Love Story (1970, dir. Arthur Hiller) ***.5/****

Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal star in Arthur Hiller's "Love Story" a film I had the pleasure of seeing on the big screen 43 years after its initial release.  Oliver (O'Neal) and Jen (MacGraw) meet and are immediately drawn to one another.  Despite there differing backgrounds they have a lot of chemistry and fall in love.  The movie tells the tale of their love affair and marriage and the complications which arise within their different background and families.  It is a film of its time, everything about it smacks of 1970, a time when colours were warm and men's hairstyles were shaggy.  It is a tragic tale but there are funny, poignant moments.  Not everyone will like this movie - many will say its too syrupy and melodramatic.  I enjoyed it though.