If This Was A Movie: Films that Hold the Essence of Taylor Swift’s Songwriting

Taylor Swift is–if not the greatest of all time–one of the most potent storytellers in the music industry. Her discography is like a diary that one always gets back to whenever they feel strongly or can’t feel at all, when one has so much to hold or when everything has slipped away from their fingers. She’s now in her thirties, but her genius never wilts; it continues to exquisitely grow with her. We witnessed her playful stories about infatuation turned into narratives about the blinking glamor of love.

Taylor Swift’s sorcery is her songwriting that can set a surreal atmosphere with just a sentence. She writes about a version of life that I may not live through but in a way, I can see its golden rays that blind my own eyes, hear its sweet hums, and ultimately, can feel it myself. When I listen to her, it’s like I'm being transported to the hot enticing alleys of Italy, off to an evening stroll with my lover, or to the snowy streets of New York City to dance on the colorful LED billboards mirrored by the wet pavements.

In honor of Taylor Swift’s newly released re-recorded album, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” which has one of the most lush, imaginative songwriting of hers, I personally recommend these taylor swift-coded movies to share to the world that the same all-over-the-place and dominating feelings that we couldn’t describe back then finally have a name and more vividly painted before us. Watching these movies along with listening to Taylor’s music makes me feel understood and valid. That it is completely alright to long for and live through any of these little experiences for once in our lives, the hopefulness in meet-cutes or even grieving make this world more beautiful to live in, don’t you think?

Enchanted (2007)

Walt Disney’s Enchanted is a 2007 fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Kevin Lima, starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, and James Marsden. It tells the tale of a maiden from the magical land of Andalasia named Giselle that was set to marry a prince. But she was sent to New York City and fell in love with a lawyer. I am not including this on the list solely because Taylor literally wrote a song titled “Enchanted (Taylor’s Version),” but because this movie really has the same magic that is woven through her songs. This movie and Taylor’s songwriting both make me romanticize the entrancing, bright, and busy life of any city and in spite of not knowing what happens next. Taylor made me realize that there will always be a story worth telling everywhere we look, and that realization actually inspired me to finally start writing–hoping that someday, I'll be able to perfectly write one’s fairy-tale love story—or maybe my own *wink.*

Letters to Juliet (2010)

“Letters to Juliet” is a 2010 romantic comedy film directed by Gary Winick, starring Amanda Seyfried, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Vanessa Redgrave. We follow Sophie, an aspiring writer, travels around Italy and meets the “Secretaries of Juliet” in Verona. These secretaries respond to letters written by love-struck and heartbroken people that are addressed to Juliet Capulet, a well-known Shakespeare figure. If the whole “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” album was a movie, it would be this one. This movie and the album is a tea-stained love letter to the daydreamers, for the faithful readers of “Romeo and Juliet,” for those who dream to have their “meet-cute” in a crowded courtyard, by the love locks and little parchments. This movie shows me that love can be as hot and breathtakingly golden like the grounds of Verona drowned in the summer afternoon sunlight.

Little Women (2019)

“Little Women” is a 2019 family film directed by one of my personal favorite directors, Greta Gerwig, starring Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, and Eliza Scanlen. This movie is an adaptation of the novel of Louisa May Alcott about the life of four young ladies that are brilliant in their own way. The two aforementioned films have a light, easy romantic vibe, but this one possesses the antiqueness and sentimentality of Taylor’s albums, “Red (Taylor’s Version)” and “evermore.” What the fans love about Taylor’s music is it’s not always about glitters or for the fancy night-outs—sometimes, it’s like a mother who would brush the little yellow dead leaves off your hair, and along with it, the heaviness of loss, loneliness, and regrets. The four sisters in this film embody different Taylor Swift songs mainly about finding a place in this world, being overlooked, and womanhood. This movie is like those worn-out soft socks you always put on during the violent cold days.

The world keeps saying that the reason why Taylor Swift remains the most beloved of today is because she gets the world. She was once a young girl, too, with rose-colored dreams about love and big cities. Also, the world broke her heart the way it breaks ours. Remembering is her curse, to radiantly write about it all is her gift. I aspire to be like her, who writes to make people fall in love with simply everything. I want a world to be teeming with emotions, love, anger, and undiscovered feelings. So, if my life were to be a movie, I want Taylor Swift to write it.