AP Film Studies: Rules of Attraction

Casablanca and the science of love.

By AP KRYZA
CASABLANCA

It’s easy to look at a seemingly mismatched couple and scoff, wondering what the hell such a good-looking person would see in a person of less-desirable genetic stock. Throughout the history of film, audiences have seen haggard-looking older leading men paired with gorgeous younger women.  
Casablanca
OMSI’s Empirical Theater; 6:30 pm Wednesday, Feb. 11
 

And boy, does Casablanca feature one of filmdom's most classic, seemingly mismatched romances between Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa—a gorgeous Norwegian woman in the prime of life—and Humphrey Bogart's Rick Blaine, a cafe owner 16 years her senior who looks like a cross between a cocker spaniel and the Phantom of the Opera reimagined as the Marlboro man. 

But according to Lawrence Sherman—the event's moderator and a neurologist at Oregon Health & Science University—the attraction between these characters makes perfect sense from a scientific standpoint. 

Sherman says his talk will take specific cues from the movie to illustrate how our brains process attraction. That'll include an explanation of the brain's increased production of dopamine, which signals pleasure and explains Rick and Ilsa's seemingly drunken early infatuation. It will also address how Ilsa's long-lost husband is positively affected by the hormones vasopressin and oxytocin, and why exactly Rick acts like such a dickhead to the mistress who adores him: "This is a situation called limerence and has some dark psychological implications,” says Sherman. 

That's a lot of science-speak, but the discussion should offer food for thought and a chance to rewatch a Hollywood classic on one of Portland's best screens. 


Also Showing: 

  1. In 1972’s Horror Express, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Telly Savalas board a trans-Siberian train with a bloodthirsty prehistoric monster. Joy Cinema. 9 pm Wednesday, Feb. 11.
  1. Movies in Black & White returns with Sidney Poitier’s epic bitch slap from In the Heat of the Night. Hollywood Theatre. 7 pm Thursday, Feb. 12.
  1. For a while there, folks predicted that the gruesome camp musical Repo! The Genetic Opera would be the new Rocky Horror. It wasn’t. Kiggins Theatre. 10 pm Saturday, Feb. 14.
  1. The good Dr. Sherman would have a field day with Harold and Maude. Laurelhurst Theater. Feb. 13-19.
  1. The story of a charming prosti—er, society girl looking for love and unearned social status in New York while enjoying the horrifically racist antics of her bucktoothed Japanese landlord. Oh, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, you’re timeless. Academy Theater. Feb. 13-19.
  1. The Hollywood continues its tradition of screening violent romances this year with Something Wild, a lurid tale of fake kidnapping, kinky sex and a very pissed-off Ray Liotta. Hollywood Theatre. 7:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 14.
  1. Whoever says there aren’t great roles for women in Hollywood obviously hasn’t seen Tootsie. Clinton Street Theater. 7 pm Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 14-15.
  1. The Portland Black Film Fest continues with 1992’s Just Another Girl on the I.R.T., Leslie Harris’ story of a woman seeking to break the cycle of poverty in New York. Hollywood Theatre. 7:30 pm Sunday, Feb. 15.
  1. The Clinton celebrates Fat Tuesday with Dry Wood, Les Blank’s acclaimed documentary about life in Louisiana. Clinton Street Theater. 7 pm Tuesday, Feb. 17.
  1. Spare and powerful, Andrew Haigh’s Weekend tells the moving story of a one-night stand between two men that blossoms into a drug-and-alcohol-fueled romance. 5th Avenue Cinema. 5:30 and 9 pm Friday-Saturday and 3 pm Sunday, Feb. 13-15.
  1. Repressed Cinema rolls out 16 mm Erotic Underground, a series of short films exploring the history of cinematic erotica. Hollywood Theatre. 7:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 17.

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