84 Charing Cross Road (1987)

It is a performances centric movie

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

'84 Charing Cross Road' is a slow and simple but enjoyable film that relies solely on a great script and strong acting. It is surprising how a film with such a basic plot can be just as, if not even more enjoyable that mega-budget films crammed with action and special effects.This film isn't for everyone, in fact it will probably only appeal to those who prefer their films on the subtle and slow side. Whilst not a film I would consider among my favourites, '84 Charing Cross Road' can be appreciated for its emphasis on script and character and its effective portrayal of friendship.With little plot or direction, this film is still an enjoyable and ideal way to pass the time. It will probably be favoured by older audiences who are more likely to see past the the lack of plot and action and appreciate the film for what it is.

For many years, Charing Cross Road in London was a nucleus for book enthusiasts, particularly for book collectors and bibliophiles. Rare and second-hand bookselling is not one of the more glamorous areas of collectibles trading, as many aspects involve lower-end as well as higher-end selling. Unlike auctions of master paintings and collectible jewelry which often receive much press coverage, antiquarian bookselling often occurs in quiet library-like shops. Customers and proprietors alike speak in low tones amid dimly-lit corridors. "84 Charing Cross Road" brings viewers into the world of antiquarian bookselling and purchasing as no other film does.Anne Bancroft (who played Mrs Robinson in "the Graduate") is a writer habituating the exciting world of the New York scene. To quench her ever-present thirst for reading, she decides she wants to acquire books of an "antiquarian" nature, fine editions which have a bit more elegance than cheap mass-market editions. She also wants to read books of classic English literature rather than simply the latest NY Times Bestseller. She visits her local second-hand bookshops in New York, and none of the proprietors carry the books she seeks because, she is told, they do not have enough demand among NY book buyers. She then hears about a rare and second-hand book firm in London on Charing Cross Road and writes them, hoping they might have the kinds of books she seeks. One of the main purveyors, although not one of the owners of the firm, is Frank Doel, played with an understated civility by the incredible Anthony Hopkins.Thus begins a correspondence between a humble book firm in London and an informal "client" in New York. As the correspondence progresses, she begins to learn more about and understand better the people whose livelihoods center around books. The scenes are mainly split between the contemplative world of the London bookshop and the loud and raucous city that is New York. Even the interactions between characters on each side are quite different. Helene the American is often smoking and boozing with friends while those at the shop quietly but seriously go about their business. Helene the American and Frank the Brit correspond in English, but almost immediately we sense the wide difference in their respective letter-writing styles, their palette of colors quite diverse. The American is direct, blunt, and easily conveys her frustration if a book arrives which does not please her. On the other hand, the Englishman Doel writes in an overtly congenial tone, very low-key and almost formal, and courteous to the point of near-humility. He is never upset or put-off at the occasional brashness of his counterpart's letters but always attempts to make things right if his client is not entirely pleased with her purchase.Then, in an interesting turn, Helene learns of the food rationing that is occurring in Britain largely as a result of the war. She resolves to help the struggling employees of the book through a black market coming out of Denmark. The employees become elated when a special package arrives for them. As a result, Helene and Frank become close in ways almost like a reader and a book, their images and understandings of each other only through words on paper, never through voices or body language. However, although they learn much about each other's lives throughout the correspondence, they never meet, but only can imagine each other's worlds."84 Charing Cross Road" is almost like a play with the correspondence, often spoken in voice-over, as the driving catalyst of the story. The piece is more a character study of the participants rather than having a real plot. But it is one of the few films I know of which celebrates the world of antiquarian booksellers and their prospective book buyers. Unfortunately, since the rise of the internet and the struggling economies in both America and Europe, the presence of second-hand and antiquarian bookshops have been markedly reduced in many urban areas. Charing Cross Road which used to boast many booksellers now has only a handful, which is strangely predicted by the film at the end.

Just after World War II, impoverished New York writer Helene Hanff (Anne Bancroft) takes to writing to London booksellers Marks & Co at 84 Charing Cross Road in pursuit of cheap used books. Her irreverent correspondence comes as a breath of fresh air to Marks' manager Frank Doel (Anthony Hopkins), and the English end of the correspondence gradually becomes less stuffy as Helene's correspondence opens up to include all the shop's staff and their families.The book comprises the letters between Hanff, Doel, and the other people involved. The film does a pretty good job of dramatising what is essentially no more than the contents of those letters. The story is gentle and nostalgic, starting just after the war and lasting about 20 years, chronicling the growing friendship between Hanff and Doel, punctuated by her ongoing (and constantly thwarted) attempts to get to London to meet her friends.I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it was no surprise that I enjoyed this film too.

I suppose liking or appreciating 84 Charing Cross Road comes down to what one goes to movies to see. This is the case with any movie, obviously, but for any number of kids disappointed by reaching into the trick-or-treat bag and coming up with a granola bar, there are some who like the granola. 84 Charing Cross Road is cinematic granola. It's no Indiana Jones or Casablanca, but that's not to say there's no sense of wonder or adventure. To some viewers, a film about the love of reading and relationship through written correspondence has that. It may not sound like it, but consider that you can't make a movie about people writing to each other and liking or disliking books unless it's about the situations they're in as they write each other, what causes them to do so, and how their passion for literature defines their lives.The characters in this film are indeed human beings, probably more like the people watching it than is the case with most other movies. How implausibly eventful does a person's life have to be without being interesting or emotionally fulfilling? However slight the story arguably is, Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins are nevertheless deeply connected to the people it's about. Emotion and impulse on a salt-of-the-earth human level are the very wheelhouse of Bancroft. Her ability to be emotionally free and available to various nuances of feeling is key to her talent.There is not one false moment in the whole movie. For the invariably impeccable Sir Anthony Hopkins, he gives his performance the texture of real life with the spontaneity and idiosyncrasy of every one of his transitions, every one of his reactions to every emotional event. And though her role is small, Dame Judi Dench is given the difficult task of being there for many of the emotional events in her husband Hopkins' life, and does it modestly, sparingly, realistically and completely in the daintiest handful of scenes.I can argue in favor of 84 Charing Cross Road on a logical level, but at the same time, I still can't say there's anything profound for me to grab onto when I watch it, which is what I tend to desire from pared down human stories. The story blossoms into a chronicle of a beautiful little relationship that leaves a lasting imprint on the lives involved, my experience was that what happens is just life. No situation seems challenging enough to be anything more than the natural progression of the contact between two uneventful people. But that can also be considered a credit to the film. It seems designed to be for someone in particular, not everyone. You can maybe argue that if it were for everybody, it would then be for nobody in particular. Because it speaks to the tastes of a select audience who would be moved by this tale, and because it's thoroughly effective on that level of integrity, it's destined to be a cherished little critic-proof installment in their personal home entertainment collections.