P.S.

P.S. (2004) *** Laura Linney, Topher Grace, Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, Lois Smith, Paul Rudd. (Dir: Dylan Kidd) Familiar Face of Love Past What would you make of a supreme case of déjà vu in the form of someone reminding you of your first – and only – true love? That's the question that troubles 39 year old Columbia Art School admissions officer Louise Harrington (Linney making a truly complex role seem so natural) an unhappy with life divorcée who stumbles upon one last letter of her daily sorting with the return address of an F. Scott Feinstadt, which triggers her recollection of her late high school boyfriend with virtually the same moniker.

Provoked to her curiosity she calls the applicant on the phone and as a ploy sets up an interview where with baited breath she must face the inevitable: it may really be her reincarnated love nearly 20 years past.

Feinstadt (Grace proving to be his generation's Tom Hanks) is an easy-going very comfortable in his old skin type who plunks down to the proceedings unaware of the special needs scrutiny he's experiencing as Louise is overcome by how uncanny he is and clumsily asks him out leading to a frankly adult encounter – they have sex back at her apartment – which unleashes a newly unbridled Louise to accept the unbelievable and the two begin to fall for one another, only with Louise on guard with the weird encounter giving her pause to reflect upon the failure of her marriage to her best friend Peter (the underplayed rumpled Byrne) who she discovers after the fact that he had cheated on her during their time together leading her to believe her entire life has been a lie. On top of this her only confidantes – her retired caring mother (Smith) and her girlhood pal (and competition) Missy Goldberg (Harden) who lives on the West Coast, married with children and equally miserable- have grown weary of her doldrums. Adding to the mix is her younger ne'er-do-well brother Sammy fresh out of rehab and seemingly up to his old tricks.

Director Kidd, who helmed the indie gem 'ROGER DODGER', adapted the story by Helen Schulman's novel, has his work cut out for him in equalizing the main character's plight and the budding love affair into a solid relationship without it becoming a Lifetime Original Movie which at times it teeters into, yet injecting it with some humor and heart. But the solid acting of Linney – who I admit has taken some time to admit she's a fine actress – and surprising chops of Grace raise the level from a one-note What If scenario to a sweet, sexy romance meant to be. Linney's Louise feels like a second cousin to her breakthrough role in 'YOU CAN COUNT ON ME' in the sense that both women are at an emotional crossroads in their lives that could lead to even more dire lanes of despair but the chosen path they endeavor in fact strengthens them with newfound confidence and self-worth. Don't we all aspire to just that?

On paper, Kidd's earlier film Roger Dodger, about a snide Lothario (played to Oscar quality by Campbell Scott) and his attempts to "mentor" his nephew, seems the lesser of P. S., about an August/ April romance between an admissions officer at a Columbia art department and a young applicant who stuns her by looking like an old departed boyfriend. But Roger Dodger feels tight, finished, and driven by a wild logic of its own, while P. S. is riddled with incompletenesses. Laura Linney is such a fine and affecting actress that she could convince me she had erotic chemistry with a bookcase, but despite her talents, the alleged electricity between her character and her young paramour in P. S., played by Topher Grace, required frequent suspensions of my disbelief. Grace here has such a hard time leaving his arch, "That 70s Show" schtick behind that he plays this film as though it were a bizarre dream sequence from his TV program. He often looks impatient and half-in-character, as if he expects Laura Prepon, his redheaded gal pal from the TV show, to rustle him awake so he can say, "That was the weirdest dream" and proceed in the comfortable universe of avocado and harvest gold situation comedy. Also, the script for this film is half-baked. Many oddities of character and plot, in addition to abrupt and mechanical statements of intentions by characters throughout the film, suggest an outline rather than a finished screenplay. Nonetheless, Linney gives a beautiful performance and there are still many things to like along this film's awkward way.

all the elements - casting, acting, lighting, sound, photography, costumes, locations, writing, you name it, really come together in this Dylan Kidd film.

the writing in particular and the story from the novel tell a nuanced, complex yet not overly layered movie. the acting is simply superb - laura linney wows again with her completely truthful and complete portrayal, and topher surprisingly handles drama as well as comedy and everything in between. Gabriel Byrne, Paul Rudd and the actress playing the mother (sorry, can't remember her name but she's perfectly cast!) all are excellent. Marcia gay harden's character draws you in - watching her abhorrent sad character is like not being able to turn away from the plastic surgery reality shows - awful but fascinating!

i really enjoyed this film - there are some confusing moments, but i surrendered myself to the story, trusting that it would unfold in time and it did. hopefully laura linney will get the Oscar nod that she deserves, instead of another star doing mediocre 'already seen that' work.

"P.S." continues the trend this year of movies and TV shows with aggressive older women attracted to geeky, barely post-adolescent boys.

While most of them come across as male fantasies, this one, based on a novel by Helen Schulman I haven't read yet for comparison, takes the viewpoint of the woman, to make her seem empowered. At least here we see how she herself is still mired in her own Glory Days (just as the male lead in writer/director Dylan Kidd's previous film "Roger Dodger" was), through her memories, her relationships with her brother and mother, and with her ex, whose student she was (though their relationship is talkily given additional problems of lack of urge control that seem unnecessarily complicated -- does Gabriel Byrne ever play a non-adulterous husband?).

Laura Linney is so good, however, that she portrays the character as stronger and making more sense than the situations or her continuing competition with her best friend, as played by Marcia Gay Hayden (and I couldn't figure out when the friend was in New York or California). Hayden's character even defensively says at one point "We're being just like the boys."

Linney is particularly effective with chilling monologues, as she dissects life's disappointments in comparison to adolescent hopes and dreams, that her character has faced not only in her life but daily as a college admissions director. I do challenge as a cultural bias and the character's hang-up the assumption that one is perfect at age 20, such that only the good die young.

While the plot is set in motion by a magic realism kind of coincidence that seems reminiscent of sci-fi-ish films like "Happy Accidents," "Sliding Doors," or "Me, Myself, I," let alone "Vertigo," even the characters agree by the end that they've had enough of this mystical stuff and that angle just gets dropped as they try to be real.

The film uses the Columbia University setting effectively and the soundtrack and scoring are full of New York City musicians, including Yo Le Tengo, Martha Wainwright, Citizen Cope and cellist Jane Scarpontoni.

At first glance the premise of the movie seemed a little like Nicole Kidman's Birth, where someone who's already dead gets reincarnated into a boy who seemed to know all her/their dirty little secrets. Anyway that was my first thought when I heard about the plot outline for P.S., but that said, this story couldn't be anywhere near Birth.

It's a story about second chances, and how you would choose to seize this chance to make up for what you didn't do the first time around. On a more personal note, it reminded me of what I did once, doing something which I didn't do initially, but here opportunity was presented with someone else, not as a substitute though, but it served as a catalyst to not allow things to not happen, but to take that leap of faith and give it a shot. Didn't turn out the way I wanted, but I guess I should be satisfied that I tried.

Louise Harrington (Laura Linney) is head of admissions for an art faculty, and in an admission letter, noticed someone who shared a similar name as a deceased old flame. Breaking protocol, she arranges for him to meet, and soon enough, more protocol gets broken as she initiates a sexual relationship with F. Scott Feinstadt (Topher Grace). Which of course should set tongues wagging given the power of her status, about keeping persona and business separate, about that lack of professionalism and danger of mixing business with pleasure.

But there are no lack of stories about a younger man falling for an older woman, and earlier this year, we've seen Uma Thuman in Prime in the same boat as well. Here though there is a distinct lack of humour and frills in storytelling, as the dry delivery befits the theme and character of Louise as she constantly, and perhaps unconsciously, pities herself and warrants the same pity from others. And it is the breaking out of this mould and mindset that keeps the narrative together in an exploration of how, despite Louise learning about how her marriage to her ex husband, Peter Harrington (Gabriel Byrne) broke down. Making matters worse is her best friend Missy's (Marcia Gay Harden) meddling into her personal business, with a revelation making you wonder why she hasn't turned into a fiend instead.

I've actually watched this movie not because of Laura Linney, even though she carries this movie on her shoulders, and that her Louise character is the central figure where things revolve, and characters interact around. Rather, it's more for Topher Grace, whose performance I enjoyed in In Good Company (his character there I could relate to), and keeping in mind that he did this movie first. Next up would probably be his biggest commercial challenge yet, as he takes on the role of Eddie Brock / Venom in Spiderman 3.

P.S. is actually a postscript, and here, the characters are afforded that little extra to add on to their past history, to be accorded that moment in the present, to make amends and salvage a past they are ashamed of. The pacing might be trying for some, but it still makes for satisfying viewing if you're in the same boat looking for your own P.S..