Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors of all time, and yet there is much of his early work that I have not seen. I always find it interesting to discover earlier and lesser known films in the careers of certain actors because it is a window into how they became as great as they are today. I had never seen Every Time I Say Goodbye, nor had I even heard of it. While the film does have some good performances in it, unfortunately it is riddled with cliches right up until the very end.
Every Time We Say Goodbye is the story of a pilot and a girl from Jerusalem who fall in love, even though their individual backgrounds suggest that they should not be together at all. As I said before, this film is your typical "forbidden love story". These two characters are not meant to be together because of their different backgrounds, but they do not care and continue to see each other anyway. The big problem with the film is that it does not focus on this aspect as much as it should. It is more focused on the fact that David (Tom Hanks) is an American, and does not understand the Jewish culture and heritage. The entire film consists of David and Sarah (Cristina Marsillach) seeing each other behind the back of Sarahs' family. The storytelling falls completely flat, and were it not for the performances of Hanks and Marsillach, this movie would be dead on arrival.
Tom Hanks plays David. Even though his character arc is predictable in every way, I like what Hanks brings to the table. There are scenes where he displays his classic comedy chops, but for a majority of the film he displays a serviceable dramatic range that is nice to see so early in his career. The scene where he is attempting to see Sarah one last time before he leaves is actually quite moving to watch because he is almost violent in his determination to see her. This is a solid performance from an an actor who would go on to become one of the greatest ever.
Cristina Marsillach plays Sarah. While I do like Marsillachs' performance, her character arc is the most cliched element of this film. She meets David, and they start spending time with each other even though she is forbidden from seeing him. She falls in love with him, tells her family, then tells David to leave so that she is spared more pain, and chooses to marry her best friend. Then, she realizes she cannot marry him because she is in love with David. Marsillach does what she can with such limited material, and her performance, along with Hanks' is the only other reason to watch this film in its entirety.
Moshe Mizrahi is the director of Every Time We Say Goodbye. The relationship between David and Sarah is the most important aspect of this film. Mizrahi uses this to his advantage because not only is the chemistry good between the actors, but all of their scenes together are quite touching to watch. My favorite scene in the film is when Sarah confesses her love for David to her family. The performances of every actor in this scene are so genuine. You can feel the emotional conflict within Sarah, just as you can feel the anger and hatred from her family. The location of Jerusalem is beautiful to look at as well. Mizrahi chooses nice shots to showcase the landscape. There is not much to like about the direction of this film, but these aspects do stand out in a positive way for me personally.
There is not much to like about Every Time We Say Goodbye. The story and character arcs are all too familiar and predictable, but I honestly think that the acting is serviceable. I would say if you are fan of Tom Hanks, and would like to experience his earlier work, check this movie out. If not, you are better off skipping it.
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