Letters to Juliet (3 Stars)

This film is based on a tradition in the Italian city of Verona. It's devastating to me that people go along with it. It's a religious con without the religion.

In Verrona there's a house called Casa di Giulietta, Juliet's House, named after Juliet Capulet in Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet". Women who have relationship problems write letters to Juliet asking for advice, and stick the letters to a wall outside the house, called Juliet's Wall. It's not just the women of Verona who do this, there are women who visit the house from all over the world.

This is similar to the Roman Catholic practise of praying to saints. Some people believe in saints, I don't, but I won't argue about it here. What's different about Juliet is that she isn't a divine representative of any religion, and she never even existed. She's just a fictional character invented by an English playwright, so what's the point in asking her for help?

But guess what? Any woman who leaves her name and address on her letter to Juliet receives a reply. Is that a divine miracle? Not quite. As the film shows, there's an organisation run by the tourist centre of Verona called the Secretaries of Juliet. The letters are collected every evening, and a group of women sit writing answers. When the reply arrives a few days later the heartbroken woman can shout, "Hallelujah! Praise Shakespeare!"

There's also something for the men. There's a statue of Juliet outside the house. Any man who touches the statue's breast will be lucky in love. That sounds somehow creepy, since Juliet in Shakespeare's play was only 13. If I want to be lucky in love I'd rather go speed dating.

All that is true, as ridiculous as it might sound. You can travel to Verona yourself to check it out, if you don't believe me. Now for the fictional part of the story.

Sophie Hall is a junior reporter from New York. She's on holiday in Verona with her fiance Victor, who's looking for exclusive items to serve in his restaurant. Sophie discovers Juliet's House by accident, after which she visits the Secretaries of Juliet to ask what it's all about. On the next day she finds a letter behind a loose stone that was written in 1957, more than 50 years ago, by a young English woman who was too scared to run away with her Italian lover Lorenzo. Sophie replies to the letter herself, telling the woman that it's never too late to go to the one you love. She signs the letter Juliet. Of course.

A few days later Claire Smith arrives in Verona with her grandson Charlie. He thinks it's all romantic nonsense, but his grandmother is now a widow and wants to look for Lorenzo. She also wants to meet Juliet. Together they go on a journey, meeting all the men in the vicinity called Lorenzo Bartolini. There are 74 listed in the phonebook, but it's possible to whittle the number down by eliminating the younger men.

Is it a spoiler to say that Claire finds her Lorenzo, who's also a widower? Not really. The viewer knows from the beginning that she'll be successful. They get married and live happily ever after.

What's worth mentioning is that Claire and Lorenzo are played by Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero, who are married in real life. It must have been a wonderfully romantic experience for them to get married again in the film.

There's also a romantic comedy subplot, which I won't go into, because that really would be a spoiler.

I greatly admire Amanda Seyfried as an actress, but I don't enjoy this film, despite the beautiful Italian scenery. It's not even the film's premise that disturbs me. Something about it is too light. The script could have been better, but don't ask me how. Something is missing that would turn this average film into a great film.

Success Rate:  + 0.7

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