Rent The Way We Were (1973)

Romantic Melodrama. - The Way We Were review by Steve

Glossy, irresistible romance which successfully reimagines the 'women's films' of the Hollywood golden age. It's a wish fulfilment as a homely New York Jewish liberal agitator (Barbra Streisand) falls for an impossibly handsome WASP/jock (Robert Redford). Although they make a life together, inevitably their differences make them incompatible.

But they will always have the memories, so cue the lovely, sentimental Oscar winning title song. If this sounds like a story about stereotypes, the brilliant script (by Arthur Laurents) actually works hard to make Katie and Hubbell rounded characters. And it doesn't take sides. There are a few laughs, but even more tears and the ending is a heartbreaker.

The subplot about the effect of the McCarthy blacklist on Hollywood is interesting but regrettably shifts the focus from the two stars, and it isn't given time to resolve anyway. While Streisand and Redford are magnetic and we really want them to be together, this is really all about the woman and we see everything from her point of view.

Barbara gets the Bette Davis role, and Redford the George Brent, in a story that takes them from the depression to the seventies. She gives a moving performances, conveying the humiliation, bargaining and vulnerability that comes with being the junior partner in an unbalanced relationship. It's one of the great Hollywood romantic films, and a triumph for Streisand.