Directed by Sydney Pollack The Way We Were is a good 'ol fashioned romantic drama set against a politically charged backdrop over the course of a couple decades. The couple is Katie and Hubbell (Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford), college classmates and political opposites. Well it's not so much that they're opposites, just that their political … Continue reading The Way We Were (1973)
melodrama
Cast Away (2000)
Directed by Robert Zemeckis Because of its simplicity, performance and the relative restraint on the part of director Robert Zemeckis, Cast Away is a remarkable film. It tells the story of Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), a FedEx worker who finds himself stranded on an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, for over four years. The best … Continue reading Cast Away (2000)
Everybody Knows (2018)
Directed by Asghar Farhadi Everybody Knows takes a kidnapping and turns it into a melodrama. That may sound facetious, but it's an effective, tense family drama that plays out like something Shakespearean. There's a wedding in a small, idyllic Spanish town that brings together a large family and their orbit of friends. The two most … Continue reading Everybody Knows (2018)
This Property is Condemned (1966)
Directed by Sydney Pollack Depression Era Dobson, Mississippi is a small southern town with little work to offer save for a railroad company and the Starr Boarding House. Owen Legate (Robert Redford) arrives quietly in town, taking up residence at the Boarding House on the night it's crowded in celebration of the landlady, "Mama" Starr … Continue reading This Property is Condemned (1966)
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Directed by Jacques Demy "People only die of love in the movies." So apparently I love musicals, or at least I loved this one. Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg tells the story of two young lovers who are separated by circumstances out of their control, moving quickly through the months so that things happen very … Continue reading The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Directed by Cameron Crowe Jerry Maguire is a wonder. It's a sappy romantic drama about a sports agent learning to, I suppose, learn empathy, and it all works. It doesn't seem like it should, but then again this is the role Tom Cruise seems to have been made for. It allows him to play into … Continue reading Jerry Maguire (1996)
Ordinary People (1980)
Directed by Robert Redford Robert Redford's first film as a director is a doozy. Ordinary People chronicles the struggle of a family to relate to each other and to themselves following the death of a teenaged son. The people left reeling in his wake are parents Beth and Calvin (Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland) and young … Continue reading Ordinary People (1980)
A Star is Born (2018)
Directed by Bradley Cooper A Star is Born is a melodrama in which celebrity, it seems, is a zero sum game. The movie tracks the romance between a fading star musician, Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) and an up and coming pop star, Ally (Lady Gaga). They meet by chance, in the ways Hollywood lovers do, … Continue reading A Star is Born (2018)
No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa No Regrets for Our Youth is a coming of age story about Yukie (Setsuko Hara), a young college student who transcends the initial melodramatic love triangle and turns into a selfless, honorable, otherwise anonymous member of the community. The film covers over a decade in her life and charts the work of … Continue reading No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
I Shot Jesse James (1949)
Directed by Sam Fuller I Shot Jesse James makes a melodrama out of Robert Ford's decision to kill famed outlaw Jesse James. Ford shoots James early in the film, hoping to reap the bounty placed on his head so that he can settle down with Cynthy, the woman he loves. After the murder, Ford watches … Continue reading I Shot Jesse James (1949)
