An upper-class British man and woman are both in their 60’s. They’ve got separate lives, and they focus more on their kids than they do each other. But even though there’s not much open affection, it’s obviously that they love each other intensely.
There’s a rather touching scene where the husband, a gardener and wildflower enthusiast, reads from a poem. I’m paraphrasing here, but he says something like “The flowers of Yorkshire, just like the women of Yorkshire, bloom most beautifully later in life.”
Their love for each other becomes especially apparent after the husband dies.
Yes, it’s surprising that there aren’t any movies about people who stay together, since that’s by far the most common situation in life. It must be all the liberals running Hollywood.
Both Mark’s and Sam’s stories are almost more about unhealthy obsession than love. Think about it – Mark is basically a stalker. But between the excellent acting and the brilliant score, those stories really make you feel the sweet anguish of unrequited love.
Jamie and Aurelia’s story hits a little closer to home for me. He says “It’s the best part of my day, driving you home.” And she says “It’s the worst part of my day, leaving you.” That says so much. And then when he takes Portuguese lessons, then leaves his family on Christmas Eve so he can fly to Portugal to propose to her.
Shakespeare in Love also really captures it for me. There’s a scene of about 7 minutes in which you can feel down in your soul that these two people see nothing in the world but each other. It’s one of my favorite scenes in all of cinema.
From an outside perspective, relationships are really pretty boring. It’s two people spending time together. Who wants to watch a movie about two people sitting on a couch, holding hands, and watching a movie together? That’s boring.
The bigger challenge of a love story is to make the viewers feel what the characters are feeling. The actions are boring. The feelings are anything but.
Okay, let me spell out the subtext of my comment since apparently your irony receptors are momentarily on the blink. Yes, stable, healthy, and ‘challenge-free’ relationships are boring, I agree. I disagree with the characterization that these are the somehow the most “real” or “normal” relationships out there. In fact most relationships in my observation are in some transitional or stressed state… beginning, ending, waxing, waning, changing, growing, deteriorating. The stories about people staying together their entire lives are in fact unusual and interesting because of their rarity and for having survived these challenges (but of course, they are also “real”).
This is definitely my choice. It just felt really really authentic. They fought, they said horrible things to each other, but they also absolutely loved each other and that’s why it was so frustrating to them.
The idea that they are continually drawn together even if they can’t really remember what happened before, and more that they’re willing to give it another shot knowing it might blow up all over again, that’s what love feels like for me.
It just really captured that feeling of loving someone so much that they drive you insane sometimes, but you don’t feel complete without them.
And the scenes in Jim Carrey’s memories were so well done.
Well, obviously, there are all different types of love, and different phases.
“About Schmidt” was very real in the way it portrayed an older man’s feelings toward a wife he’s been with seemingly forever. At the start of the movie, Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is bored and annoyed by his wife… but after her death, he’s utterly lost without her.
I came in to post these, but agree with High Fidelity and When Harry Met Sally, too. All of these movies involve the intricacy of communication while trying to figure out love - they have a geekiness element that rings true…
You’re kidding right? Love this movie, LOVE IT, but it’s kind of the epitome of fantasy, love-conquers-all movie love, doncha think? Or were you talking about Max and Valerie?
I was going to suggest the same thing. That sort of “what on earth has happened in my head/world this strange week” effect.
Probably unpopular opinions about already-formed love: The Peter O’Toole character in Creator, and the relationship in The Fountain, and the end of American Beauty-- the desperate grieving insanity when it falls out of your hands.
I think that’s a little unfair to Sam; his story is about first love. Call it “puppy love” or a crush if you will, but I cannot see how it is an unhealthy obsession. (Also worth noting a fine performance by Liam Neeson as Daniel, Sam step-father, and now a solo-dad).
That, and that Mark finally realized that he had an unhealthy obsession, and quit it.
Yes, in the end he did. But he had a lot of Teh Crazee before that. I wonder if this had played out IRL if Juliet would have just gotten a restraining order.
But still, it was a great story for conveying an emotion. I can’t watch that story without feeling something.
