Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins. How wrong could you go? As others have said, this is a charming little story about two people worlds apart who communicate via letters. It covers about 20 years and the people, the writer Helene and the book store manager Frank, never meet. Their whole world exists on paper -- letters and books to be exact. In a way, it was refreshing to see this movie, because this kind of story today would never be made. It also has a pre-007 Judi Dench, who is also fabulous, though she doesn't have much to do.
Performances aside, there are three things about this movie that do not work for me. One: Is the character of Helene a nun? Asexual? A lesbian? I mean, the woman has absolutely no romance in her life at all, unless you count her letters to Frank, which, although they seem to border on occasional flirting -- it is simply not a romance, sorry. So, we're asked to believe that this woman has gone through her entire life without even contemplating romance? Yeah, okay, she asks Frank to send her a book of love poems. Whoopee. What does she do on Friday nights? Nothing apparently.
Second, I simply cannot understand why it is that the director and/or producer thought it would be funny to break the fourth wall and have Anne (and, in one scene, Anthony) talk to the camera. It was really irritating and totally destroyed the mood. Absolutely unnecessary and did nothing for the film.
Third, what exactly is the point of the ending? I kept waiting for something to happen. Absolutely nothing does. First, how the hell does Helene get a key to the book shop. By magic? Second, at the penultimate moment, she eyes some letters on the floor -- it would have been so touching, so moving if she had found her own letters to Frank. Instead, she looks at them, then back to the camera and says something lame like, "I'm here."
The character of Helene was such a tightwad that even when it's clear that she has moved up in the world, she is still absolutely unwilling to take a trip to London to visit Frank -- and she's apparently so cheap she can't even pick up the phone to call him.
There are other unnecessary characters in this film and several scenes which could have easily been cut.
All of that aside, Anne and Anthony are a pleasure to watch because they're good actors. It was fun going back and forth between NYC and London, but about three-fourths of the way through I thought "Anne, get on the damn plane and go already!"
Interesting, yes. Perhaps something pleasant for a rainy Sunday afternoon. Riveting, no, but if you're a fan of Anne or Anthony, it's worth a watch.
Performances aside, there are three things about this movie that do not work for me. One: Is the character of Helene a nun? Asexual? A lesbian? I mean, the woman has absolutely no romance in her life at all, unless you count her letters to Frank, which, although they seem to border on occasional flirting -- it is simply not a romance, sorry. So, we're asked to believe that this woman has gone through her entire life without even contemplating romance? Yeah, okay, she asks Frank to send her a book of love poems. Whoopee. What does she do on Friday nights? Nothing apparently.
Second, I simply cannot understand why it is that the director and/or producer thought it would be funny to break the fourth wall and have Anne (and, in one scene, Anthony) talk to the camera. It was really irritating and totally destroyed the mood. Absolutely unnecessary and did nothing for the film.
Third, what exactly is the point of the ending? I kept waiting for something to happen. Absolutely nothing does. First, how the hell does Helene get a key to the book shop. By magic? Second, at the penultimate moment, she eyes some letters on the floor -- it would have been so touching, so moving if she had found her own letters to Frank. Instead, she looks at them, then back to the camera and says something lame like, "I'm here."
The character of Helene was such a tightwad that even when it's clear that she has moved up in the world, she is still absolutely unwilling to take a trip to London to visit Frank -- and she's apparently so cheap she can't even pick up the phone to call him.
There are other unnecessary characters in this film and several scenes which could have easily been cut.
All of that aside, Anne and Anthony are a pleasure to watch because they're good actors. It was fun going back and forth between NYC and London, but about three-fourths of the way through I thought "Anne, get on the damn plane and go already!"
Interesting, yes. Perhaps something pleasant for a rainy Sunday afternoon. Riveting, no, but if you're a fan of Anne or Anthony, it's worth a watch.