Review: Letters to Juliet

I attended the screening of Letters to Juliet the day that Lynn Redgrave's death was announced, so it was both refreshing and bittersweet to see her older sister Vanessa in the film. Vanessa Redgrave always gives a quality performance, no matter the size of the role. Even so, her role in this film isn't as large as I would have liked.

The main character is Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a fact-checker for The New Yorker, engaged to hot chef Victor (Gael García Bernal). As viewers we are expected to suspend our disbelief that on their salaries -- and less than a month before Victor's new restaurant opening -- the couple can afford a pre-wedding trip to Genoa, Italy. Okay.

During their stay in Italy (lushly shot, I might add), Victor drags Sophie along to various foodie stops, while she wants to see the sights. They end up amicably spending time away from each other, and on a solo walk around Genoa, Sophie stumbles upon Juliet's house.

In the courtyard, women leave notes to Shakespeare's celebrated character. At the end of the day, these notes are collected and Juliet's secretaries answer them. Sophie helps them and discovers a 50-year-old letter written by a young Brit about her regretted decision to leave her boyfriend Lorenzo. Soon Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) and her orange-hued, twentysomething grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan) meet Sophie and they start on a search for Lorenzo.

At times the film's writing is quite humorous; Charlie is given some great zingers and maintains a pretty dry wit through a large part of the film. Egan and Seyfried have some chemistry, mainly while they're sparring, which almost makes up for the lack of it between Bernal and Seyfried. These two gorgeous folks just seem awkward with each other in their scenes together. Another detracting issue is the costuming: poor Mr. Egan is stuck in 1980s style yuppie outfits with pants too long for his trainers, and lovely Ms. Redgrave is kept in muted colors throughout. For such a vibrant character, the beiges, pastels and greys just don't seem to fit.

Still, Letters to Juliet is enjoyable. It gives us a chance to see Vanessa Redgrave in a sweet later-in-life love sidestory. The supporting cast, especially Oliver Platt as Sophie's editor and the Italian actresses as Juliet's secretaries, adds to the fun. But when it comes down to it, it's your typical romantic comedy with the obligatory Taylor Swift song (I'm sure you can guess which one).