20th century computer games designer Scott, Civil War buff, buys an antique desk from that era and, while polishing it, he discovers a secret compartment in which sits an unmailed letter--a letter written by a young poet named Lizzie over a century earlier. Touched by her yearning for passion, he writes her back, egged on by his mystically inclined mother. Magically, his letter reaches Lizzie and they begin a correspondence that threatens Scott's impending marriage but promises to bring fulfilment to Lizzie. Spanning the Civil War to the present, the perils of Lizzie's war-torn situation threaten her safe passage into the future. Will their love endure the test of time?
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My mum and I used to always watch Hallmark's Hall of Fame movies on TV, and of all the sappy movies we watched, only two we ever fell in love with; The Flamingo Rising and The Love Letter. And for the first time, I will be giving spoilers.The Love Letter is about a man named Scott who purchases an antique desk circa the time of the Civil War. In the secret compartment of this desk, Scott finds a love letter to the imaginary lover to Elizabeth Whitcomb, a 29 year old woman who is set up to marry a man she does not love. Through the glorious power of suspended reality and the help of Scott's mother, Scott is able to write back by using ink and paper of the time period, a period stamp, and mailing it at a post office built post-Civil War. Lizzie is able to reply by simply placing the in the compartment, where Scott then finds them. The two fall in love, whilst Scott is engaged to the seemingly dull Debra. Then, when Scott falls into a comma after a bicycle accident, Lizzie visits Boston where she becomes acquainted with Caleb Denby, of the 19th Massachusetts, who just so happens to look like Scott back in the 20th century, yet with a mustache, and is off to Gettysburg. Lizzie writes this, and when Scott wakes, he makes quick haste to look up Mr. Denby, and finds the sad truth that he dies at Gettysburg. Of course, Scott tries to change history, and sends warning, just in time to see his magical post office go up in flames, but his love for Lizzie pushes him through the fire, and he gets the letter off. Lizzie gets it, but Caleb is already in battle, as she rushes out the door, hops a train, and gets a cab to Gettysburg. She finds him in the wounded, though, with only heartbreakingly enough time to exchange a few words before he slips away. And that is where I ball and I don't stop for the rest of the movie. I believe love lost is the worst thing in the world. I hardly believe that having loved and lost is better than to not have loved at all. The ending is a nice wrap up, with Scott ending up with Lizzie's works, publishing them, and visiting her grave, only to be bowled over by a dog that happens to be owned by a women who just so happens to look exactly like Lizzie.So why do I love this movie? I have no idea. But each time I watch it, I find myself gripping the sheets in the hopeless effort that maybe just this one time the story will end differently though it does give you a happy ending slightly. Meh depends on your opinion really I guess. Poorly acted for the most part, and only slightly poorly written, The Love Letter stars Campbell Scott as Scott, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lizzie, and Estelle Parsons (best known for her award winning performance in Bonnie & Clyde) as Scott's mother, who encourages him to reply to Lizzie's letters. The plot is surprisingly more complex than initially thought, and has pleasant, not thought of twists that keep the viewer hooked, that is if they can sit through what I believe to be some of the driest acting on the fact of the planetquite honestly, I've seen much better in high school plays. But, girls, if you are in that mood where all you want to do is eat chocolate and watch movies that will make you cry, The Love Letter is a must.
The movie The Love Letter from Hallmark is one of the best Romantic & intriguing films I've ever seen! I give this a 10 out of 10!The mysteriousness about it all is what captivated me! Campbell Scott & Jennifer Jason Leigh make a great pair! & Estelle Parsons was funny. If in Scotty's shoes, I'd want someone to encourage me like that! I would love to have it on DVD to watch without all the commercials. I've watched it at least 3 times & I think I even have it on VCR tape. If you enjoyed this, as I did, other movies to consider, would be Back to You & Me with Lisa Hartman Black, Dale Midkiff and Rue McClanahan & Straight from the Heart, starring Teri Polo & Andrew McCarthy. Talk about fantastic!
I saw this movie on Hallmark with my daughter and until this day, it is our most favorite romantic movie. We saw him at least 3 or 4 times.It is about a man and a woman who are living in different centuries. The scene I like best is when they both go up the stairs and they feel on another, strange but so romantic. And when she goes to him when he is at war and she found him very much hurt, I needed a tissue. I can't wait to buy him on DVD. But in Belgium he is not yet available. Can someone tell me when he would be released in Belgium? I be the first the buy this movie. I like to read about the American History and The Civil War is one of my favorite theme's. Both actors: Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh are very good in the movie. They really touched my heart. I hope I can see this movie again soon. I really hope they release him soon in my country.Many greetings Ria Mertens
With a zillion channels to choose from today and only so much time, the first thing I do when I click by is check the actors. I came in today five minutes into this one and saw the name Campbell Scott. Everything he does is worth a look so I was tempted. I'm also a sucker for Jennifer Jason Leigh since I still vividly remember as a teenager enjoying her father Victor Morrow in Blackboard Jungle and of course feeling enraged later at his death due to someone's negligence on a set. I don't have much patience for romantic love stories but I said okay, I'll stick with it for a while.What a brilliant effort all the way around. I expected soap bubbles and got glue instead on the seat of my trousers. Riveting. I had long despaired of American-produced sci-fi -- the aliens always speak and understand English not Cantonese and their "future" values they seem to have gleaned reading yesterday's Los Angeles Times. This was sci-fi at its best, unobtrusively raising the deepest questions touching reality and in this case arriving at the answer that one of the greatest scientist of all times gave. Pierre Laplace postulated that if you could acquire sufficient knowledge, you could then know the position and movement of all the atoms in the universe, with all that implies. But on his deathbed he is reported to have put knowledge in perspective in terms of defining reality. He said all science is trifling, nothing was real but love.I'd give this a 10 but what bothered me were the stamps. Anyone who handled the letters would have noticed something curious about them and asked questions. Or did they change form in transit? And if that happened, why did Corrigan (Scott) go to the trouble of using pen and ink? Oh well, can't be picky, and perhaps in the original story by the Invasion of the Body Snatchers author, this was explained.
