There is always that one film that breaks them. For my mother, it was always The Way We Were and that was my first experience with a Robert Redford movie. The heartbreak for Katie (Barbra Streisand) and Hubbell (Robert Redford) stayed with me all these years.
Which is why the news of Redford’s passing has been so hard to comprehend. For most of my life, I’ve known him and his work. But that’s also the legacy that Redford left behind for so many others as well. He was a champion of filmmaking, founded the Sundance Film Festival, and is why indie movies have had such a chance to shine. He was one of the best.
But my own history with Redford’s work has made his passing remind me of what made his filmography so special. He had something for everyone but what I loved about his work was how he allowed his romance films the chance to shine. The Way We Were was special in my household but when I read The Great Gatsby and then watched Redford’s performance as Jay Gatsby, I was obsessed with his ability to show Jay’s yearning qualities.
Even movies like The Natural had a love story as part of it and I just always loved that his characters had layers to them. Yes, he was the Sundance kid, but outside of his more well-known works, Redford allowed his characters to really shine and I think that’s what has made him one of our legends for so long. He helped pioneer how we see character and plot in movies and changed movies as a whole.
Katie and Hubbell will always be important
Streisand showcased in both Funny Girl and The Way We Were what a loss of love can feel like. While that is heartbreaking and beautiful to see, from a female perspective, it is only as great as the man who is playing the love in question. And Redford really knew what to do with Hubbell to get us all to hope that something could change.
I remember the first time I watched the movie. All I wanted was for Hubbell to care about what Katie was doing. I wanted them to figure it out and so when they do not by the end, it hurt to see a love lost because they just could not see eye to eye. And a smaller performer would have played Hubbell’s misunderstanding of his wife’s need as a villain. But not Redford.
Yes, he’s the man from the iconic nodding meme and he even staked his claim in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but what is great about Redford is that there are so many movies that mean the world to fans. We all have a different movie to pick and talk about and I think that is really what made him so special. My love for The Way We Were is someone else’s connection to The Sting or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Robert Redford was just that movie star and he will be missed.
(featured image: Columbia Pictures)
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