Movie · 1970 · Romance, Drama · 1h 40m · PG · English
Curator score: 4.9/10 (74.9K ratings)
Love means never having to say you’re sorry.
Overview
Harvard Law student Oliver Barrett IV and music student Jennifer Cavilleri share a chemistry they cannot deny - and a love they cannot ignore. Despite their opposite backgrounds, the young couple put their hearts on the line for each other. When they marry, Oliver's wealthy father threatens to disown him. Jenny tries to reconcile the Barrett men, but to no avail.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.9/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.38/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 65%
Metacritic: 84
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Arthur Hiller
Production
Paramount Pictures, Love Story Company
Cast
Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley, Ray Milland, Russell Nype, Tommy Lee Jones, Sydney Walker, Robert Modica, Katherine Balfour, Sudie Bond, Walker Daniels, John Merensky, Andrew Duncan, Charlotte Ford, Julie Garfield, Kevin O'Neal, Milo Boulton
Where to watch
fuboTV
Curator Review
Verdict
A sincere, highly influential tearjerker with strong chemistry and a clean, old-school emotional directness, but it also leans hard on melodrama and a famously clunky line of dialogue that has aged into camp for many viewers. If you want a compact, classic romance that earns its ending through feeling rather than realism, it still works.
Best for
viewers who like classic weepies and tragic romance
fans of early-1970s studio melodrama
people who enjoy earnest, emotionally direct love stories
audiences curious about one of the defining romance hits of its era
Skip if
you need modern dialogue and psychological realism
you dislike sentimental or melodramatic storytelling
you want a romance with a more nuanced treatment of class conflict
you are likely to be distracted by iconic but dated lines and attitudes
Overview
Love Story is one of those films that became bigger than its plot, its performances, or even its reputation. What remains is a very efficient romance: two attractive opposites fall hard, the class divide is drawn in bold strokes, and the movie moves with a confidence that makes the emotional turns land quickly. The chemistry is the main attraction, and the film knows it.
Worth noting
It is also undeniably of its moment. The dialogue can be corny, the sentiment is broad, and the famous aphorism has long since escaped into parody. But the movie’s sincerity is part of the appeal; it does not hedge, wink, or apologize for wanting to make you feel something. For some viewers that reads as timeless; for others, as unintentionally funny.
Bottom line
If you approach it as a polished, old-fashioned tragedy rather than a realistic relationship drama, it’s easy to see why it endured. It’s a compact, emotionally efficient tearjerker with wintery atmosphere, strong star appeal, and a surprisingly durable hold on the romance template that followed it.
Top Letterboxd reviews
eely (3★) · 905 likes
maybe i wanna eat snow off of ryan o’neal’s face did you ever think about THAT
russman (3.5★) · 533 likes
Why did I like Love Story? Because
eely (2.5★) · 451 likes
this is a horror movie actually
Sucheing (3.5★) · 396 likes
I'm sad, preppie
Dwilder (3★) · 392 likes
f you take Love Story seriously and really examine it on any kind of deep, intellectual level then it’s an utter disaster but if you watch it when you are either under the influence of alcohol or deeply depressed at your failure in relationships it’s quite entertaining I find.
So plot wise Love Story is absolutely horrific. The dialogue is hilariously corny and weak with “love means never having to say your sorry” being the irresistibly dumb highlight of an… more