Lettres à Juliette

Even though you know what's coming, bring a hankie or two. The women are gorgeous (and some of the men) and wise. The men need a little schooling in the art of love, except for Lorenzo - another of those Italian caricatures who seems transformed into flesh and blood from Carrara marble. The real surprise here is how little of the movie was actually filmed in or around Verona, Italy. Where was it filmed? Mostly at a glorious inn a bit north of Siena, and around the hill town of Montalcino, which is farther south - all in Tuscany. The film is really something of an infomercial for the large Caparzo winery and their various tourist properties. On that level, the movie succeeds brilliantly. The men who are dragged to see it will be fascinated to see where Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino are grown. The women, however, will want to be taken back to Verona (literally and figuratively) to find out if Juliet's house, balcony, wall and statue really exist (they do, although she didn't). And what about the secretaries? They exist, and they really do answer letters. Each year, in fact, they choose the preceding year's best and bestow a prize. Wonder if that's how this movie was really inspired?

What a surprise this beautiful and easy going film was. Letters to Juliet is a nice afternoon at the cinema, while doubling as a postcard from Italy. Amanda Seyfried is on a roll, her lovely awareness of roles will propel her into super stardom. As young Sophie, who is engaged to a over zealous chef, her life is changed dramatically when she finds an ancient letter buried in a sacred site in Verona. The home of star-crossed lover Juliet provides serious love aspirations for all who visit. Sophie, a fact checker but would be journalist pursues the writer of the letter, Vanessa Redgrave, then takes off on a road-trip with her grandson in tow to find the lost recipient. The film is lush, sensual on the eyes but light enough to just relax & enjoy. Vanessa Redgrave sparkles and reminded me of Miss Daisy at times. Amanda Seyfried delivers pure delight, her saucer wide eyes had me transfixed. Wonderful.

This film is about an American woman who goes to a trip with her fiancé to Verona, where she discovers a 50-year-old letter to Juliet.

"Letters to Juliet" is not an ordinary romantic comedy. It has the elements of a successful romantic comedy, but it is so much more than that. Despite the predictable ending, the plot is still engaging and is deeply touching. It shows two women, one longing to find a lost true love, and another that longs to find the true love. Their desire for true love is well portrayed, one can see that they do not just want love, but they want the kind of love that transcends and sublimes. And to wait for 50 years for that adds further emotional depth, making it a tearjerker. I think "Letters to Juliet" should earn its place as a modern day classic romantic comedy, on par with "The Notebook".

Really enjoyed this film. A very good story, that had many good moments, one in particular -- if you've seen the film, you know which one I'm talking about. Redgrave made this film. She is amazing, and she gave the story believability. But the film could have been a classic. Two things got in the way. 1) The story was just a little too light, seems like they were trying too hard to make a romantic comedy, instead of letting it be what it was -- probably the money people were responsibly for that one. 2) The two leads were somewhat unlikable, with zero chemistry. She was OK, but he was a Hugh Grant caricature. The pacing of their relationship was way too fast to be believable. I think this story is good enough to be remade, and I think it should be - with a different Sophie and a different Charlie, and maybe a little (please note I said a "little") more serious tone. Other than Sophie and Charlie, I think the film was very well cast.

I really enjoyed this movie, although you can predict easily what will happen next it is still enjoyable to watch. This is definitely the best chick flick I've seen, while other chick flicks lack in originality this movie truly shows what true love is like and has it's own type of element. Amanda Seyfried is not one of my favorite actresses but I honestly thought she did great in this movie unlike her other ones. She made the whole movie better through her acting and I truly enjoyed it. I thought the ending was a little unoriginal but they way the created the scene made it a whole lot better. I believe the directors/writers did a great job planning out this movie other than the fact of predictability. I give this movie an 8 out of 10 because it was good but it was very predictable.