The Way We Were

"Everything seemed so important then... even love!"

Oct 19 1973 PG 1h 58m
Drama, Romance

Two desperate people have a wonderful romance, but their political views and convictions drive them apart.

Plot

The often unlikely joint lives of Katie Morosky and Hubbell Gardiner from the late 1930s to the late 1950s is presented, over which time, they are, in no particular order, strangers, acquaintances, friends, best friends, lovers and adversaries. The unlikely nature of their relationship is due to their fundamental differences, where she is Jewish and passionate about her political activism both in political freedoms and Marxism to an extreme where she takes life a little too seriously, while he is the golden boy WASP, being afforded the privileges in life because of his background but who on the most part is able to capitalize on those privileges. Their lives are shown in four general time periods, in chronological order when they attend the same college, their time in New York City during WWII, his life as a Hollywood screenwriter post-war, and his life as a writer for a New York based live television show. It is during college that Hubbell finds his voice in life as a writer, and that Katie sees beyond his good looks to find a person with substance who realizes his position in a life as something that does not give him an inherent right to those opportunities. External world events, such as the Spanish Civil War, WWII and the House Un-American Activities investigation, do affect their lives directly, but it is how they deal with these effects personally, largely in relation to personal relationships - such as with Hubbell's long term friends J.J. and Carol Ann, the latter his college girlfriend - that may dictate if Katie and Hubbell are able to make it in the long term as a couple.

Written by

Arthur Laurents, Francis Ford Coppola, Paddy Chayefsky

Directed by

Sydney Pollack

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Rastar Productions, Columbia Pictures, Tom Ward Enterprises

Languages

Français, English

Awards

Won 2 Oscars. 6 wins & 8 nominations total

Scores
# of Votes
28,586
Average Rating
7 out of 10
Metascore
61
Popularity
NA