Letters to Juliet is romantic. So romantic it almost becomes off-putting at times. The movie is about finding your true love no matter how old you are. It is never too late to go looking for them. This movie is very predictable, but it remains a charming and sweet romance.
Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is a young American who is about to get married to her very busy fiancée, Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal). She is a fact checker for The New Yorker and he is about to open his own restaurant. Sophie really wants to be a writer. That is her passion. Her and Victor decide to go to Verona as a pre-wedding honeymoon and they end up spending more time apart than together. Most of the trip is a business trip for Victor. It is pretty clear he loves food more than Sophie.
While she is sight-seeing by herself, she runs in to these volunteers who respond to letters written by people to Juliet (Romeo’s Juliet, who is from Verona) asking for love advice. Sophie finds a letter dated from 1957 and responds to it. Her response ends up bringing the woman who wrote it to Italy to find the man she left 50 years ago. This woman is Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) and her grandson is accompanying her and he does not like this one bit. Charlie (Christopher Egan) believes his grandmother is setting herself up for disappointment. Plus, the man Claire is looking for is not his grandfather, which he takes personal. He does not believe in happy endings and he does not want to see his grandmother get hurt.
So Charlie blames Sophie for all of this and they cannot stand each other at first, but we all know how this will turn out. And we hope Claire can find her true love Lorenzo. The journey Claire sets out on ends up being a journey for Charlie and Sophie as well. A journey about ageless love and recognizing love and never letting it go. Never having regrets about who you end up with.
As I said before, this story is predictable and you can probably guess what happens to Sophie, Victor, Charlie, and Claire’s search for Lorenzo. Actually the previews almost reveal the entire movie. But the performances keep the movie interesting even if you know what direction it is heading in. The two main performances by Seyfried and Redgrave capture the essence of what this movie is about. These two women play characters that are on two different sides of love. But their journey to finding it is more similar than they realize.
Both ladies are looking for something that is tough to find. Some may never find it. I am talking about love of course. You hope everyone finds their true love, but sometimes that just does not happen. Sophie and Claire represent ageless love. Young or old, you are looking for love and wanting to be loved. Seyfried is an up-and-coming actress who is best known for her role in Mamma Mia! And she plays such an optimistic, sweet girl who gets walked on and does not even know it. Sophie has to become this strong woman and go out and get what she wants. She has to stand up to love and live her dream of being a writer. Claire helps her with both. She gives Sophie something to write about and lets her learn from her mistake on letting love slip away.
Redgrave is a legend. She comes from a legendary acting family. And no matter how old she gets, she still shines on screen. Just like her character, she is elegant, classy, and even throws in a few jokes here and there. This role is perfect for her. Claire is a mentor to Sophie just like I’m sure Redgrave was to Seyfried during the making of this film. Seyfried should have some priceless knowledge after working with Redgrave and Meryl Streep.
Letters to Juliet is nothing new, but it is amazing how it can still be refreshing and entertaining when director Gary Winick (13 Going on 30) gets the right actors and a beautiful location. Verona and other parts of Italy are amazing. The scenery is breathtaking and has love written all over it. Seyfried and Redgrave make this movie better, and without them it could have easily fallen flat on its face. I hate to give most of the credit to only two actresses, but they deserve it. They undoubtedly earned it.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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