Image credit:  John Johnson

Letters to Juliet

by Kayla Paxton – Churchill Secondary, Vancouver BC Jun 7, 2010

Photo: Christopher Egan and Amanda Seyfried star in Letters to Juliet.

3 stars

It’s never too late for a second chance to find true love.

Rating: PG
Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Egan, Gael Garcia Bernal

What’s the story?
To Sophie (Seyfried), her pre-honeymoon with her fiancé Victor (Bernal) is supposed to be about spending time together, but to him, it’s about meeting restaurant suppliers. One day, while exploring the romantic city of Verona, Italy, Sophie comes across the house where Shakespeare’s famous Juliet supposedly lived, and anyone can post a question on her wall, asking for advice on love. While helping to collect these letters off the wall so that the “secretaries of Juliet” can respond to them, Sophie comes across one letter that was misplaced and written half a century ago by a young lady named Claire (Redgrave), who wrote to Juliet about her first lost love. Intrigued by this letter, Sophie writes back to Claire and thus begins a journey of personal discovery and a search for a lost love.

Why see it?
Letters to Juliet is so much more than just another boy-meets-girl love story. Amanda Seyfried, a familiar face, stays in her romantic comedy comfort zone, but this time falling in love isn’t her priority. Instead, fixing Claire’s broken heart is her priority. This love story will make your eyes tear up, make your heart sink, give you a good laugh and put a smile on your face.

Problems?
Even though this film is a breath of fresh air in the love story genre, Letters to Juliet won’t keep a busy mind entertained. The pieces of this movie’s plot fit together too easily and can be assembled much too quickly. After just the first handfuls of popcorn, you know how the movie is going to end. So if you are looking for a movie with more mystery or depth, I would recommend skipping this movie.

All in all:
A cute, yet predictable love story.

Comments (1)
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Cheesy Letters to Juliet

Submitted by esther (not verified) on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 23:22.

By Ali Sami - Enver Creek Secondary, Surrey BC

Rising stars, beautiful landscapes and love. What could go wrong? Apparently a lot.

"Letters to Juliet" offers viewers a dismal love story. Thankfully, behind the struggling chemistry between Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Egan lies the beautifully post-card friendly city of Verona, Italy.

If it wasn't for the clichéd bitterness between Seyfried and Egan in the beginning of their relationship, their love for each other might have actually been believable later on in the film. It seems as if, for the first half of the movie, everything is a bit rushed. You really do not get to see Seyfried's character fall deeply in love with the leading man the way it was intended. Their love is surprising, and even a little bit awkward too.

Not all was bad in this film, however. Claire, played by Vanessa Redgrave, gives this film a breath of fresh air and a bit of much needed talent. Asides from the gorgeous Italian scenery, Redgrave's gracefully beautiful performance saves this movie from becoming a total embarrassment. I'd like to personally thank director Gary Winick for not giving the cheesy lines to Redgrave that he gave to Amanda Seyfried; lines such as, "Do you believe in destiny?" and "I didn't know that true love had an expiration date!"

All in all, "Letters to Juliet" was a disappointment. I recommend waiting to see it on DVD, even if you are dying to see the movie, like I was. You're wasting a lot less money that way.

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