Sleepless in Seattle – the film, the phrase – conjures the kind of quixotic romance that already seems long lost to us, on screen and elsewhere.
Nora Ephron specialized in whimsical courtships – majestic grand gestures, emotionally lofty stakes, couples too perfect for each other for lightning ever to strike so precisely again. As her sophomore directorial venture approaches its 30th year, Sleepless in Seattle remains famously unrivaled in the sheer brilliance of its feat: a love story in which the lovers share roughly 2 minutes of screen time. Ephron’s bold tribute to the cinematic romances of her youth is one deviously elaborate, protracted journey to the “meet-cute”. Fitting then, that our lovers’ tale begins on the road.
