Curator Watchlist
A polished, emotionally bruising romance with real political and class tension beneath the star power. It’s best when it treats love as a collision of values, not just chemistry, and it still lands as a melancholy adult drama.
Where to watch: Buy
Wed · 1h 58m
Director: Sydney Pollack
Starring: Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Bradford Dillman
Opposites attract when, during their college days, Katie Morosky, a politically active Jew, meets Hubbell Gardiner, a feckless WASP. Years later, in the wake of World War II, they meet once again and, despite their obvious differences, attempt to make their love for each other work.
Sydney Pollack
Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Bradford Dillman
A polished, emotionally bruising romance with real political and class tension beneath the star power. It’s best when it treats love as a collision of values, not just chemistry, and it still lands as a melancholy adult drama.
The Way We Were is one of those romances that understands attraction can be the easy part. What lingers is the mismatch in temperament, politics, class, and self-image, all filtered through Sydney Pollack’s elegant, mournful direction. Barbra Streisand gives Katie a fierce intelligence and wounded pride that keeps the film from becoming a simple love story, while Robert Redford’s easy charm makes Hubbell feel both desirable and frustratingly evasive.
The movie’s emotional power comes from how clearly it sees the limits of compromise. It’s not just about two people who drift apart; it’s about two people who want different things from life and from each other, even when they genuinely care. That tension gives the film a sharper edge than many prestige romances of the era.
It can be melodramatic, and some of its gender politics feel of its time, but the central ache is durable. If you like your romance bittersweet, intelligent, and a little devastating, this is a strong watch.
Pilar (3.5★) · 3343 likes
I watched this because of that scene in Sex and the City
Jenna Ipcar (4★) · 2762 likes
This isn't the story about people who drift apart because of politics, this is the story of a woman with convictions (whether you agree with them or not) and intelligence, and a wuss-ass (drop dead beautiful) white boy who has never had to care about or fight for anything in his life. They're initially attracted to each other because they each have something the other wishes they could possess. For Redford, Streisand represents the exciting world of fringe living, of… more
eely (5★) · 2339 likes
hey, luke, it's me. i know I'm not supposed to be calling, but i’m not doing really great right now, and i was just wondering if - do you remember in the way we were how katie and hubbell broke up because his friends were joking and laughing and the president had just died and she yelled at them and he was mad and he was going out to hollywood - which she hated - and he broke up with her
fatima (3.5★) · 1782 likes
i love reading all these reviews calling robert redford an asshole but still pointing out that he's gorgeous
jayemefff (4.5★) · 1575 likes
being attracted to men is a curse
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forbidden or difficult romance, political and ideological differences, class and cultural identity, memory and nostalgia, emotional incompatibility, postwar disillusionment, gender roles, adult heartbreak
bittersweet romance, political drama, 1970s cinema, melodrama, class conflict, nostalgic, adult relationships, star chemistry, postwar setting, tragic love