But when he meets two seniors, Patrick and Sam, he finally begins to feel like he belongs. TTPD is, of course, a very literary album, which makes it a great match for Perks in many ways: it’s based on Steven Chbosky’s classic novel, and one central relationship is that of Charlie and his English teacher. But on a deeper level, both the movie and the album spark a lot of raw emotion that tends to sneak up on you. One lyric or line of dialogue can be absolutely devastating with only a few words. But the journey Taylor and Charlie take us on is all about healing from what you’ve gone through and beginning a new chapter.

The Life of a Showgirl

Moulin Rouge

From the minute Taylor’s newest album was announced, I immediately associated it with Nicole Kidman’s character in this movie. A young writer named Christian has fallen for Satine, the star performer at the Moulin Rouge, amid rehearsals for his new play. Soon Satine returns his feelings, but her boss has already promised her to a wealthy Duke, who grows more and more jealous as her connection to Christian deepens. The Life of a Showgirl deals with life in the public eye and how it affects the ones you love, something that’s certainly relevant to the central romance in Moulin Rouge. Even if this album isn’t your favorite, the movie is still glittery and theatrical in all the ways the showgirl aesthetic should be.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hannah Carapellotti, Contributing Writer

Hannah is an Ann Arbor-based writer with a bachelor’s in English and writing from the University of Michigan. Outside of The Everygirl, Hannah has written for The Michigan Daily, where she also served as an editor. She currently works at an independent bookstore and is interning for a literary agency.

READ HANNAH’S FULL BIO

Feature graphic images credited to: Erika Goldring | Getty Images, Maxsol7 | Adobe Stock

The post The Movie You Should Watch Next, Based On Your Favorite Taylor Swift Era appeared first on The Everygirl.