Il mistero delle lettere perdute - L'incontro

TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL meets THE NOTEBOOK in this engaging Hallmark TV movie about how the employees of the Dead Letter Office of the Postal Service reunite lovers and solve a murder.

Although Daphne Zuniga is top-billed in this movie, she has a small supporting role. The actual leads are Eric Mabius as the tight-buttoned head of a local Dead Letter Office and Kristin Booth as the computer specialist misassigned to his staff. There is a bit of friction between them as Mabius plays his role like Clifton Webb.

The situations are engaging and the actors play their roles with a lot of charm. As this has been heralded as the pilot for a proposed Hallmark TV series, it looks as if it will take some time for the writers and actors to settle into the characters and situations, but the premise is certainly engaging enough to warrant to effort.

I love quirky shows. The Librarians. Eureka. Warehouse 13. They take the edge off in an increasingly edgy world, especially in 2020-21. This franchise is definitely quirky, although with this movie it starts out a little more on the normal side than what it is later.

The four principle actors are so good at their roles. If you've seen Eric Mabius in a Hallmark romance movie, you might not recognize him. Oliver is a man of rigid principle and faith. Shane is a woman with tenacity. She too has faith, she just doesn't know it yet. There is a definite future for these two because Mabius and Booth have great chemistry. So many people love Crystal Lowe and she deserves it. I said you wouldn't recognize Mabius in a "normal" movie. Double that for Lowe. Yet she is great in both kinds of roles. Rita is unique. And quirky. Geoff Gustafson has a difficult role because it's not quite clear who Norman Dorman is yet, and even all these years later his character is evolving.

As much as I loved the regular cast, Laci J Mailey and Benjamin Hollingsworth blew me away. Their chemistry was nitroglycerin. I'm really sorry Mailey hasn't been more prominent on Hallmark in recent years, beyond her role on Chesapeake Shores.

There's a mystery to be solved, and the as yet unnamed Postables are on the case. The viewer gets far more information than the Postables should have, but somehow they are more privy to it than should be given the size of the letter. Even the viewer can't quite see everything yet, but the outcomes are predictable. But even if predictable, the viewer can't wait to see it unfold.

There are plot holes galore. I let them pass over me, but I will mention a some. Charlie's lawyer acts like you have to prove innocence rather than establish doubt. Then things don't process through the criminal justice system nearly as fast as it did here. I'm pretty sure all postal employees have a union so Andrea's threats exceed her actual authority. And of course, every episode of SSD is followed with a disclaimer that the movies aren't consistent with USPS procedures. It would be easy to get hung up on these, but if you are willing to let them pass, there is a lot of fun to be had.

I am excited to have found a little unknown gem like this one, but am extremely bummed out by the fact that nearly no one has experienced this. This, in my opinion is how more films should be, great plot with interwoven stories, great and likeable cast, and just an overall well written and fun film. After seeing this film I remember why I watch all of the mediocre and bad ones, it's to experience something like this. I'm overall just really satisfied with all aspects of this movie. 8/10, if we could go into decimals I might even go so far as to give it an 8.5/10, but I think 8 is a pretty fair score nonetheless. I'd recommend you watch this film if you like stress-free movies, the Mystery genre, or Romcoms.

This is a lovely well thought-out movie, that is well directed and superbly acted by a talented cast, headed by one of my favourite actors, Eric Mabius. who I originally saw in The Crow: Salvation.

I really loved the idea of the "Lost Letter Department" whose sole job is to get the undelivered mail to where it's intended destination. If they cannot read the address on the envelope then they are allowed to open the letter, but they are only allowed to read as far as they need so they can deduce a delivery address, as it's a federal offense to tamper with mail.

In this case, though, they keep running into problems in determining the destination so they have to keep reading. As they do the viewer is shown the story of the letter's writer and becomes embroiled in their tale.

The reason this works is the juxtaposition of the two ongoing stories, as well as the different characters within each. It gives quite a lot of detail to keep you interested and entertained.

Eric Mabius plays Oliver O'Toole who is a stuffed shirt, but with a heart of gold. He likes his rules and regulations though if there's a logical explanation to circumnavigate the rules to get the desired outcome, then he will. He is a solid and strong character, a good lead.

Kristin Booth portrays Shane McInerney, "Miss McInerney" as Oliver likes to call her and the chemistry between them is nice. She comes to the Lost Letter Department by accident and can only get redeployed to her desired department after a couple of months. Even though she isn't good at hiding her disappointment, it's Shane who is pivotal in pushing the investigation to its conclusion. It's her curiosity and enthusiasm that help make her a well thought-out character.

Then you have the two "Side-Kicks" Rita Haywith and Norman Dorman, played nicely by Crystal Lowe and Geoff Gustafson. These are the "Geeks" of the Lost Letter Department, but add a depth to the team, which makes the show stronger.

Even though there are some adult issues represented in the story these are handled with maturity and in a light manner. This is not a doom and gloom show, and for that reason I loved it.

What works really well is the great direction, it cannot be easy to intertwine two stories and keep it well paced and smooth. The director makes this look effortless, all adding to the enjoyability of the movie.

I would recommend this to everybody, especially the lovers of heart- warming tales.

This movie script is sort of a rip-off of "Dear God," a 1996 movie starring Greg Kinnear. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116059/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_44) I happen to love that movie, so I'm not upset that someone chose to update the story and add a new twist.

I also like Eric Mabius, but found his performance in Signed, Sealed, and Delivered a bit wooden and forced. He overacted the role of being a sort of OCD-ish boss. The cast didn't seem to gel as quickly, as the cast in Dear God did. I hope Hallmark gives this cast an opportunity to find its "ensemble" quality.

I look forward to Hallmark making this into a series, because I think it would be very entertaining. I love non-violent programming and this dead letter story line offers a lot of opportunity to produce some creative stories for the whole family.

I hope Hallmark expands Kristen Booth's Shane character to add that subtle humor as Tim Conway did in Dear God.