FALLING IN LOVE (1984)
Label: Fun City Editions
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 106 Minutes 27 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Ulu Grosbard
Cast: Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Harvey Keitel, Jane Kaczmarek, George Martin, David Clennon, Dianne Wiest
Falling in Love (1984) is a Manhattan set relationship drama directed by Ulu Grosbard's (Straight Time) starring two Oscar winners Robert De Niro (The King of Comedy) and Meryl Streep (Silkwood), who reunited for the first onscreen since The Deer Hunter. They play Frank Raftis and Molly Gilmore respectively, two everyday people, he's involved in construction in some way and she's an artist, they have a meet-cute at the start of the film after a series of near misses. We see them on the train, then at Grand Central Station, and shopping at the Rizzoli Bookstore early on, they've not met, but they seem destined to, and they eventually do bump into each other while leaving the Rizzoli Bookstore on Christmas Eve doing some last minute shopping. Sparks don't exactly fly during this initial bump-in, but they do have a mix-up which means that their spouses each get a book for Christmas meant for the other's significant other.A few months later they meet again while commuting from the suburbs into the city on the Metro-North Hudson Line, this time the attraction is stronger, there's chemistry brewing, and while they don't have an affair right off the bat, they do secretly start spending a lot of time together, over the next months they end up sharing train rides, arranging to meet each other in the city and attending art galleries and having dinner together, sahring intimate details about their lives.
As previously mentioned both are married, Frank is married to Ann (Jane Kaczmarek, TVs Malcolm in the Middle) and they have two young kids, while Molly is married to Brian (David Clennon, The Thing), and both seem perfectly happy in their relationships on a surface level, their spouses seem just fine, too, but there's just something these two find in each other that brings them a meaningful happiness they do not get in their current relationships, and I thought this morally questionable blossoming love story was quite interesting. The both confide in their best friends about their emotional affair, with Frank having his pal (Harvey Keitel, Two Evil Eyes), who has a problematic love life of his own, while Holly has her bestie Isabelle (Dianne Wiest, September). Other characters of note include Holly's ailing father (George Martin, Léon: The Professional) who she visits in the city, and the late character actor Victor Argo (The Electric Chair) as Frank's construction boss.
It's a refreshing chaste take on adultery, these strangers find one another and just have an undeniable chemistry, they are good people but find themselves in a romantic dilemma, and it's portrayed with a poise and sensitivity rarely seen in films about cheaters. They fight their physical attraction and play it pretty chaste, making an attempt at an illicit encounter at one point, fumbling their way and not carrying through with it, and breaking it off shortly afterward, but reconnecting after a series of life-altering events.
This is a wonderfully understated relationship drama, I liked it quite a bit, I like that it paints a portrait of these would-be cheaters not as malevolent and careless relationship destroyers, but as two kind people who encounter one another and are just drawn to one another. I did think that the responses from their spouses were a tad too muted to be reality based, but there's also a jump in time that sort of irons out that issue as well. If you're looking for a witty romance with heightened relationship fireworks this is not it, but if you want a well-executed and well-acted relationship melodrama with a somewhat surprising every guy turn from DeNiro, this adult romance flick is quite rewarding, and we get some terrific views of NYC sights and from the suburbs of Westchester.
Audio/Video: Falling In Love (1984) makes its worldwide Blu-ray debut courtesy of Fun City Editions new 4K restoration from the original 35mm negative, framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. It looks wonderful, filmic through and through with supportive grain, and excellent depth and clarity. The Manhattan environs look wonderful, faces offer plenty of detail in the close-ups, the dated fashions have plenty of textures, and the colors really shine, especially, especially the warm glow of Christmas lighting, scene often. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with optional English subtitles, dialogue exchanges are nicely prioritized, and the supportive piano score from Dave Grusin (Racing the Moon) sound wonderful.
Disc extras come by way of an Audio Commentary by Jim Hemphill, he gives his usual and well-informed commentary, highlighting the cast and the director, the locations, plus an extensive 7-min Image gallery. The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcae with a Reversible wrap featuring legacy artwork, and inside there's 20-Page Collector's Booklet with new essays by Mitchell Beaupre and Daniel Schweiger, which is available with the First Pressing Only, Beaupre, who is the managing editor of Letterbxd offers a wonderful appreciation of the film and DeNiro's normal guy performance, and counters the bad press the film received when originally released, while Schwieger, the editor of www.OnTheScore.com gives us an appreciation of Dave Grusin career, highlighting many of his works, and getting into how his jazz inflected score is vital to the underpinning of the film. The booklet cover features artwork by design by Scott Saslow, which also appeared on the Limited Edition Slipcover available only from FCE's webstore, which as of this posting is still available for $30: www.funcityeditions.com/shop/p/fallinginloveslipcover
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Jim Hemphill
- Image gallery (6:53)
- 20-Page Collector's Booklet with new essays by Mitchell Beaupre and Daniel Schweiger (First Pressing Only)
- Reversible Wrap
Screenshots from the Fun City Editions Blu-ray:
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