Love Story

Half a century after its release, Love Story maintains its reputation as a classic weepie and one of the prototypical “dying girl” movies. Based on the screenplay-adjacent novel by Erich Segal, it would have been easy for director Arthur Hiller (The In-Laws) to phone in the technical side and let the material and his charismatic, attractive leads do all the work. But the decent amount of camera movements, energetic edits, and thoughtful framing make it a surprise early member of the New Hollywood movement.

Earning their Academy Award nominations, Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal are terrific as Boston college students Jenny and Oliver. Whether playfully antagonizing each other, being lovey-dovey, or simply enjoying a lazy afternoon of reading, the pair exude natural chemistry that lends near-instant credence to their relationship. And the snowy Harvard and Radcliffe campuses that Hiller has them traverse do all they can to match the stars’ beauty thanks to cinematographer Richard C. Kratina (The Sentinel) — especially in this new, 50th anniversary Blu-ray restoration.

The central conflict of Oliver defying the wishes of his wealthy namesake father (Ray Milland, The Lost Weekend) not to marry the charming but lower-class Jenny is a rote but sufficient means to solidify the couple’s commitment to one another, and the resulting hardships they face make their perseverance and triumphs all the sweeter.

A slim supporting cast grants the ups and downs of the duo’s post-college life an even brighter spotlight, though Milland and John Marley (The Godfather) as Jenny’s kind baker father Phil are memorable in their limited screen time, and the sight “Tom Lee Jones” as one of Oliver’s roommates provides some solid contemporary chuckles.

Strong and well-plotted as these generally happy times may be, once the path towards the inevitable tragedy — literally revealed in the film’s opening line of voiceover narration — begins, the storytelling becomes inexplicably rushed. The trajectory of Jenny getting diagnosed to landing in the hospital to dying (offscreen, no less) occurs a touch too quickly for viewers to become fully invested, and while the path inspires some of MacGraw’s and O’Neal’s most emotionally rich moments, the payoff is so muted that it nearly undermines the film’s tearjerker legacy.

Grade: B. Rated PG. Available to own on Blu-ray

(Photo: Paramount Pictures)