There’s nothing particularly flashy about Murphy’s Romance. Far from it.
That’s a large part of why it works.
Sally Field plays Emma, a recently divorced mother trying to start over in a small Arizona town. James Garner is Murphy, an older local pharmacist who gradually becomes part of her life.
And gradually is the important word.
This isn’t a movie built around some giant romantic contrivance. The relationship develops through conversations, small favors, irritation, friendship and time. Garner is effortlessly likable without playing Murphy as some perfect fantasy, and Field gives Emma enough stubbornness and independence that the movie never feels like she’s simply waiting for someone to rescue her.
It’s funny, warm and remarkably comfortable with being about adults behaving more or less like adults.
If you’ve never seen Murphy’s Romance, it’s exactly the kind of older movie worth digging back up.
