Love Story, Starring Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw
Classic Romance and the 1970's Counterculture
Jun 9, 2009
“It’s a new world,” Jennifer Cavalleri (played by Ali MacGraw) tells her father as she announces her engagement to Oliver Barrett. For many Americans, 1970 did seem like a turbulent and frightening new world. How did Erich Segal’s screenplay address their fears?
The Love Story Plot
The plot of Love Story is simple. Oliver Barrett, (played by Ryan O'Neal) the only son of a wealthy and prestigious family, is studying pre-law at Harvard when he meets Jennifer Cavalleri, a brilliant music student of humble background, at Radcliffe. They fall in love and decide to get married. Oliver’s father objects to the match and asks Oliver to postpone the wedding until he has completed law school. When Oliver refuses, his family removes their financial support. After the couple marries, Jennifer supports Oliver by working as a teacher while he completes his law degree. Just as Oliver graduates with honors and joins a successful law firm, Jennifer is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Her death brings about a reconciliation between father and son.
The boy – meets – girl, boy – loses – girl plot has been a staple of western literature for centuries. Shakespeare, the Greeks and even Edgar Allen Poe have charmed audiences with it. Part of Love Story’sappeal lay in using the familiar rhythms of this plot to present a soothing, reassuring picture of the Counterculture to American moviegoers.
Campus Politics and Social Taboos
In 1970, college campuses across the United States were aflame with political demonstrations. Timothy Leary urged young people to “tune in, turn on and drop out.” The Harvard depicted Love Story, however, is traditional and serene. There are no protests, no marches and during their campus courtship Oliver and Jenny never consume anything stronger than coffee. Later, when Oliver discusses Jenny with his father, he declares she’s “not a crazy hippie.”
When the couple does break important taboos, the effect is muted. Jenny and Oliver have premarital sex, but announce their plans to marry a few scenes later, and seek parental approval of their engagement. They both reject organized religion and refuse to have a church wedding, but invite the campus Chaplain to officiate. During the ceremony Jenny’s father, (played by John Marley) a devout Catholic repeatedly says “Amen!” whenever the Chaplain speaks.
“He’s not a priest,” one wedding guest tells Cavalleri.
“He is to me,” says Cavalleri.
Women’s Lib and Traditional Roles
In 1970, feminist leaders Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan were urging women to find new identities outside traditional female roles. Early in the film, Jenny is depicted as a gifted musician preparing to study in France with the legendary Nadia Boulanger, but as soon and she and Oliver are married she rejects that goal. In scenes depicting the newlyweds at home Jenny is frequently shown cooking or serving food to her husband. In one scene, when Oliver is looking for her in their new apartment, Jenny says,
“I’m in the kitchen, where I belong.”
Later, when Oliver urges her to enroll at Julliard, Jenny says she prefers to have children instead.
Similarly, even while Oliver is estranged from his father, he imitates his lifestyle. Like the senior Barrett,(played by Ray Milland) Oliver strives to become a successful lawyer. After securing a prestigious job he becomes the sole breadwinner, ready to support a wife and children.
The message is clear: for all their new–fangled ideas, Oliver and Jenny are really just Nice Kids who want the American Dream. Their vision of the future is nonthreatening and forgiving. In the final scene, Oliver delivers the film’s tag line – “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” – to his father.
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