To be honest, I am not at all a fan of films which have been adapted from books, as I have yet to find one which has actually been any good. The Harry Potter films just don't have the magic of the books, The Devil Wears Prada film wasn't fab either so these films tend to be disappointing for me as I loved the books and thought the films didn't match up exactly. However, I couldn't stand the book this film is based on so I held out hope that the film might be marginally better than its book!
P.S. I Love You tells us the story of Holly and Gerry, a young married couple very much in love with each other. Tragedy strikes when Gerry dies of a brain tumour and leaves Holly distraught and alone, missing her beloved Gerry. But she finds hope again in the form of letters from Gerry, from beyond the grave, guiding her and letting her know that Gerry is still with her. But is Holly going to let the letters rule her life? And what will she do when the letters eventually fizzle out?
As you can probably tell from the plot synopsis, this isn't the most cheerful movie in the world, but is certainly a very touching one. The movie portrays a range of emotions, from grief and loss through to friendship, new love and finding your own strength within. I admit that the film did bring a few tears to my eyes in parts, it really gets the emotions going in its viewer and I certainly found myself blinking back the tears. The idea in the film of being communicated to from beyond
the grave is one I think we would all want if we lost a loved one, and I think it is this realism that makes the film work, especially for me.
There is quite a good cast in the film, who I think really performed well throughout the movie. The lead actress is Hilary Swank who takes on the role of Holly, the young widow. I've only seen Swank in Million Dollar Baby, where she plays a complete opposite of soft and sweet Holly, so I wasn't too sure of what to expect of her performance in this film. However, I felt that she really pulled off Holly perfectly, portraying her raw grief and loss superbly, and also endearing us to Holly throughout the film, with her excitement at receiving a letter from Gerry to her guilt at being alone with other men in her flat!
Holly's husband Gerry was played by Scotth actor Gerard Butler, who I've previously seen in The Phantom of the Opera as the Phantom. Gerry is an Irish character, and Butler's Irish accent is a little peculiar in places, but not entirely unbelievable. He's a good actor in this film, mainly featuring through flashbacks but playing the young, cheeky Gerry with a smile and a real charm about him. One other character in the film really stood out for me, and that is Holly's best friend Denise, played by the fantastic Lisa Kudrow of Friends fame. Kudrom really provides the comic relief throughout the movie as man-hunter Denise out to find her Mr Right even if means kissing a thousand frogs first! Her character made me laugh out loud, and the scenes on the boat in the lake were hilarious, I was sitting there laughing away!
Other actors in the film include a rather strange Harry Connick Jr who plays Daniel, an American man working for Holly's mum in her bar who takes rather a shine to Holly. His character felt a bit disjointed, like he didn't quite know where he was going with him, and I felt the scenes between Connick and Swank were awkward and not great. Kathy Bates plays Patricia, Holly's mum who is determined to bring her daughter back to the real world even if it means her hearing some hard truths. Gina Gershon plays Sharon, Holly's other best friend, Nellie McKay is Ciara, Holly's sister and finally Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Grey's Anatomy) plays Irish hunk William who captures Holly's eye on her visit to Ireland.
As I already mentioned, I really didn't like the book that this film was based upon. Although I liked the idea of the story, I couldn't get into the style of writing which Cecelia Ahern uses, and therefore I gave up reading about a third of the way through. I did notice obvious differences (Even from the small section I read) i.e. the novel has been moved from Ireland to New York, Holly is now an American girl instead of Irish, and their meeting is different too, but I feel it works better in a cinematic sense. A book adaptation always requires change and I feel that the screen-write has done a superb job with the changes, and has made them in such a way that it still flows with the charm of the story but changed to fit the pace of a movie in a better way. The scenery shots of Ireland were really beautiful and looked incredible, and really contrasted well with the darker greyer scenes of New York. They really conveyed the magic of Ireland for Holly with the fantastic cinematography and I am glad they did take Holly back to Ireland, and her Gerry's home.
I really did enjoy the film. At 2 hours long, it is quite long for its genre but I didn't really feel that it dragged too much at any point. Swank held the film together well, and I enjoyed watching her on-screen as Holly very much, and her chemistry with her fellow actors, especially Butler was fantastic. The movie is indeed sad in places, and did make me cry, but it does make you appreciate what you have in your life, and gives you a small bit of hope that you can come through anything life is going to throw at you, as Holly tries to do without Gerry. It's very touching, very emotional, and a very good watch, but do get the tissues ready!
Oh, and I'm not normally one to sit and watch the extras on a DVD but my fiance was hogging the computer so I had a little peek. There is a 10 minute-ish interview with Cecelia Ahern, the books author which also features commentary from the producer, Butler and Swank. There's also a featurette on the game "Snaps" which is featured in the film and thoroughly confused me until I read this! Also, there is a short collection of deleted scenes, including a hilarious one featuring Butler as Gerry visibly looking very, very ill. It's quite emotional to watch, but really made me laugh and Butler shone for me in this scene - please try to watch this one, I wish they'd included it! And finally is the music video for James Blunt's song Same Mistake which features in the film.
You can buy the DVD on Amazon for £11.98. The film was released in January 2008, and runs for 122 minutes. Based on the book by Cecelia Ahern, screen-play by Richard LaGravenese and Steven Rogers, Directed by Richard LaGravenese. Certificate in the UK of 12A.
Main Cast: Hilary Swank ... Holly Kennedy Gerard Butler ... Gerry Kennedy Lisa Kudrow ... Denise Hennessey Gina Gershon ... Sharon McCarthy James Marsters ... John McCarthy Kathy Bates ... Patricia Rawley Harry Connick Jr. ... Daniel Connelly Nellie McKay ... Ciara Jeffrey Dean Morgan ... William 'Billy' Gallagher
Thank you for reading!
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Based on the best-selling novel from Cecelia Ahern,P.S. I Love Youis far more than the ... more
standard chick flick that it may first appear to be. Relocating the novel from Ireland to America, multiple Oscar-winner Hilary Swank stars as the young woman who ha...
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Based on the best-selling novel from Cecelia Ahern,P.S. I Love Youis far more than the ... more
standard chick flick that it may first appear to be. Relocating the novel from Ireland to America, multiple Oscar-winner Hilary Swank stars as the young woman who ha...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
![P.S. I Love You [DVD] [2008]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78691190.jpg "P.S. I Love You [DVD] [2008]")
May 24th, 2008
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