Letters To Juliet

In a season of summer blockbusters and action films, a chick flick can be very refreshing, acting like an antidote to all the violence and gunpowder we’ve previously ingested. What was particularly nice about Letters To Juliet is that it avoided most of the contrivances of your average romantic comedy. This is a story that could have happened.

Amanda Seyfried (Mama Mia) plays Sophie, a young fact checker for the New Yorker magazine. She longs to break out of her thankless job and actually contribute to the magazine as a writer, but she is too afraid to ask her boss. Before getting married, she and her fiance Victor, Gael Garcia Bernal (Fidel) go to Italy for a pre-wedding vacation. Victor is a chef and he is opening a new Italian restaurant in New York. Many of his suppliers hail from Italy and he’s looking for further inspiration and connections. Sophie is interested in a little relaxation and some romantic time with her boyfriend. They soon come to cross purposes.

Once in Italy, Victor becomes so distracted visiting wineries and meeting his suppliers that he begins to ignore his bride to be. Loathe to visit one more farm, Sophie begs to be left behind to do a little sight seeing on her own. Being located in the city of Verona, Sophie comes across a tourist attraction called Juliet’s Balcony. Here, love lorn women for centuries had been writing letters to Shakespeare's Juliet and have been leaving them on the wall.

It is now the end of the day and Sophie notices a woman who appears with a basket. She begins to pluck all the letters from the wall and then walks away. Curious about what happens next, Sophie follows her back to a villa where she meets some other women known as the Secretaries of Juliet. This group of ladies, employed by the city of Verona actually read the letters and answer them as Juliet. Sophie is intrigued.

When Sophie’s boyfriend abandons her once more to attend an exclusive wine auction, she is invited to return and take part in the whole letter writing process. Sophie agrees imagining that the experience would make an excellent article for her magazine.

So far this story is completely plausible. A girl wants to be a writer, she goes on vacation with her fiance, he becomes distracted with work and ignores her and she becomes romantically confused and wistful. She stumbles upon Juliet’s Balcony, gets caught up in the romance of it, and decides that it would make a great article. Everything up to this part is totally believable.

The next part of the story is a little less likely but still in the realm of possibility. This is what makes Letters To Juliet unlike most romantic comedies. Sophie accompanies one of Juliet’s secretaries to the wall and accidently dislodges a stone that reveals a letter that has been undiscovered for fifty years. Sophie writes the woman back, and Claire, Vanessa Redgrave (Julia) is still alive and living in the family home. The late reply to her letter inspires her to return to Italy in search of her lost love. When Sophie learns of Claire’s arrival she asks to participate in Claire’s search. Documenting her journey would be a wonderful addition to her article. Driving them around Italy is Claire’s grandson Charlie, Christopher Egan (Resident Evil: Extinction). He is not happy about his grandmother’s adventure. He is afraid that she’ll be disappointed or hurt. He is completely opposed to the whole ordeal.

Letters To Juliet is a straightforward story that doesn’t insult you with ridiculous devices. It’s sweet, gentle and has no annoying girlfriends. In addition, the boyfriend is not made out to be a jerk. He’s just a little egocentric and excited about his new venture. His dream of owning a restaurant is finally coming true. Unfortunately Sophie doesn’t share his passion for food. In this case, she is the one who needed to be a little more understanding.

Letters To Juliet is a film about romantic timing. It shows that when you meet someone is just as important as how you feel when you meet them. It also teaches us that love can be timeless and enduring if allowed to grow. When love is cut short it can smolder beneath the surface for years waiting for a little hope and encouragement. Once given, love can spring anew and blossom into a new relationship. All it needs is the blessing of good timing.

Rating: First Run When it comes to love, timing is everything