Love Letters is a made-for-TV movie, and it pretty much falls into the pattern of the stereotypical made-for-TV movie. Its stars aren't total unknowns, but neither are they well-known actors; the premise is reasonably clever, but it's executed a bit clumsily; the overall production isn't bad, but it's lacking the polish and depth of a feature film.

The premise of Love Letters is in its title: a strait-laced senator, Andy (Steven Weber) returns from the funeral of a childhood friend, Melissa (Laura Linney), and reflects on their lifelong relationship through the countless letters that they exchanged over the years. The fact that one of the main characters is actually dead is overcome by the fact that Andy imagines her being present in the room with him as he reads the letters; while he voices his half of the correspondence, she responds with words from her own letters.

Love Letters is based on a play, and it's easy to see how the static set-up is ideally suited to the stage rather than the screen. In its television adaptation, the story has been opened up somewhat, so that we get flashbacks to Andy and Melissa at various stages of their lives, acting out the moments when they were together "in the flesh" as well as showing the different circumstances of their lives when they wrote to each other. A few imaginative touches appear, such as intercut childhood photos or changes of costume in the "present day" frame, as Andy remembers a particular time, but these are few and far between. Love Letters is a story that cries out for a more creative way of handling it on-screen, but director Stanley Donen seems hesitant to break free of the static confines of the basic story.

The film's appeal comes in the developing relationship between the two characters, as Andy and Melissa develop in two very different ways while retaining a profound personal connection. It's a good idea, but unfortunately it's not enough to overcome the rather wooden performances from Weber and Linney. Neither one seems really comfortable with their characters, and the fact that their dialogue consists of lines that were written in letters just adds to the stilted feeling of the film overall. The impact of the film is also reduced by the choice of structure: whereas in the original play, Melissa's death is a surprise twist at the end, in the film we find out about it immediately. As a result, there's very little punch at the end of the film.

The DVD

Video

Love Letters appears in its original made-for-television aspect ratio of 1.33:1. This 1999 production looks satisfactory in its DVD transfer, but it's nothing to write home about, if you'll excuse the joke. Detail is adequate and edge enhancement is under control, but there's a sheen of noise present throughout the film, and colors tend to be a bit too warm.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack might as well be a mono track, as it's very center-focused and rather flat. For a film that's predominantly made up of miniature monologues by different characters, there's not much for the soundtrack to do, but it could probably have sounded a little less bland than it does.

Extras

Two trailers (for The Company and Whale Rider) appear before the initial menu screen; in the special features section, we also get trailers for Bon Voyage, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, and Passionada.

Final thoughts

As a bit of television fluff, Love Letters is passable, but it really contains nothing of note in terms of either writing or acting. Viewers who are in the mood for some very light romantic viewing material may find the film worth a rental.