A FILM REVIEW USING THE FEMINIST THEORY by: Flordeliza M. Cuerda

Feminism is a social movement that had an enormous impact on film theory and criticism. Cinema is taken by feminists to be a cultural practice representing myths about women and feminity , as well as about men and masculinity. Issues of presentation and spectatorship are central to feminist film theory and criticism. Early feminist criticism was directed at stereotypes of women, mostly in Hollywood films (Haskell, 1973; Rosen, 1973). Such fixed and early repeated images of women were considered to be objectionable distortions that have a negative impact on female spectator; hence, the call for positive images of women in cinema. Soon, however, the insight dawned positive images were not enough to change underlying structures in film. Feminist critics tried to understand the all-pervasive power of patriarchal imagery with the help of structuralist theoretical frameworks such as semiotics and psychoanalysis. These theoretical discourses have proved very productive in analyzing the ways in which sexual difference is encoded in classical narrative. For over a decade, psychoanalysis was to be a dominant paradigm in feminist film theory. More recently, there has been a move away from a binary understanding of sexual difference to multiple perspectives, identities and possible spectatorships. The opening up has resulted in an increasing concern with questions on ethnicity, masculinity and hybrid sexualities.

This paper aims to review the film Letters to Juliet using the Feminist theory.

The American film, Letters to Juliet, directed by the late Gary Winick portrays a woman who is powerless, a “nobody”, unintelligible, a sex object, but she is also passionate, chaste, sentimental and romantic.

Title of the Film  : Letters to Juliet

Prominent Actors         : Amanda Seyfried, Chris Egan, Vanessa Redgrave, Gael Garcia 

             Bernal, and Franco Nero       

Genre of Film      : Romantic Comedy Drama

Setting                : Verona during the modern time

THE REVIEW

          The introductory still shots of the film shows profanities and hugs and kisses by the leads as well as painting and statues representing graphically various mild sexual liaisons and a scene at the garden of Juliet where a woman and then a man caress the bare breast of the statue of Juliet. There were nude paintings and statues. Obviously, a woman is portrayed as a sex object and as a subject to be desired.

          Letters for Juliet features Sophie as a writer who by accident found a letter in a brick wall addressed to Juliet written by Claire years ago. The letter contains Claire’s longing to see her first and true love. Sophie wanted to enjoy her honeymoon, but her fiancé, Victor was very busy seeing and contacting suppliers for his future restaurant. Sophie was neglected and was taken for granted. The plot illustrates the being “nobody” of a woman and being powerless. The woman’s presence to a man’s life was only secondary to his ambition. The woman is only needed when the man wants to be passionate, when he wants to hug and to kiss, and when he needed a listener. She was not given even the chance to be listened to. Her desires and her happiness are of no importance to the man. The film shows the inferiority of the female gender in the society.

          Sophie and Victor’s engagement did not have a happy ending. After several instances of being taken for granted, Sophie decided to end the relationship. It was only at that point that her voice about their relationship was being heard by Victor. Ironically, Victor immediately gave her the freedom she wanted. It was easy for the man to let go of the relationship more than the woman. Seemingly, the film tells us that the man is stronger than the woman. Man uses his head, while the woman the heart.

          Weeping women writing letters and leaving them in the house of Juliet is signified in the film the picture of a woman’s weakness, of bearing life’s burdens such as husband problem. Seeing women weeping while writing and leaving those letters for Juliet depicts an idea that women are weak. The letters were answered by women too, indicating that women have each other’s shoulder to cry on and they are good counsellors and sentimental.

          The kitchen staff in the house of Juliet composed of women. Overall, the scenes inside the house are all women characters showing the strength and the domination of a woman in the household. Conversations of the women in the house of Juliet dealt with the woman’s man. How the faces of those women were delighted whenever the heard stories of happy love stories and endings, showing their dependents on their “Romeo”. The story writer wanted to prove that women can’t live well without a man their life.

          Charlie, Claire’s grandson, met Sophie. He was arrogant towards Sophie. His arrogance was coming from Sophie’s optimism that one day Claire was going to meet Lorenzo, Claire’s long lost love. Charlie and Sophie’s encounters depict man’s machosism. Charlie, like Victor, Sophie experienced again man’s fancy to hurt and to humiliate a woman. The writer illustrates that women are unintelligible, and that men are more intelligent than women. Charlie’s transparent actions and reactions symbolize men’s domination in the world of knowledge while women are just passive receptors of this knowledge. The film tends to establish that men are active and powerful. Charlie started to fall in love with Sophie, but still attempted to deny that feeling due to a man’s pride—the pride of denying that a woman can weaken a man.

          Sophie admitted that she was in love with Charlie; although, Charlie also expressed his love to her, but it was she who admitted first. In this case, it was not anymore difficult for the man to have the woman for the woman is shown as liberated, expressive, and transparent.

          On the other hand, Claire’s portrayal of a woman perfectly supported that of Sophie’s. Claire was so romantic, always refreshing the beauty and wonders of love she had in her past. Claire, like Sophie, was portrayed as women of chaste. She had a pure heart waiting and longing for Lorenzo that whatever the cost was, she had to go through them just to meet again her “Romeo”. At her age of almost eighty, she believed that love would never be late. When a woman is in love, she will do everything just to be with the one she truly loves. Claire, upon meeting her real Romeo, did not have second thoughts on what to do; immediately both hugged tightly. If not for Sophie’s letter and Claire’s perseverance to meet Lorenzo again, Claire and Lorenzo’s wedding would not have happened. A woman’s determination, perseverance and optimism are clearly portrayed in this flick.

          The movie sets up a classic situation for romantic comedy, and it does not disappoint the movie-goers. It is moderately well-directed with some excellent acting and some stereotypical and even self-conscious moments by the same actors, indicating uneven direction.  Even so, the movie is quite entertaining to those who enjoy Hollywood romance movies.

The changing relationship between Sophie and Charlie is very well plotted and paced nicely with excellent points. This film literally and figuratively extols marriage. The concept of “pre-honeymoon” sounds suspicious, but it doesn’t show any sexual immorality which is in contrast to the still shots shown in the introduction of the film. If this movie is watched by parents with their children, parents can help their children and teenagers understand the concept of true love. The ending scene was weak and as much as it tried to step around the cliché of having Sophie on a balcony hearing a profession of love by having the characters laugh at the positioning.

The costumes of the characters reflect people’s culture and story location. Their costumes added color and meaning to the story. When the scene shows that Charlie was starting to fall in love with Sophie, seductive dresses were worn by the latter. Also, the background looks realistic since scenes were really shoot in Verona which is the real setting of the story. The music is just light and pleasing to the ear. The song “Romeo” which was played in the major scenes bring the right message of the story. It is a little bit fast denoting the modern time. Even if the film was inspired by that of the love story of Romeo and Juliet, still the plot speaks of the modern times. The filmmakers were effective in blending the past and the present.

In general, Letters to Juliet accomplishes what it sets out to --- a romantic world view combined with references to destiny, and woman’s portrayal in a society, that in spite of her weaknesses and her being romantic, she can still weaken a man and change the world.