Frank (Robert De Niro) and Molly (Meryl Streep) meet accidentally in a bookstore in New York whilst Christmas shopping. Months pass, and their paths cross again as they both travel into the city from their suburban neighbourhoods on the same train and so they strike up a conversation. They also find that there is a mutual attraction, which they both seem keen to foster. But this isn’t as clear cut as it sounds, as Frank has a wife and kids, and Molly is also married.

I saw Falling In Love just at the right time. I had just discovered the films of Martin Scorsese, especially those he made with his then-regular leading man, De Niro. I was eager to discover more from the filmographies of both artists. Falling In Love just happened to be shown one afternoon shortly after this.

The film is one of the movies from that era in De Niro’s career when he was making more low-key films that may not sweep the board at film festivals and award shindigs but were interesting nonetheless. I feel that it may even be largely hidden in his filmography as it’s eclipsed by more gargantuan projects that deservedly received plaudits at the time of their release.

Falling In Love was a big deal on release as it was seen as a reunion of the actor and actress who were regarded as two of the finest actors of their generation after they both starred in Micheal Cimino’s epic The Deer Hunter. This would be Bobby and Meryl and their very evident on-screen chemistry but without the Russian Roulette, POV camps or all-round trauma. They would also be aided and abetted by a stellar cast that would include Harvey Keitel, Dianne Wiest and Jane Kaczmarek.

It’s also a fantastic 80’s New York movie and time capsule. The city looks so clean and inviting. This is an opposite vision of The Big Apple to Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, if you will. I’m sure the New York Tourist Board approved of Falling In Love as opposed to the earlier vision of New York as a slimy, grimy hellhole.

I also love the film’s ending that could have gone either way but…I’m not going to ruin it here. Let’s just say that the filmmakers made the right decision.

Graceful, intelligent and dignified, Falling In Love reminds us of a time when De Niro was still choosing intelligent fare to star in, even if it wasn’t going to sweep every award up for grabs.