“Letters to Juliet” is a chic flick, a romantic-comedy of the highest order and that’s not a bad thing. Because it follows the genre formula, you know how it’s going to end, but you enjoy the journey. That’s because you have a well-crafted love story with clearly developed protagonists and actors that evidence on-screen chemistry. What you don’t have (thankfully) are silly jokes and slapstick behavior. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried playing another Sophie [e.g., “Mama Mia”], is a top-notch fact checker for The New Yorker magazine although she yearns to be a writer. While on a vacation to Verona, Italy with her fiancé, Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal), Sophie discovers a 50-year-old letter written to Juliet at a house representing that of the heroine from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. You see, every day, hundreds of supplicants leave behind letters addressed to Juliet, seeking advice and a small group of women, ‘Juliet’s secretaries,’ collect them and respond. Sophie feels compelled to answer the note written in 1960 by a confused 15-year old named Claire who is torn between staying in Verona with the man she believes is the love of her life or returning to London. Sophie is surprised when, several days later, she finds herself face-to-face with a grateful Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) and her irritated grandson, Charlie (Christopher Egan). Sophie joins them as they search for Claire’s Lorenzo and decides to turn this venture into an article. While Victor is busy with his new restaurant-related business, Sophie finds herself drawn to Charlie.
It’s a pleasure watching two characters who can’t stand each other gradually soften in their feelings as they get to know each other. I can think of a few recent rom-coms where the antagonism between the protagonists seems forced (“The Ugly Truth” and “Leap Year”) or virtually nonexistent (“The Back Up Plan”). And Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Egan have a genuine chemistry. The secondary story, that of Claire searching for her long-lost love, is also moving, expressing a belief that love endures and Vanessa Redgrave is effective and still beautiful. “Letters to Juliet” is one of those movies you can watch again and again. 5/18/10
1 comment:
Amanda Seyfried is a pretty (attractive)new face and believe she has a terrifice future in movies.........remember she can also sing (Mama Mia). Go see it you will enjoy it.
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