Cast: Anne Bancroft (Helen Hanff), Anthony Hopkins (Frank Doel)
Director: David Hugh Jones
Genre: Drama
As a Sir Anthony Hopkins fan, this is one of my personal favorites. A movie that involves books and writing is enough to get me interested right away. It’s a true story based off the bestselling book about Helen Hanff (Anne Bancroft), an outspoken writer/ book enthusiast in New York City who orders some used books from a small bookshop in London owned by Frank Doel (Anthony Hopkins). The two end up creating a pen-pal friendship spanning several decades as they share their love of books and life stories. Though the movie sounds plain, it does have a creative story line. Many consider it a “slow” film since the only real plot involves Hanff’s attempts to fly to London and meet Doel and the other employees of his bookshop. If it weren’t for Bancroft’s character, this movie would have slumped big time. I was impressed how one character, portrayed well enough, could save a whole movie and make it worthwhile. As soon as I heard this movie involved reading and writing enthusiasts, I knew I would enjoy it before I even saw it. Other reading/ writing fans I’ve met seem to feel the same way about it. It seems that this is a film that has sadly ended up unknown and forgotten. It’s a very simple movie with nothing objectionable in it. You can really see a comparison between your typical American style of spunky enthusiasm and your typical British style of sophisticated and content, well mannered enthusiasm. Hopkins and Bancroft were perfect for those roles and acted off each other perfectly! I would recommend this flick to anyone! “Imagine! A whole country that says ‘ros-berries’.”
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