Love Story

God, I remember like it was yesterday going to see this 1970s film when it was a new release in theatres. It was the kind of movie that you didn’t go to without bringing along a full box of Kleenex. It was the story of an ill-fated couple who seemed to have everything going for them. Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw played the roles of a young couple (Oliver and Jenny) – he from a prestigious, wealthy family and she from a simple, but loving Italian home. She’s studying music at Radcliffe, while he’s a promising student at an Ivy League law school. They make an unlikely pair, yet they fall hopelessly in love.

Oliver’s parents are not happy about the match, and in fact Oliver has a falling out with his father over it, and refuses to accept any more financial support from him. The young couple struggle through Oliver’s final years of law school, and when he graduates they are finally in a position to begin reaping the rewards that Oliver’s promising career in a prestigious law firm will provide them.

But sadly, during a routine pregnancy test, Jenny finds out she is suffering from a terminal illness. The rest of the film depicts how they both deal with what should have been their best years, as Oliver struggles to deal with the coming day when Jenny will no longer be by his side. He “reconciles” with his father, when he goes to him to borrow money for Jenny’s cancer treatments.

At the end of the film comes the line it is most famous for – Jenny’s often stated advice to Oliver – “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

This film was a blockbuster that won many awards, everything from acting to best musical score. It is the kind of film one wants to return to again and again over the years.