For one thing, there’s lots of heartbreak
Revolutionary Road – Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet struggle to overcome despair and anguish in a stifling world where the only constants are heartbreak and suffering.
Doubt – Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman struggle to overcome anguish and despair in a judgmental world where the only constants are heartbreak and suffering.
Milk – Sean Penn struggles to overcome heartbreak and suffering in an intolerant world where the only constants are despair, anguish and agonizingly snug trousers.
The Reader – Despair, followed by heartbreak, followed by nudity, followed by anguish, followed by heartbreaking despair while nude.
Gran Torino – Clint Eastwood struggles to overcome heartbreak and fuel efficiency in a racially volatile world where the only constants are squinting and young people who won’t get the hell off his lawn.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett hope that if they act hard enough no one will notice that their movie’s premise is, when you think about it, pretty absurd.