Falling in Love on DVD
Category: Blu-ray's and DVD'sMeryl Streep and Robert De Niro star in Falling in Love, a sweet, sensitive, and enchanting story of two people who meet, and yes, fall in love. The problem is, they are married to other people. This 1984 movie transcends the decades. It is just as entertaining today as it was when it was released.
De Niro plays Frank, an architect married to Ann (Jane Kaczmarek. They have two sons. Streep is Molly, a housewife married to a doctor (David Clennon) who is living a satisfying life. Both couples live a train ride away from Manhattan. While shopping for Christmas presents in a New York bookstore, they meet by accident, strike up a conversation, feel an instant attraction, then go their separate ways. However, during their brief encounter, their packages get mixed up and she takes his gardening book that was meant for his wife, and he takes her book that was meant for her husband.
Forward a few months when they again accidentally meet again on the train and begin to get to know each other more completely. Against their better judgments, they agree to meet – this time on purpose – and the attraction for each other grows. Spending time together fulfills their lives. Sure, he is happy with his family and she is happy with her husband, but there is something about their companionship that fills a void in each of their lives.
They do not have just an affair. They actually fall in love, which takes a toll on their marriages. Will she leave her husband and will he leave his family? That is a dilemma with which they struggle, as their relationship becomes front and center in their lives. They honestly and truly love each other, and the feelings they have for each other make them different people. Their relationship is not cheap or tawdry. It is true love, affection, admiration, and to use a phrase from another film, they “complete” each other.
Meryl Streep is wonderful as the suburban housewife with excellent taste, a sense of duty, and love for her ill father. Robert De Niro is endearing as the family man who happens to discover the one woman who really makes him feel alive.
This is a situation that is timeless. Whether in 1984 or 2014, falling in love is something that can just happen, whether people are looking for it or not. What makes this movie as enchanting as it is are the performances by the actors. While viewers might want them to do the conventional thing and remain with their spouses, the love between Frank and Molly is so tender that the same viewers might also be pulling for them to get together.
Do they get together or stay with their spouses? You’ll have to watch this endearing movie to find out for yourself. Falling in Love is part of the Warner Archive Collection and can be ordered from their website at wbshop.com.
The movie is rated PG-13.
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.
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