'Letters to Juliet' predictable but pleasant love story
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Vanessa Redgrave and Amanda Seyfried star in "Letters to Juliet."
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"Letters to Juliet" is a bit like taking a guided tour to a popular tourist destination.
Your itinerary is mapped out in detail, from what time the luggage will be collected to when the bus will stop for cappuccino breaks and souvenir shopping. You can still have a glorious time, it's just that the regimented schedule may not allow for serendipity.
"Letters" is a bit like that. The previews give away much (too much) of the movie, including the salient fact that Vanessa Redgrave stars alongside Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Egan and Gael Garcia Bernal.
- Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Gael Garcia Bernal, Christopher Egan.
- Rating: PG for brief rude behavior and sensual images, some language and incidental smoking.
Ms. Redgrave, 73, lends a royal presence and brings a poignant touch to scenes that unwittingly remind moviegoers of personal losses -- daughter, brother, sister -- she's suffered in the past year.
"Letters" stars Ms. Seyfried as Sophie, a magazine fact-checker who is engaged to a foodie, Victor (Mr. Bernal), six weeks away from opening a restaurant. They head to Italy for a pre-wedding getaway and opportunity for Victor to meet suppliers and sample their wares.
While he's in pasta and pastry heaven, she wanders into the Verona courtyard where lovelorn tourists leave notes for Juliet. Women known as Juliet's secretaries answer them and Sophie pinch-hits and responds to one sent a half-century ago by a girl whose parents didn't approve of the boy she loved.
With remarkably ridiculous speed, letter-writer Claire (Ms. Redgrave) and her skeptical grandson (Mr. Egan) appear and Sophie joins them in the hunt for Claire's one-time beau. The trio embarks on a picturesque journey that -- as mandated by movie law -- will transform each of them.
Gary Winick, whose credits include the middling "Bride Wars" and the delightful "13 Going on 30," directs a screenplay by Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan. Most of its building blocks are as well-worn as the bronze Juliet statue visitors touch for good luck.
But the filmmakers are blessed to have not only Ms. Redgrave but husband Franco Nero, the Lancelot to her Guinevere in "Camelot," along with a handsome young cast in Ms. Seyfried, Mr. Bernal and Mr. Egan.
The fairy-tale story is, of course, improbable. Who goes on a European trip six weeks before their wedding, especially when the groom is trying to open a restaurant? And that's just for starters.
However, the sun-soaked vineyards, bustling public squares and four-star hotels under a "Moonstruck" moon, go a long way. One of the nicest scenes comes when Claire comes into Sophie's room to brush her wet hair. The moment that might be shared by a mother-daughter or grandmother-granddaughter is small but touching and telling.
"Letters to Juliet," which features Taylor Swift's song "Love Story," is a gentle, PG alternative to "Iron Man 2" or "Robin Hood." It breaks no new ground; it's like a favorite entree from a dependable chain restaurant served just as you expected.
First Published May 14, 2010 12:00 am
