Rating:  -
This was a wonderful, subtle film about love, in its many different forms. Love in a failed marriage, high school crushes, the idea of a fantasy lover reincarnated, and the expectations of love placed upon the fantasy lover.
Topher Grace was outstanding. There wasn't the barest hint of his character from That 70s show, which is refreshing, because in almost every Ashton Kutcher film there are plenty of hints. I always thought that Grace would be the better actor of the two, and I think we're starting to see that.
Laura Linney turned in a wonderful performance as always. She's as reliable as a brownstone. I've never once seen an imperfection in any of her performances. Any scene in which she evokes emotions are perfectly done.
One can't help but wonder how one would react in Louise's (Linney) situation, and the film did a very good job of sharing her reaction with us, so that we shared it with her. Her immediate attraction to Fran (Grace), and her immediate and passionate desire for sexual relations was compulsive. I found myself feeling sorry for, knowing that she wasn't having sex with him; rather, she was having sex with the F. Scott she loved from high school. It seems that she eventually came to love Fran for who he was, although the age difference was significant and didn't seem to be addressed at all. I would have liked to understand Fran's attraction to older women a little better. I certainly understand that very often younger men or women are attracted to older women or men (or the reverse), but usually each situation is unique, so to see what Fran's unique attraction was would have been interesting and very telling about who he is.
To be honest, I wasn't expecting to like this film. The concept of reincarnated love is a territory that's been explored extensively (recently uncomfortably so in Birth, starring Nicole Kidman). I only rented the film to see if my estimations regarding Topher Grace were correct. Not only did I find out that they were, but I also enjoyed the film immensely. It was touching, intelligent, thought provoking, and layered. For a film marketed as a drama/comedy, that's fairly unusual - and refreshing.
Rating:  -
I read the novel a few months ago, before this film hit theaters, inticed by the hints at reincarnation. I was disappointed in the novel not being what it claimed to be, but somehow, I expected the film to be a vast improvement over the novel. It is, by just a tad, as I really liked the performances by Laura Linney and Topher Grace, but the film is loyal to the novel. People who think that the director just threw subplots out there obviously haven't read the novel. Louise's (Laura Linney) husband Peter (Gabriel Byrne) did have a sex addiction in the novel, and her brother did have a gambling addiction and received money from Peter for a financial scheme. Why it's in the novel is probably to enhance the idea that all the characters have an addiction to something, and Louise is no different. As I said, I liked both performances, yet I didn't really see any chemistry between the two of them...no sense of a real attraction. They looked like they were using each other for selfish goals (he because, why not...no young 20-something male is going to refuse a sexual encounter with an attractive older lady; her to fulfill a long-held fantasy about her high school boyfriend).
Now, about that premise...the film's trailer hinted at a reincarnation story and this film hangs its whole premise on the idea that a 20-year old student named F. Scott Feinstadt looks exactly like Scott Feinstadt, who died twenty years ago. Not only do they share the same name and the same look, but both were budding artists whom Louise and her best friend Missy (played by Marcia Gay Harden) were in love with. The film, just like the novel, never explains the coincidences or offer any clue as to what it could mean. That might be the intention of the writer/director...but it cheapens the film and novel with laziness by remaining ambiguous. Don't sell something as something else ("a reincarnation movie that doesn't explore reincarnation"). I'm personally fascinated by reincarnation and believe in it, and because there are so few films that cover the topic in a serious way, there is a unique market out there that would be hungry for films that explored the topic in a serious way. This film is not it. Thus, my disappointment overall.
After hearing the director's commentary with a second viewing of the film, I did get to learn more about the meaning of the film and it makes a little bit more sense. The message of it is good (about how we put expectations on others who remind us of someone else, and when the person reveals himself to be someone other than our fantasy image, how that pushes them away from having a real relationship with the person), but its not the message I was sold on (which was a reincarnation story). Because of the deceptive advertising, I'm glad this film bombed in theaters. Since its obviously not about reincarnation, it could easily have been about cloning, which would have made a better film premise.
The only thing this film has going for it are the performances by Laura Linney and Topher Grace; and its interesting to watch the uncomfortable love scene between the two of them that occurs early on in the film. Both actors are good in their own right, but together, there's no sense of real chemistry. Its nothing more than awkward from the get-go. I gave the novel two stars, and this film gets three stars because of the actors...but is this film worth owning or watching more than twice? No. Hopefully a more serious film about reincarnation will be made some day. This one (and "Birth") are not that story. And if any Hollywood types are reading this...don't sell a film on false pretenses/premises. If its not about reincarnation, then don't present it as such. Truth in advertising applies to film as well as products.
Rating: -
After reading about the movie on the back of the dvd I went in with high expectations. The plot concept sounded very interesting and so I watched the entire movie. Even though the concept of the plot was good the director didn't take advantage of the great potential this movie could have offered its viewers. The teenage boy ( her love interest ) wasn't believable to me and his personality in this film was distracting. Over the phone he was confident , rude , and called her by her first name. In person he was nervous , kinda shy , and somewhat of a nerd. The sex scenes were unnesssary and contrived . The problem with this movie was the disjointed plot scenes that made the movie feel rushed. I felt like there were too many unanswred questions in this movie and i wasn't happy with the ending. I really don't like open ended movies like that. I think most people prefer to have some idea what is happening ,etc. Oh well.
Rating: -
There are so few examples of real lust and other adult stuff going on in 9000 R rated films in the last 30 years. In PS, 39 year-old Laura Linney practically throws young Topher Grace on her couch. She is absolutely licking her chops since Grace looks, indeed has the same name, as her teen love. Teen love had been killed in a car accident. He had loved both Linney and Linney's best friend, Marcia Gay. Anyhow, Grace's twenty year-old personality and looks resembles the dead lover, so Linney thinks he's a gift from heaven. Her life with an ex-husband had been less than satisfying. Yes, she's got a descent job at Columbia, but she's not having sex with anyone for years; hence, Topher Grace not only gets lucky, he gets involved in a weird and wonderful love situation.
PS, Dylan Kid made an even better film for adults called Rodger Dodger. Check that one out. It's a classic. God, I love films for adults without the X.
Rating: -
Light, and whimsical, half mystery and half romance, the strangely named P.S. is probably most notable for highlighting the urgent chemistry between Laura Linney and Topher Grace. Both bring a wonderful mixture of vulnerability and innocence to their roles, and their intimate moments have a startling realism, and honesty that's quite rare in cinema these days.
Having said that P.S. is a rather commonplace and ordinary movie, with some plot developments involving the secondary characters that don't quite have the ring of truth and good actors that are terribly underused. It's a pleasant enough film, but most viewers will walk away with the realization that they haven't seeing anything that particularly insightful or memorable.
There's no doubt that Linney gives an absolutely compelling performance, and she totally nails the portrayal of a frustrated, and lonely thirty-something woman who is full of pent-up regret and bitterness after just coming out of a divorce. She plays Louise Harrington, a Columbia University admissions officer. Louise lost her first true love in a car accident, and has just recently been divorced from Peter (Gabriel Byrne), her husband of ten years. Although best friends, they have a kind of shaky, disparate relationship that is built on confidence, but also hints at betrayal.
One day F. Scott Feinstadt (Topher Grace), an 18-year-old potential student, walks into Louise's office. Scott looks, sounds, and paints like Louise's long dead boyfriend. She reels from a mixture of shock, attraction and intrigue, becoming quite predatory as she quickly seduces him. Is this new Scott pure coincidence or is there something supernatural involved? As they get to know each other, Louise is reawakened both sexually and emotionally, until her best friend Missy (Marcia Gay Harden) arrives on the scene to try to sabotage the relationship.
The dynamic between Linney and Grace, is the main reason to watch this movie. Their dialogue is natural, smart and snappy and the best scene is when she seduces him after spontaneously inviting him back to her apartment. There's a great mixture of inexperienced urgency, and clumsy fumbling, which comes across as awkwardly endearing, gawkily charming, and also quite funny. The subplot, however, involving Peter's dark secret comes across as contrived and doesn't really go anywhere. Paul Rudd, as Louise's brother, is very good, but his scenes are too short, and his character is wasted.
The themes of loss and grief are generally well presented. And Louise's journey towards facing, and ultimately exorcising, the ghosts of the past is sensitively and thoughtfully developed. Director and co- screenwriter Dylan Kidd adapts Helen Schulman's novel with a delicate and heartfelt touch. But the standout is definitely Laura Linney - her mixture of sexual vulnerability, brashness and wavering cynicism make her plight a true triumph and victory of the heart. Mike Leonard February 05.
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