***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** This movie absolutely destroyed me for days after the first time I saw it. While I am categorically against adultery of any kind, I somehow forgot while I was watching it that what George and Doris were doing was wrong. That can probably be attributed largely to the chemistry and talent of Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda. There is so much depth in Ellen Burstyn's eyes that she often doesn't need to say a thing
The unique love they had for each other may have been due to the fact that they were only together for one weekend a year. They didn't have to deal with the day-in day-out mundanity of being married, so they never got tired of one another. Maybe they were both afraid that what they shared wouldn't be so special if they were with each other all the time. Who knows what was going through the author's mind.
I could feel myself getting weepy the second I heard that somewhat overwrought love song that played throughout the film (which I couldn't get out of my mind for days). However, I managed to keep hold of myself until the final scene set in 1977. As I watched, I couldn't help but be heartbroken for them and think that they should be with each other. They had a touching level of devotion to one another. [possible SPOILER] Imagine wanting to see your lover so much that you show up pregnant with your husband's child. Somehow Burstyn carried that off beautifully. [END]
I think the key line for me was spoken by Ellen Burstyn's Doris near the very end. When George tells her that his wife Helen has died and she says she wishes he would have gotten in contact with her when it happened, he admits that he did call, but hung up before she answered because he didn't feel he had a right to intrude into her 'real' life. Doris looks sad, then says, "That is just terrible. We should have been together." I wanted to shake her and say, "You should have been together long before that!" Alas, it was just a movie, but I cried my head off anyway. [END]
If you cannot handle a bittersweet ending (and I'm coming to the realization that I greatly prefer fluffy happy endings in movies like this), don't watch Same Time, Next Year. I think the idea that soul mates cannot be together is a profoundly sad one. George and Doris clearly had a deep level of intimacy that neither had with their spouse, but they were simply committed to their marriages. As a general rule, I don't think divorce is right except in cases of abuse and a few other special circumstances. But, what does a person do when they meet their soul mate too late? I cannot imagine having that level of feeling for a person and not being married to them. That is the issue at the core of this film. They can't be together, but they must at least have that one weekend together every year.
All in all, it is the acting that makes this movie worth watching. Alan Alda is not in Ellen Burstyn's league as an actor, in my opinion, but he does some of his best work here. They both do a great job portraying all the changes that their characters undergo during 26 years and really do seem to age. All I have to do is contemplate the film and that tagline, "They couldn't have celebrated happier anniversaries if they were married to each other" and I will cry, even now. It is a sweet, sad story of love that just wasn't meant to be, except for one weekend a year.
The unique love they had for each other may have been due to the fact that they were only together for one weekend a year. They didn't have to deal with the day-in day-out mundanity of being married, so they never got tired of one another. Maybe they were both afraid that what they shared wouldn't be so special if they were with each other all the time. Who knows what was going through the author's mind.
I could feel myself getting weepy the second I heard that somewhat overwrought love song that played throughout the film (which I couldn't get out of my mind for days). However, I managed to keep hold of myself until the final scene set in 1977. As I watched, I couldn't help but be heartbroken for them and think that they should be with each other. They had a touching level of devotion to one another. [possible SPOILER] Imagine wanting to see your lover so much that you show up pregnant with your husband's child. Somehow Burstyn carried that off beautifully. [END]
I think the key line for me was spoken by Ellen Burstyn's Doris near the very end. When George tells her that his wife Helen has died and she says she wishes he would have gotten in contact with her when it happened, he admits that he did call, but hung up before she answered because he didn't feel he had a right to intrude into her 'real' life. Doris looks sad, then says, "That is just terrible. We should have been together." I wanted to shake her and say, "You should have been together long before that!" Alas, it was just a movie, but I cried my head off anyway. [END]
If you cannot handle a bittersweet ending (and I'm coming to the realization that I greatly prefer fluffy happy endings in movies like this), don't watch Same Time, Next Year. I think the idea that soul mates cannot be together is a profoundly sad one. George and Doris clearly had a deep level of intimacy that neither had with their spouse, but they were simply committed to their marriages. As a general rule, I don't think divorce is right except in cases of abuse and a few other special circumstances. But, what does a person do when they meet their soul mate too late? I cannot imagine having that level of feeling for a person and not being married to them. That is the issue at the core of this film. They can't be together, but they must at least have that one weekend together every year.
All in all, it is the acting that makes this movie worth watching. Alan Alda is not in Ellen Burstyn's league as an actor, in my opinion, but he does some of his best work here. They both do a great job portraying all the changes that their characters undergo during 26 years and really do seem to age. All I have to do is contemplate the film and that tagline, "They couldn't have celebrated happier anniversaries if they were married to each other" and I will cry, even now. It is a sweet, sad story of love that just wasn't meant to be, except for one weekend a year.