LETTERS TO JULIET (eOne, 2010) D: Gary Winick, w/ Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave. Rating: NNN DVD package: NNN Rating: NNN
Lavish use of beautiful Italian countryside and cities Verona and Siena, all bathed in golden light, makes this a dandy escape for a rainy Toronto evening. Of the two romances in the foreground, one is pure formula and not very thrilling, while the other has one heart-piercing moment of genuine romantic yearning and terror.
[rssbreak]
In the formulaic romance, Amanda Seyfried is an American in Verona not sure that she has the right fiancé. Up pops another man (Christopher Egan). He’s the grandson of a woman (Vanessa Redgrave, who gets the one beautiful moment) who’s come to Italy in search of the one true love she ran away from 50 years earlier.
The device that brings them all together – Seyfried answers a letter Redgrave’s character stuck in a wall all those years ago – is charming and loosely based on fact. Check out the extras’ little background doc.
EXTRAS Commentary, making-of doc, Juliet letters background doc. Widescreen. English, French audio.
