84 Charing Cross Road

84 Charing Cross Road is one of my favorite movies. Based on the memoirs of Helene Hanff (the book contains the letters from which they read throughout the film), this is the story of a single New York woman named Helene Hanff (Anne Bancroft) who builds a forty-year friendship with some people who work in a bookstore in England. The movie begins during WWII as Helene, a writer, is searching for out-of-print books and, frustrated at the poor selection in the city's bookstores, starts writing letters to the Marx brother's bookstore in England. Through her letters, she not only becomes a frequent customer, but eventually, becomes quite close with all of the bookstore's employees. And through their letters, they share experiences over the years, which the viewer witnesses through a juxtasposition of two different cultures: American and British.

I like the technique used in this film. The interaction between Helene and her British friends occurs only through letters, so rather than have the characters write a letter and then dub what is written, eventually, the characters just face the camera and say what they would have written, with the camera cutting back and forth for each others response at times as though we suddenly become the recipient of their conversations.

The film also has a wonderful cast with Anne Bancroft as Helene, Anthony Hopkins as the generous Frank P. Doel, Judi Dench as his wife, and Mercedes Ruehl as Helene's neighbor. It is a wonderful story.

"84 Charring Cross Road" is a luscious, intelligent, delicate, epistolary love story.

It isn't for everybody. Viewers who require movies to shovel piping hot, sex-and-violence-drenched plot down their gullets won't get this movie; it will pass right over their heads.

If you are the kind of observant, sensitive person who can see someone sitting on a park bench and intuit their biography from the way they wear their scarf, hold their bodies, and read their newspaper, you will *hear* all that this movie is saying, and it will move you to tears.

Helene Hanff (Anne Bancroft), is a single New Yorker, of mixed Jewish and Christian family. She is a no-nonsense lover of life, cigarettes, hard liquor, and books. She is the kind of reader that every writer dreams of writing for -- she is like a sponge, soaking up every word; she is like a bell; when an author's words strike her, she rings. She is like the very best of interlocutors. Writers dream of having a reader like this to interact in dialogue with their works.

When Hanff can't find a book she needs locally (and that she can't find a book she needs locally tells you something about her expansive tastes -- she lives in Manhattan, after all, not a shabby place to book shop), Hanff begins writing to a London book shop, Marks and Cohen, staffed by one Frank Doel. Doel meets her needs. That's in 1949. Their exchange of letters lasts decades into the future.

The film lovingly and deftly chronicles the decades' changes in fashion, not just in clothing, but also in architecture. Both Helene and Frank are living in distinctly 1949 dwellings when their exchange begins, and are living in more modern dwellings toward the end of the story. Hair styles, current events, the sound of rock music heard from a passing radio, act like clocks to remind the viewer of the passage of time in this relationship.

That chronicling, via visual cues, of the passage of time is just one of the many ways this movie communicates that may be too subtle for many viewers. What the film is saying in these details is this: these two people and their acquaintances and colleagues who participate in this correspondence, are investing time in each other in a drastically changing world. As the world spins precariously around them, from the post-WW II rationing in Britain to the introduction of the miniskirt, Helene and Frank continue to be there for each other.

There are so many other ways in which this movie tells a wondrous, rich tale that have nothing to do with conventional ways that films communicate. There are no conventional "love" scenes, or fight scenes. What there are are scenes that, in painstakingly crafted detail by painstakingly crafted detail, build up a story as rich as full fat cream.

By the end of this movie, the observant viewer will *know* Helene and Frank in a way that very few movies allow viewers to know their characters. The observant viewer will have participated in these people's real lives in a way that feels almost like watching a home movie.

Watch Frank react to being asked to participate in a conga line. Watch the joie de vivre that Helene brings to ordering gifts from a Danish catalogue. Listen to Helene talk about books. Watch Frank as he goes about the business of meeting his customer's needs.

The two "loudest" scenes in the movie are the scene in which Helene goes to a movie theater and watches "Brief Encounter," a classic film about a brief, extra-marital affair. While watching this movie, Helene fantasizes about finally visiting London. That scene, and that choice of movie, tells you much about how Helene feels about Frank. Similarly, carefully watch a scene in which Frank reads, aloud, a Yeats poem which ends, "Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." There are so many movies about people who are nuts about sports. Movies about people who love guns, or war, or cars.

"84 Charring Cross Road" is the best movie I know about unbridled passion for books, for words, and the kind of intimacy that can take place when one person who loves words makes contact with another who shares, or at least appreciates, that passion.

If you don't get this movie, I really think you can become a better, more sensitive, more aware person by watching it again, and trying to "hear" all it says. To the person who really listens, "84 Charring Cross Road" is one of the richest movies I know.

PS: the film is perfectly cast, and every performance is spot on. Anthony Hopkins has never been more sympathetic. Anne Bancroft was born to play Helene Hanff. Judi Dench, Mercedes Ruehl, Oscar winners all around -- how can you go wrong?

The British are known for movies that can tear your heart out without excessive emoting. "84 Charing Cross Road" is one such picture. It's been on many, many times and I know my mother loved this movie but I never saw it, who knows why. But having "discovered" Dame Judi Dench, who has a somewhat minor part, I wanted to see her in this movie. Well, I was mesmerized! There was no "snap and pop" here; just the quiet story of a book lover and a bookseller who live on 2 different continents and who are total opposites (or so it seems) but who form a friendship through letters --- what today's youngsters would call snail mail. She's a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker with a New York accent as thick as a deli sandwich. He's a dyed-in-the-wool Englishman whose accent isn't as thick but who is British through and through. Yet they both share a passion for books. This gentle true story, based on Helene Hanff's book, is told mainly through their correspondence and what a terrific correspondence it was.

Letter-writing, unfortunately, is a lost art. As convenient as Email is, it's not quite the same as a good, old-fashioned letter. This movie reminded me of that and of the 17-year correspondence I shared with my best friend (he has since died). I'm told I have a talent for letter-writing and I have 2 friends with whom I share this talent. I used to think those friends should get a computer but now I see I was wrong. Email is expedient but letter-writing is so much more long-lasting.

One of the reasons I stayed with the picture was one scene: Helene goes to the movies (remember, this was 1950) and what are they playing? My all-time favorite movie, "Brief Encounter." I couldn't turn away after that and I'm glad I stayed with it. This is one movie I definitely will add to my DVD and/or VHS collection. It's a keeper for sure.

84 Charing Cross Road is a wonderful enchanting film about the differences and similarities between the Brits and the New Yorkers over the years. Helene Hanff really was a special writer. She gave an identity to 84 Charing Cross Road to last a lifetime. Her letter writing relationship between a bookstore and herself is one of legendary stories to become part of London and New York. Sadly, she died 5 years ago. I am sure that 84 Charing Cross Road will always remember the writer, Helene Hanff, who inspired such a legacy. Anyway the film has a wonderful cast like Anne Bancroft who is ageless in the role. Sir Anthony Hopkins as the bookseller. Dame Judi Dench as his wife and Maurice Denham in a supporting role. Also, I have been to London three more times since I wrote this review and sadly this time, I made the effort to visit 84 Charing Cross Road, sorry folks, it's a Pizza Hut and I had dinner there tonight anyway. THere is no plaque. I still think Anne Bancroft was superb now that she's gone. So has Maurice Denham since I last wrote this review. God Bless them wherever they are.

Lines of dialog like the one above, spoken by the energetic writer played by Anne Bancroft in "84 Charing Cross Road", appeal to those who inordinately enjoy books . And if you are one who is delighted by literary references(in books, music or movies)than this is a film that will hold great appeal for you.

Those who prefer conventional "action" will find this movie far too low-key and dull. Personally I was very involved by it. It is the type of motion picture where you find yourself wanting to enter and befriend the characters, who undoubtedly would be willing to talk with you about most anything. And for those who have actually been to London(myself included)there's the added delight of recognizing many of the locations it presents.