By Katie Farthing
Virginia is for lovers, so let’s celebrate the holiday of love the right way. Take a look at these movies that star your very own backyard. Made and/or set in locales all over the commonwealth, you’re sure to fall head over heels for swoon-worthy love interests that make to-die-for cinema.
Big Stone Gap, 2014
Big Stone Gap, Wise County
Made and set in Southwest’s Big Stone Gap, this romantic comedy follows Ave Maria Mulligan (Ashley Judd) as she becomes the town’s old maid. That is until a family secret and handsome coal miner Jack Mac (Patrick Wilson) turn her life—and heart—upside down.
Dirty Dancing, 1987
Pembroke
No one puts Baby in a corner, unless that corner is in the Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke. This ever-loved romantic drama follows Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) as she lets loose on the dance floor and falls in love with Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), a wrong-side-of-the-tracks dance instructor. Together, the two defy class boundaries, parental disapproval—and gravity.
Loving, 2016
Richmond, Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, Hopewell, Bowling Green
Loving is a biopic following the story of Richard (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred Loving (Ruth Negga), plaintiffs in the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia. The interracial pair fell in love and married in D.C. before returning to their Virginia home, facing pain and discrimination on the journey to their happily ever after.
The Howards of Virginia, 1940
Colonial Williamsburg, Carter’s Grove
This historical drama follows the story of the Howard clan. Matt Howard (Cary Grant) catches the eye of the wealthy Peyton family’s daughter, Jane (Martha Scott). They start a family in the Shenandoah Valley despite the disapproval of the Peytons, namely Jane’s snobbish brother. The couple’s love triumphs over class differences and lights Matt’s way home from the Revolutionary War.
The Love Letter, 1998
Petersburg, Richmond, Staunton, Tuckahoe Plantation in Richmond
Set in Boston, but filmed in multiple Virginia locations, this romantic fantasy drama proves love conquers all—even time. Elizabeth Whitcomb (Jennifer Jason Leigh) writes a letter addressed to “Dearest” in 1863 that appears in an antique desk being refurbished by Scott Corrigan (Campbell Scott) in 1998. Despite the 135 years separating them, the two can’t help but fall in love.
This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue.
