Letters to Juliet (2010)
DIRECTOR: Gary Winick
CAST:
Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Egan, Gael Garcia Bernal, Franco Nero, Oliver Platt
REVIEW:
WARNING: THIS REVIEW DISCUSSES “SPOILERS” OF THE FILM’S PLOT
Letters to Juliet is a pleasant, unchallenging little story that doesn’t offer any plot turns that aren’t possible to see coming a hundred miles away but serves up enough sweetness to be an adequate morsel for those seeking something to whet the appetite of their inner romantic.
Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is respected as a dogged fact-checker for The New Yorker magazine, but her true aspiration is to write stories, not just verify them. While on a “pre-honeymoon” trip to Verona, Italy with her self-involved chef fiancé Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal), Sophie learns about the Letters to Juliet- a house in Verona where the heartbroken leave letters addressed to the Shakespearean tragic heroine, and a group of Dear Abby-esque women called the Secretaries of Juliet take it upon themselves to write replies. Sophie is fascinated and pitches in, but while collecting the letters posted on the wall, she accidentally dislodges a stone and stumbles across a fifty-year-old letter from a teenage English girl named Claire confessing how she backed out of a secret rendezvous with her Italian love Lorenzo and returned to London, leaving him waiting for her. Sophie is moved, and writes a reply which she mails to Claire’s old address, but is surprised when it brings her face-to-face with the elderly Claire (Vanessa Redgrave), who has been inspired to come to Verona and track down her old flame. Claire is accompanied by her surly grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan), who disapproves of what Sophie has done and worries about setting his grandmother up for a second heartbreak. With her fiancé perpetually preoccupied with his own interests, Sophie tags along with the pair as they set out on a cross-country trek to find the ending of an old romance, and along the way, might just come up with a new one of her own.
The biggest problem with Letters to Juliet is that there are no surprises. We know exactly where everything is going almost from the get-go. Of course Lorenzo (Redgrave’s real-life partner Franco Nero) won’t show up until the climax. Charlie has instant scorn for Sophie, and she thinks he’s a cold-hearted cynic, so we know the bickering pair is going to end up together. Victor is a one-dimensional and annoying side character who is clearly fated to be the “other man” plot complication who will be neatly swept aside by the end. What makes the difference between whether you sigh out of romance or weariness is how much the movie taps into your inner romantic. Those with a wide romantic streak and a willingness to not demand too much from a movie as long as it indulges it will swoon at the reunion of the old lovers and root for the last-minute pair-up of Sophie and Charlie. The setting of Verona provides both scenic international locales and frequent references to Romeo and Juliet, some more literal than others (Sophie on the balcony and Charlie climbing the vine). The spunky Claire is the most delightful character in the movie, and she and Lorenzo finding each other again after fifty years is the most touching element of the movie. In fact, perhaps the movie would have been more heartfelt if it had focused on the old lovers instead of showing them through Sophie’s story. The Sophie/Charlie romance plays out exactly as we’d expect, step by step, and once we’ve reunited Claire and Lorenzo, the resolution of Sophie/Charlie feels like an obligatory afterthought, and the movie drags it out longer than necessary to wrap things up considering how obvious it is.
Amanda Seyfried (who resembles an older Dakota Fanning) has enough of an effervescent screen presence to suit a lighthearted romance like this. Christopher Egan lays Charlie’s abrasive pessimism on a little thick before starting to lighten up, resulting in not being the most likable of love interests. Unsurprisingly, the best is Vanessa Redgrave, who provides a dignified presence while also giving Claire a touch of girlish giddiness as she resolves to find her lost love. Gael Garcia Bernal is saddled with the underdeveloped Victor, and brings nothing to it except making him irritating, which, after all, might be the goal. Franco Nero doesn’t have to do much besides be the elusive walking MacGuffin. Oliver Platt has an uncredited small role as Sophie’s boss.
I suspect that, like myself, many viewers will watch Letters to Juliet, smile, and move on without it leaving a lasting impression. There is a paint-by-numbers, obligatory feel to the proceedings, and from start to finish, the movie takes virtually not a single unpredictable step. But it also goes down easily and pleasantly, and when Lorenzo rides in on his horse (literally) and he and Claire clap eyes again, it’s hard not to get swept along.
**1/2