La corrispondenza

Unless you meet both of the following criteria: sex: W age: +60

do not watch it!

Watched 'Correspondence' for many reasons. The concept was intriguing and is hardly an outdated one. Ennio Morricone is one of cinema's best and most iconic composers, consider the likes of 'Cinema Paradiso', 'The Mission' and 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly' particularly amazing. Do like some of Giuseppe Tornatore's other work, 'Cinema Paradiso' is a masterpiece. Also really like Olga Kurylenko and Jeremy Irons, am a fan of Irons actually.

Unfortunately, 'Correspondence' left me underwhelmed. It is not as bad as the critics made out from personal opinion (though do share most of their problems with it), but it is a case of a good concept but mixed bag/average execution so can understand too the disappointment. Should have been much better considering the amount of talent and potential involved, with all having done much better work (all before and none since).

The two best things about 'Correspondence' are Kurylenko and Irons. Kurylenko is the one who has to carry the film and found her performance very committed and heartfelt as the one character 'Correspondence' tries to properly develop. Irons matches her sympathetically and brings his usual gravitas and that wonderfully distinctive voice to Ed. Despite being apart almost all the time, corresponding through texts, emails and video messages, the chemistry between the two is believable in that one can feel that they're in love and the big age gap between them is nowhere near as creepy to me than it sounds.

'Correspondence' is beautifully filmed and makes the most of the locations. All of which look great, stunning in the case of Italy. Morricone's score is nowhere near among his best work, but is suitably hypnotic and understated. There were moments in the script, everything with Ed's job was somewhat interesting and actually from personal view Ed's final speech was quite poignant. Much of it though is down to Irons' delivery of it, like the rest of the film's voice overs (which did not have anywhere near the same amount of impact) when it comes to acting not many actors delivered voice overs and narrations in the same way Irons did.

However, 'Correspondence' does have a lot of problems. A major problem is that the script is very limp and very rarely sounds natural. That is including most of the voice overs, which tend to ramble. Tornatore's direction is pretty uninspired, nowhere near close to amateurish but the pace especially needed to be tighter and somehow it didn't feel like Tornatore, other films of his had more emotional impact, were more sweeping and weren't as "safe". The supporting characters were very bland and stock, and in the acting department Kurylenko and Irons were the only ones that stood out (do not remember the other performances at all).

It's the story and pace that fare worst. The pace is a vast majority of the time, well almost the whole film, very pedestrian and never really comes to life. Am certain that it was intended to be deliberate, but the script and story (performances too) needed to compel to make that not be a weakness and 'Correspondence' failed on all three. The story started off quite well but will admit to having lost interest under halfway through when the mystery aspect of the film came in, then the film became dull and episodic. Then from just over halfway through, it became increasingly duller and more preposterous, some of it for me bordered on confusing too.

Summing up, liked the concept but the film was wanting in too many areas. 5/10

Years and years ago, Pier Paolo Pasolini would have solved this 116 minutes film with one sentence: "Death does not mean a lack of communication; it is the impossibility of being understood."

And while this concept (twisted, distorted, disfigured) still remains interesting enough, Tornatore's prolix (plain redundant right there in the middle) writing swings between borderline creepy and full-on cheesy.

Among the tear-jerking treacle, his pseudo-philosophical, re-adjusted to the contingency, take on astronomy -- dead stars and all -- is accurate and poetic enough, and really the only element (almost) giving the movie an appearance of tightness, thickness and consistency in its back and forth, back and forth rhythm.

Writer/Director Giuseppe Tornatore ('Cinema Paradiso', 'The Legend of 1900', 'The Best Offer', 'Everybody's Fine') has created a love song to Italy, science, astronomy, writing as an art form, communication and that fragile love between an older professor and a student. In other's hands this combination may come saccharine and a silly treatise on life and whether we die or become part of the universe spirit. Tornatore makes it a sensitive and delicate poem of a film.

Amy Ryan (Olga Kurylenko), a young student and stunt woman for films and Ed Phoerum (Jeremy Irons), a highly respected astrophysicist have an affair for 6 years, primarily an affair over distance. When Ed goes out of town, both of them keep in touch by text and video chats. All seems well and carries a light touch of humor as well as longing until Amy discovers Ed died 2 days back due to cancer. But still she receives messages and gifts under the name of Ed. Amy meets Ed's family (Shauna Macdonald, Oscar Sanders) and gradually assimilates with them. She ceases to feel lonely with the frequent input of videos she receives at strange intervals but remains surprised about the mysterious messages and gifts. How Amy copes with her life and how is Ed texting and sending gifts even after his death forms is brought to a satisfying if over long conclusion to the film. Ed suggests that she will find another man and very briefly in the end Amy encounters an old acquaintance Jason (Simon Anthon Johns), suggesting that Ed's last prediction will be fulfilled.

Tornatore's writing includes some wonderful information about the stars and the theories of their life span as well as other Astronomical insights and mixes these with love poems that are radiant as delivered by both Irons and Kurylenko. Though the film opens with a passionate love scene we both hear in darkness and eventually see as the film progresses, the remainder of the film is a conversation via cell phone and video and for those of us who have problems with the obsession with those forms of interaction in today's society, Tornatore manages to soften the mechanical emptiness of their use.

Ennio Morricone provides the musical score and Fabio Zamarion the exquisite photography of Italy, Scotland, and the UK. The film is in need of some editing but the spirit is there and Tornatore's little gem restores our faith that fine films are still being made.

I love Tornatore, but not for films like this one. It is missing the bittersweet humor of his other films, and the musical score by Morricone is not very memorable. That is already a bad combination. This is the 11th film of Tornatore that I am reviewing in succession, and it ranks in 11th place; that should give you a clue.

If you liked "You've Got Mail" with Tom Hanks, you will not like this film because it has none of the humor of the Hanks film. It is a series of tedius, and eventually, boring exchanges between Ededededededed and the female leading character's name I have already forgotten.

Her occupation was interesting; she was a stuntwoman, and the only interesting parts of the film are her stunts, but they are not enough to hold up this miss. Don't bother with this one; watch ANY of his first ten films; they are ALL better.