Flavorwire

One of our favorite movies of the year, Sarah Polley’s heartbreaking Take This Waltz, hits theaters this Friday (but, heads up, you can watch it on demand right effing now, and should). In it, Michelle Williams plays a writer who jeopardizes her seemingly happy marriage when she falls for the handsome fellow down the street. Thinking back on the movie, we couldn’t help but muse that Williams seems an actress particularly unlucky in love on screen; in fact, she’s one of many actors who seem to have made a specialty of playing characters who are perpetually getting screwed, romantically speaking. After the jump, we take a look at the unlucky cinematic love lives of Williams and nine of her contemporaries (to keep it simple, we stuck with modern actors). Some spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk, etc.; agree, disagree, and add your own nominees in the comments.

Michelle Williams
HEARTBREAK RUNDOWN: Messy, painful divorce (Blue Valentine); Adulterous longing (Take this Waltz); Widowed literally while committing adultery (Incendiary); Cheated on by husband, with another man (Brokeback Mountain); Murdered (Shutter Island); Dated James Van Der Beek (Dawson’s Creek).
SCORE: 10/10. Ms. Williams is our modern Bette Davis or Joan Crawford; she suffers on-screen for our romantic sins.