Country of Origin: USAYear of Release: 1984
Director: Ulu Grosbard
Cast: Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Harvey Keitel
Plot outline: A chance meeting could lead married commuters to an affair (IMDb).
Based on (or inspired by) the 1945 British movie Brief Encounter, Falling in Love is unremittingly, perhaps deliberately, banal. The funniest line in the movie ("How much do you weigh?") is inspired by the characters' inability to think of anything to say. We learn nothing of substance about them. They are provided with spouses who are ciphers, with personalities that are shallow and narcissistic, with crises that depend upon a manipulative script. And as if all of that were not bad enough, the movie also resorts to Idiot Plot techniques to squeeze out an infuriating ending. A final farewell between the lovers is prevented because of faulty communications. A later reunion takes place when there is only one fact that each lover needs to know - that the other is separated or divorced. Incredibly, neither character makes this revelation, because to supply that single essential fact would spoil its manipulative and shameless ending. Incredibly, there are passages when this movie works. They are entirely due to the chemistry, the genuine human qualities of Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. They carry the plot and the dimwit dialogue because of the goodwill they've built up with us, and because of their own magnetism, their ability to invest worthless dialogue with a certain personal charm. Falling in Love will serve as a definitive example of good performances in a bad movie. (RE)
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
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