Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gael Garcia Bernal, Vanessa Redgrave and Christopher Egan
Directed by Gary Winick (Bride Wars, Charlotte's Web and 13 Going on 30)
Rated PG for brief rude behavior and sensual images, some language and incidental smoking
A perfect date-night movie for all ages.
In Verona, Italy – the beautiful city where Romeo first met Juliet – there is a place where the heartbroken leave notes asking Juliet for her help. It’s there that aspiring writer Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) finds a 50-year-old letter that will change her life forever. As she sets off on a romantic journey of the heart with the letter’s author, Claire (Vanessa Redgrave), now a grandmother, and her handsome grandson (Christopher Egan), all three will discover that sometimes the greatest love story ever told is your own.
While the film is fiction, the story's hook is pretty accurate. For more than 100 years, people have written letters to Juliet and left them at her character's “grave,” where they're gathered by volunteers who answer them. These days, there's even a website (julietclub.com) to which folks write. The letters, both in the movie and in real life, illustrate that love (and love lost) is a powerful thing.
It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of “chick-flicks”, but I really liked Letters to Juliet. Although the trailer leaves few surprises, the journey is the heart of the film. So I stopped caring that I knew how it would end and allowed myself to just go for the ride.
The cast all play their roles perfectly especially Gael García Bernal as Victor aka the “turd” fiancée. You never get the sense that he is trying to be a turd…but his absent-minded, self absorbed personality made me want to slap him around a little bit.
There really aren’t any negatives. The story is sweet and the cast is likeable. The director keeps things going and gives us a few laughs here and there. Needless to say, my wife and I really enjoyed sitting down together to watch Letters to Juliet for our date night – it’s Theater Worthy.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Letters to Julietis very clean…with one exception: the film’s message of sex before marriage. So if you are watching it with your teenager, take a moment and pause it at the scene when Claire talks about taking a Pre-honeymoon trip and use it as a teachable moment.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
Q: What was the theme (or the message) of this movie?
A: Love is a very powerful force in our lives, and some people are willing to go great distances in life to have it. That’s not a bad thing, at all, but we have to realize that love is often difficult… and full of loss.
Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
A: Love (and especially love lost) can have a paralyzing effect on us. When we fall in love, all we want is to be with that person. But when our hearts are broken, all we want is… well, we want that person to be abducted by aliens and given a lobotomy!
As we search for love, we must make sure that we invest ourselves into someone who believes love is accurately defined and described in 1 Corinthians 13. If that person has a lesser view on love, that person cannot be right for you.
Love was God’s idea. We need to make sure we find the person that God has in store for us who will give us the greatest love.
Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
A: This film is based on an actual place where jilted lovers leave letters to “Juliet” asking for advice. Instead of asking Juliet, let’s ask God for help. Let’s write an actual let to God asking Him these questions:
Dear God,
I know you have designed the perfect spouse for me. I believe they are asking the same questions right now that I am asking. They want to know when, where and how we will meet. So until that time, here are my questions for You:- Will you give me the patience and purity I need until that day comes?
- Will you give my future spouse the patience and purity they need until that day comes?
- Will you continue to prepare me for my future mate?
- Will you continue to prepare my future spouse for me?
- Will you make it clear to both of us when the time is right?
Your Child,
