Do people talk about New Relationship Energy anymore? It’s a real thing. That internal rush you get when meeting someone new that you want to be a part of your life. You and the other person are excited to get to know each other. You’re thrilled about the things you have in common and curious about the things that are different. You share various events you attended or place you go to see if you’ve been crossing paths from years and not noticing each other until this moment. You pretty much live for the next time you can be with them. For most people enjoying this rush of New Relationship Energy there’s one slight problem: their spouse. It’s not that they’ve fallen out of love with their spouse. It’s just their spouse is not impressed with their stories anymore. They go home where the kids and domestic life drains them. Falling In Love introduced to cinemas the burst of New Relationship Energy a married person can feel.
Frank Raftis (Raging Bull‘s Robert De Niro) and Molly Gilmore (The Devil Wears Prada‘s Meryl Streep) are taking the train into Manhattan right before Christmas. But neither of them notices each other as it pulls into Grand Central Termina. Frank has a classy lunch with his work pal Ed (The Bad Lieutenant‘s Harvey Keitel) and Molly sees her dad. The two keep crossing paths in the Big Apple as they do little chores and shop for family gifts. They finally notice each other when their paths collide at a bookstore. They sort out their dropped bags and nothing much happens. Christmas morning they get to recall each other since Frank’s wife (Malcolm In The Middle‘s Jane Kaczmarek) receives a book on boat racing that was meant for Molly’s Husband (The Thing‘s David Clennon). He gets a book about gardening instead. Several months later, Frank sees her on the train again. It takes him a while to recognize her from the book mix up. He goes up to her to say hello and the two joke about the Christmas surprise. But saying hello sparks something in them. Frank makes sure that he can gets the same train back as Molly. He wants to know more about her and she seems eager to be around him. Neither one of them have horrible marriages, but they quickly get hooked on the New Relationship Energy pumping through their veins. How far are they willing to go to push the sensation?
One of the strangest parts of the movie is Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel hanging out as respected businessmen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them on the screen this long where they weren’t doing gangster stuff. Neither one cusses or curb stomps a rat. Harvey does pump iron at the gym. When Harvey describes his divorce, I expect him to confess to a crime. But it’s not a violent soaked Martin Scorsese separation. This is not Taxi Driver. Although Harvey does offer Robert his apartment for a hook up pad that reflects their bond from Mean Streets.
Even with having two Oscar winning actors in the leads, the movie didn’t do amazingly well at the box office. I’m going guess this lackluster return can be summed up that Falling In Love is not a great date film. Who is going to take their spouse to see a film about a couple eager to mess around behind their spouses’ backs? Would an unmarried person take a date to a film about a cheating couple? “Do you think that’s acceptable?” will be the after dinner conversation. Couples who are cheating on their spouses might want to avoid being seen waiting in line for the next screening. Imagine the awkwardness of sitting down in the theater and discovering the couple in next row is your spouse and their new relationship energy partner. Whose watching the kids? Whose paying the babysitter? This is the kind of film where your date leans over and asks, “Are you trying to tell me something about your commute?” Who wants that on a date night? Unless you are trying to tell them something. Falling In Love is a relationship film that is best watched when you’re alone.
Falling In Love is a great ’80s film. The New York fashion rages in the wardrobe and hairstyles. I’m not even sure what you’d call Streep’s coif. You see the styles of the times on the other train commuters. Dave Grusin’s jazzy score must be reused by anyone wanting to capture this vibe. While the film is of it’s time, the story and acting are contemporary. I like the awkwardness of when Streep and De Niro flirt. You get the idea that neither of them are players looking for an affair. It’s just happening in a slightly innocent way. But are they willing to burn down their current lives and marriages to feel the sparks of New Relationship Energy? Falling In Love does feel realistic to the stories I’ve heard over the years from people who got hooked on NRE.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfer is a new 4K restoration from the original 35mm negative. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono. You’ll hear the range of Meryl Streep’s reactions to De Niro’s flirty remarks. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Jim Hemphill has him talk about how the film reunited De Niro and Strep after making The Deer Hunter. He talks about the career of Ulu Grosbard and his importance in cinema and Broadway. He directed seven films: The Subject Was Roses, Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?, Straight Time, True Confessions, Falling in Love, Georgia and The Deep End of the Ocean. He also talks about how they had to work around locations in Manhattan.
Image Gallery (6:53) is a montage of press photos to Grusin’s score. There’s a lot of shots of De Niro and Streep making out.
Limited Edition Booklet with essays on De Niro and Dave Grusin’s score. There’s even a map of the commuter train stops including where Frank and Molly hop on and off.
Fun City Editions present Falling In Love (Limited Edition). Directed by Ulu Grosbard. Screenplay by Michael Cristofer. Starring Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Harvey Keitel, Jane Kaczmarek, George Martin, David Clennon, Dianne Wiest & Victor Argo. Running Time: 107 minutes. Rating: Rated PG-13. Release Date: May 6, 2025.
