While waiting in line for a preview screening of Letters to Juliet, I overheard an exchange between two twenty-something females in front of me. “I think this is going to be one of those romantic movies, and that is bad. Real life isn’t like that.” They were right of course.  Real life is rarely like Hollywood romantic films. So if you do not like chick flicks, stay away. But in the category of chick flicks this one is not so bad. It looks gorgeous and has strong performances from charismatic actors.

Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is a fact checker for the New Yorker who longs to be a writer. Her fiancé Victor (Gael García Bernal) is handsome and charming, but he is consumed with opening his restaurant. When they take a trip to Verona, Victor spends most of his time tasting olive oil and visiting vineyards. While exploring Verona on her own, Sophie stumbles on a wall where the lovelorn leave letters about their romantic problems for “Juliet” to answer. Sophie is befriended by the group of women who answer the letters in Juliet’s name, and when she uncovers a letter written in 1957, Sophie answers it. The letter writer Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) and her grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan) join forces in Verona with Sophia to search for Claire’s lost love Lorenzo. Charlie is skeptical and argues with Sophia, but we all know that is just foreplay. Can true love conquer all? What do you think?

What makes this film better than others in the same genre are the lead performances and the beautiful scenery provided by Verona and the surrounding area.  I admit to loving Amanda Seyfried in everything, and as usual, she is charming and lovely here. Her Sophie is likable and sweet, and we root for her as she searches for romance and a writing career in Italy. Gael García Bernal, who hooked me with his performance in The Motorcycle Diaries, is charismatic and funny as Sophie’s fiancé Victor.  He radiates energy and enthusiasm throughout the film, especially when he tastes new food. “This is amazing; this is the best thing l ever tasted,” he exclaims, his dark eyes bulging, his white teeth flashing and his hands gesturing wildly. Seyfried and Bernal look great together, and make a believable couple.  I enjoyed the scenes of them touring vineyards in Italy and tasting pasta in New York.  It is to the credit of the writers that Victor is not a cad. He is distracted by his passion for his profession and not another woman.  This makes the triangle more interesting than usual. But Bernal is almost too charming, and I found myself rooting for him, and not interloper Charlie. Charlie is a bit of a stuffed shirt who is a closet romantic, but Christopher Egan seems a bit dull and colorless, especially next to Bernal.  It is apparent that love will blossom between Charlie and Sophia, and that this is the couple we are supposed to root for, but it is hard to get too excited about Egan’s Charlie.  What is exciting is the search for Claire’s lost love that has Claire, Sophia and Charlie driving around the Italian countryside. I enjoyed their trip almost as much as they did.

Vanessa Redgrave is marvelous as grandmother Claire, a romantic with a practical streak. She encourages the romance between Charlie and Sophia stating, “Life is the messy bits.” But her eyes sparkle with hope as she searches for her Lorenzo, and her lip quivers as she tells Sophia that she wants to find Lorenzo and tell him that she was “so sorry for being such a coward.” I found myself more caught up in the romance between Claire and the elusive Lorenzo than the romance between Sophia and Charlie. The most magical moment in the film comes (I won’t divulge how) when Claire and Lorenzo (Franco Nero) finally meet.  Nero’s performance is too brief, but he makes every moment count. Close to 70, he is still virile and commanding, and his scenes with Redgrave were, well, romantic.

Redgrave and Nero played Guenevere and Lancelot in the 1967 film version of the musical Camelot. It is a special thrill to see them play lovers here. In real life, they have been an off and on couple and are now married.  Perhaps those women in line were wrong about real life not being like the movies?  Probably not, but the journey through Italy is one worth taking.

Letters to Juliet.  Directed Gary Winick . Amanda Seyfried (Sophie), Gael García Bernal (Victor), Christopher Egan (Charlie), Vanessa Redgrave (Claire) and Franco Nero, (Lorenzo). Summit Entertainment, 2010.

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