…………………………………………………

Always Movie Review

Always is a 1989 romantic fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter. It’s a very weak, sappy flick.

………………………………………………….

“It’s not the dress…

it’s the way you see me“

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

Aerial firefighter Pete risks himself and his vintage World War II airplane in a constant and death-defying quest to fight forest wildfires, much to the dismay of his girlfriend, Dorinda. His love for Dorinda and the advice of fellow pilot Al convince Pete to give up his perilous career, but he flies one last mission. Pete heroically saves Al’s plane from certain destruction, but with supernatural consequences.

He dies and his spirit ends up following Dorinda around, confessing love for her and having to realize the importance of saying goodbye. Being based on a 40s romantic drama, the movie clearly feels so 40s in its ghost romance storyline as those movies were so popular back then in a certain wave that they enjoyed during that decade.

However, unlike ‘The Ghost and Mrs. Muir’ and such great movies, this one entirely strands its potential by being so damn sappy. Yes, this is the most extreme example of Spielberg’s runaway sentimentality that has made so many of his movies difficult to enjoy properly. Yes, some moments here are certainly sweet and romantic, but most are overly manipulative.

The movie would have worked had it focused on emotion sparingly, but by emphasizing it consistently, it became too corny and simply ludicrous in its manipulative sentimentality. I did like the fantastical scenes, though. Audrey Hepburn being here in such a late role for her was fascinating, and she is well cast and suitably ethereal.

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

I also liked the performances of Dreyfuss and Hunter, though Hunter’s performance is less dramatic and more believable, but both are good. Their romance is sweet at first, but ultimately it was mined way too much for tears.

Always is solid in terms of technical aspects, but nothing we haven’t seen before. The music, the cinematography and the aerial scenes are all competent, but far from truly memorable. The movie is cinematic, do not get me wrong, but thinly plotted and overlong for such a simple premise.

Never has there been a more extreme example of Spielberg’s brazen sentimentality than Always, a film that is so emotionally manipulative that it just becomes difficult to bear. It’s competently made, well acted, cinematic and quite quaint and charming, but it would have been much better had it focused on emotional scenes more sparingly instead of consistently.

My Rating – 3

You can buy Always on Amazon.