84 Charing Cross Road

84 Charing Cross Road

"When feisty New York City writer Helene Hanff (Anne Bancroft) mails a note to a small London bookshop asking for some rare English classics, reserved bookseller Frank Doel (Anthony Hopkins) answers her request, beginning a touching and humorous correspondence. Across two continents and over the course of 20 years, Frank and Helene come to rely on the extraordinary friendship stemming from their intimate missives."

4 stars

This is a movie for book lovers, period. Anyone else will find it too slow, too boring, too gentle. But as a book lover, I greatly enjoyed it. The epistolary style (think You've Got Mail) is a favorite of mine, and the fact that the movie is based on the book which is based on the actual letters between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel just makes it all the sweeter. And I love Anne Bancroft, who is great in this role (but then, when isn't she?). There's no contrived romantic tensions, just the simple, honest story of genuine friendship. Enjoyable, stress-free, and comforting to watch.