Falling in Love

Anticipation was high for this romantic pairing of Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. Even back in 1984, these two were considered the greatest actors of their generation. They had co-starred together in the highly acclaimed The Deer Hunter six years earlier. At the helm was the Belgian-born American theater and film director Ulu Grosbard (Straight Time, True Confessions, Georgia). Behind the camera was Peter Suschitzky (The Empire Strikes Back, Dead Ringers, The Vanishing). The editor was Michael Kahn (The Return of a Man Called Horse, Fatal Attraction, and pretty much every Steven Spielberg film from Close Encounters of the Third Kind). The art direction was by the great New York production designer Santo Loquasto (Desperately Seeking Susan, Big, and most of Woody Allen's movies), the production was managed by Robert F. Colesberry (The Natural, Reckless The King of Comedy), the score was by Dave Grusin (Three Days of the Condor, Tootsie, The Fabulous Baker Boys) and the supporting cast included Harvey Keitel, Dianne Wiest, Jane Kaczmarek, George Martin, David Clennon, and Victor Argo. All these talented folks came together to make this dreary, depressing dog of a romance, which was the first produced screenplay by Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning playwright Michael Cristofer.

De Niro and Streep play Frank and Molly, two strangers who bump into each other while shopping for Christmas presents. This briefest of encounters sticks in their minds, and when they recognize each other later on the train to their neighboring suburban towns. They start to time their trips to the city to coincide with each other and strike up a friendship. Although both are married and Frank has two little kids, they meet more and more often; their relationship soon becomes the most important thing in their lives. Unfortunately, we never see why they fall so head over heels with each other. Every encounter they have is fraught and awkward. There is no evidence of joy from either of them. We get the idea that Molly, married to a drip played by David Clennon, may be looking for a way out of her current relationship, which would explain why she finds this ordinary Joe so enthralling. But Frank is married to a lovely woman (Jane Kaczmarek) and has two young boys. Maybe he's bored with domesticity, but that wouldn't explain his obsession. Unlike so many unjustly maligned dramas from 1984, this one fully deserves its poor reputation.