Frances Ruiz
Staff Writer

An undeniably wondrous tale full of love, excitement and adventure, Letters to Juliet is a love story unlike any other as it captures the thrills associated with discovering true love and finding the courage, strength and perseverance to seize it.
Having been uprooted from the hustle and bustle of New York City to the overwhelmingly beautiful and historic backdrop of Verona, Italy, a bright, young woman by the name of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) finds herself immersed in a world rich with Italian culture. Often left alone and without plans as her fiancé, Victor (Gael Bernal), must busily establish connections for the opening of his own restaurant in New York, Sophie embarks on several daytime explorations and comes across Juliet Capulet’s courtyard. It is here where she witnesses a myriad of women placing letters they wrote to Juliet in and on a single wall, in addition to a peculiar sighting in which one woman takes all of the letters which the others have left. Sophie quickly discovers that a select group was hired by the local government to write responses to each letter left at the wall. Becoming fast friends with the women in the group, Sophie offers to help in the letter retrieval and eventually finds one envelope hidden deep within the wall. It is only after opening and reading the letter in which she discovers that a woman named Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) wrote to Juliet seeking guidance and advice as to whether or not she should disobey her parents and run away with her true love, Lorenzo. Having sent a reply to the 50 year old letter, Sophie is shocked when Claire, the woman who wrote the forgotten letter, and her grandson, Charlie (Christopher Egan), appear within the city. A hopeful romantic, Sophie encourages Claire to seek out Lorenzo and even goes so far as to ask to accompany them in the search for Claire’s long, lost love. Despite avid protests from Charlie, the three quickly embark on a fun-filled journey with several surprises, laughs and heart stirring moments along the way in hopes of reuniting the star-crossed lovers and getting a second chance at true love.
From start to finish, Letters to Juliet proves to be a romantic comedy well worth watching. The film not only entertains it’s viewers with a charming story full of romance, adventure and inspiration, but provides great cast performances on the part of Seyfried and Egan as well. With a short running time and story that’s easy to follow, it manages to portray an unparalleled sense of hope, belonging and faith unlike any other film before it.
Although the movie proves to be one of the best romantic comedies to be released this year, it could potentially be seen as boring and safe for some of today’s moviegoers. It seemed as though the only drawback the film had was its predictability and lack of creativity. Despite the lack of plot twists, however, the movie remains a good watch for those who are interested.
A heartwarming tale that is sure to make most anyone a believer in true love, Letters to Juliet is a romantic comedy that delivers incredible charm, excitement and belief of true love.