P.S.

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..

Basically the film is about a lonely 39 year old woman named Louise (Laura Linney) whose only friend (self-admitted) is her ex-husband. She lives her safe and humdrum life working at Admissions for Columbia, talking to her best friend (Marcia Gay Harden) who is going through her own adulthood misery, and watching happier, younger couples from her office aloft. So, when an application with the name F. Scott Fienstadt (Topher Grace), the same name as the young love of her life who died, comes along she has no problem going completely out of her comfort zone and daily routine to meet, seduce, and compare the new to the old, or rather her indestructible memory of the old.

It's a dangerous plot premise-- already you've got the Mrs. Robinson comparisons, as well as the tiptoe out of reality with the same name as her dead love, and the adulthood alienation script. However, it seems that every single person in the movie was completely aware of the danger and paid so much care to their work that you don't even recognize it. Laura Linney, in a demanding role, manages to not only evoke sympathy while she tortures the younger man with her cynicism but also gives a complexity and innocence to the female character that most every actress in Hollywood strives for but seldom achieves. Topher Grace, as her paramour, gives a smart performance that mixes the self-confidence of youth with a restrained, intellectual, old soul backbone that really serves to offer himself up as more than a teenage, primetime face. Marcia Gay Harden is wonderful and real as always, she could have hammed up this character, but she played it very nicely -- so much so you could see the girl in the woman, which is exactly what she needed to do. The rest of the supporting cast is solid, and since it is such a small ensemble, heavily appreciated.

Yes, the ending isn't what it could have been but the relationship and the plot could have been a whole lot worse. If anything, I highly recommend it for people who love the small ensemble films that attempt to deal openly and honestly with out of the box relationships and being who you are at the age you are now. 6/10.

Writer-director Dylan Kidd's "P.S." is funny, sweet and moving and better than most romantic-comedies these days.

Laura Linney's magnificent. Then again, when is she not? Let's face it, she, and not Julia Roberts, should have won the Best Actress Oscar for 2000. Linney makes acting look so easy, a pleasure to watch.

In "P.S.," Linney's Louise Harrington, a Columbia University administrator who maintains a close relationship with her ex-husband, Peter (Gabriel Byrne). One day she's startled when she gets an application to the School of Visual Arts from a young artist named F. Scott Feinstadt. Her shock? Her late childhood sweetheart was an artist named Scott Feinstadt. Naturally, Louise wants to know more about the young applicant and what follows is a wonderful telling of the lengths to which we go sometimes to rekindle old passions.

As captivating as Linney is in this film, Topher Grace, best known for his playing Eric on TV's "That '70s Show," turns in a performance that's surprisingly good, filled with warmth, humor. This chap's got a promising career ahead of him. Grace's F. Scott has attitude to spare and Kidd uses him wisely. Our introduction to F. Scott is not what we'd normally expect - a meet-cute or the initial interview at Columbia. No, the first time we're aware of F. Scott is through a telephone, when Louise calls him up to ask for samples of his work. It's a deft touch by Kidd. It's a breezy, fun turn by Grace who imbues F. Scott with confidence and a cavalier attitude that immediately lets us know what kind of a person he is even before we see him.

Louise's transformation once she meets F. Scott showcases what a fine actress Linney is. There's this charming schoolgirlish giddiness about Louise. We watch as this mature woman feels the excitement of a new love and it's something with which we're all familiar.

The film runs into problems when we're introduced to Louise's best friend, Missy (Marcia Gay Harden), a flirt who played a key role in the Louise-Scott relationship years before. I never quite bought Harden's role and the Louise-Missy conflict isn't nearly as interesting as watching Louise blossom into a sprightly woman with a tremendous crush. Her love affair is more enticing and funnier than a disagreement that seems fabricated to give us some conflict.

Kidd doesn't fixate on whether F. Scott really is Louise's sweetheart reborn. It really doesn't matter. This film is about life's delightful coincidences. Sometimes, facts are stranger than fiction. So it's irrelevant whether Kidd solves that mystery.

Kidd's direction here seems more assured than his debut film, "Rodger Dodger" (2002). But his characters aren't as memorable and "P.S." might not have moments you recall years later - I still remember the park bench and party-crashing scenes from "Rodger Dodger." But "P.S." still is an awfully good film with a fine ensemble cast. It could be tightened; the film feels about five minutes too long. But that's a minor quibble.

This is yet another good film having difficulty getting released. "P.S." isn't one of the great films of the year. But it's infinitely better than most of the movies in wide release right now. It has two outstanding performances, plenty of genuinely good laughs and is an enchanting romantic-comedy that deserves to be seen by more people.

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.